Post by Alexandra on Sept 28, 2008 21:27:38 GMT 1
There is a number of places (teams) each continent is allowed to send to the final tournament (group stage). This number was decided by FIFA, based on the national teams' rankings and performances.
Africa
For Africa, the number of places (teams) is 6. So there are 53 teams competing for 6 places. South Africa qualifies automatically as host for the World Cup. Africa's case is complicated, because they also have the 2010 African Cup of Nations, hosted by Angola.
The 48 qualifiers (45 direct entrants plus 3 winners of the first round) were split into 12 groups of 4 teams each. These teams will play a full round-robin in 2008, with the 12 groups winners and 8 best runner-ups advancing to the third round. As not all groups are of equal size after the exclusion of Ethiopia and the withdrawal of Eritrea, when ranking the runners-up, their results against their group's 4th placed team will not be counted.
12 group winners + 8 best runner-ups = 20 teams.
The 20 teams will be split into five groups of four. The winners of each group will qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and the top three in each group will qualify for the African Cup of Nations. The draw for the groups will take place on October 24 in Zürich and the teams will be seeded using a formula with three components:
* A component based on the number of points obtained during the group matches of the second round. Most teams will play six matches in this round, with maximum of 18 points available. While no official decision has been communicated on the impact of the withdrawal of Eritrea from Group 11 and the exclusion of Ethiopia from Group 8, and how the teams that advance from this group (who will only play 4 matches for a maximum of 12 points possible) will be assessed on this criteria, FIFA's clarification that ranking of group runner-ups will exclude results against the bottom team in the group suggests something similar may apply to the ranking at this stage, meaning all nations have a maximum of 12 points on this criteria. Earlier media releases (which can no longer be accessed) from CAF suggested that the first three matches in the group (2 for each nation) would count twice for the purposes of comparison.
* A component based on performance at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations. The nations that competed have been classified from 1st to 16th by their finishing position. The African Champion will receive 16 points, the runner-up 15, the team coming at the third place 14 and so on. The team coming in last place will get only one point, as will any teams that qualify for the second round that did not qualify for the finals of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations.
* A component based on FIFA ranking. The 20 teams that qualify for the second round will be ranked from 1st to 20th in order of the October FIFA ranking. The top team will be allocated 20 points, the second 19 points and the team coming in 20th place will get one point.
The points attained through each of the above criteria will be added together, and the teams will be ranked according to their points. The first five teams will be placed in Pot 1, the teams from 6 to 10 in Pot 2, the teams from 11 to 15 in Pot 3 and the teams from 16 to 20 in Pot 4.
If Angola advances to this stage then all the other three teams in Angola's group will automatically advance to 2010 African Cup of Nations, since Angola qualifies as host.
South America
For South America, the number of places (teams) is 4 or 5. A play-off against the North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF) determines which confederation gets the extra place. There are 10 teams competing for these 4 or 5 places.
There are no groups. The 10 teams will be playing against each other in 18 rounds and the table will contain the whole 10 teams. The first four qualify automatically, the 5th will meet the 4th placed team in the CONCACAF qualification round, in a two-legged play-off for a place in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Asia
For Asia, the number of places (teams) is 4 or 5. A play-off against Oceania (OFC) determines which confederation gets the extra place. There are 43 teams competing for these 4 or 5 places.
As complicated as the African qualification, the Asian one got to its fourth qualification round now, 10 teams remaining in the competition, after there were 20 in the third round and 43 initially.
These 10 teams were split into two groups of five teams each. The top two teams in each group will qualify for the World Cup Finals, with the two third-placed sides advancing to a play-off. All teams play home and away against each of the other four teams in the group.
The play-off: Teams finishing 3rd in the two groups will play for the 5th place overall. The winner will be the team with the highest aggregate score over two legs. The winning team will play against the OFC qualifying round winner.
North, Central America and Caribbean
For North, Central America and Caribbean, the number of places (teams) is 3 or 4. A play-off against South America (CONMEBOL) determines which confederation gets the extra place. There are 35 teams competing for these 3 or 4 places.
There are two preliminary rounds, which will reduce the 35 entrants to 24 and then 12. This will be followed by 3 third round groups of 4 (held across the second half of 2008), with the top two in each group advancing. The top 3 teams from the fourth round group of 6 (held from February to October 2009) will qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The 4th place team will compete in a home-and-away play-off against the 5th-placed team from CONMEBOL.
Complicated, I know. The third and fourth round are the only ones that matter, so we'll concentrate a little bit on those.
The third round: The 12 winners from the second round will compete in this round, being placed into three groups of four teams each. They will play a double round robin, home and away. The first two teams from each group advance to the fourth round.
The fourth round: So we have 3 group winners and 3 runner-ups from the third round, 6 teams overall. They will play against each other a double-round-robin, home and away. The first three teams will qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The 4th team will compete in a home-and-away play-off against the 5th-placed team in the CONMEBOL qualifying round.
The play-off: The 4th placed team will play against the 5th placed team in the CONMEBOL qualification round, in a home and away play-off. The winner of this play-off will qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup final tournament.
Oceania
For Oceania, the number of places (teams) is 0 or 1. A play-off against Asia determines which confederation gets the extra place. There are 10 teams competing for 0 or 1 place, Oceania being the only confederation that doesn't automatically get a place in the final tournament.
Its final round will also be the 2008 OFC Nations Cup. Consequently, the winner will also be considered the OFC Nations Cup champion, and will represent the OFC in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. This is the first OFC World Cup qualifying campaign since Australia's move from the OFC to the AFC.
So the most important round of the qualification is actually another competition, The 2008 Oceania Nations Cup, won by New Zealand, who has qualified for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and will play the play-off against the 5th placed team in the AFC qualifying round.
Africa
For Africa, the number of places (teams) is 6. So there are 53 teams competing for 6 places. South Africa qualifies automatically as host for the World Cup. Africa's case is complicated, because they also have the 2010 African Cup of Nations, hosted by Angola.
The 48 qualifiers (45 direct entrants plus 3 winners of the first round) were split into 12 groups of 4 teams each. These teams will play a full round-robin in 2008, with the 12 groups winners and 8 best runner-ups advancing to the third round. As not all groups are of equal size after the exclusion of Ethiopia and the withdrawal of Eritrea, when ranking the runners-up, their results against their group's 4th placed team will not be counted.
12 group winners + 8 best runner-ups = 20 teams.
The 20 teams will be split into five groups of four. The winners of each group will qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and the top three in each group will qualify for the African Cup of Nations. The draw for the groups will take place on October 24 in Zürich and the teams will be seeded using a formula with three components:
* A component based on the number of points obtained during the group matches of the second round. Most teams will play six matches in this round, with maximum of 18 points available. While no official decision has been communicated on the impact of the withdrawal of Eritrea from Group 11 and the exclusion of Ethiopia from Group 8, and how the teams that advance from this group (who will only play 4 matches for a maximum of 12 points possible) will be assessed on this criteria, FIFA's clarification that ranking of group runner-ups will exclude results against the bottom team in the group suggests something similar may apply to the ranking at this stage, meaning all nations have a maximum of 12 points on this criteria. Earlier media releases (which can no longer be accessed) from CAF suggested that the first three matches in the group (2 for each nation) would count twice for the purposes of comparison.
* A component based on performance at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations. The nations that competed have been classified from 1st to 16th by their finishing position. The African Champion will receive 16 points, the runner-up 15, the team coming at the third place 14 and so on. The team coming in last place will get only one point, as will any teams that qualify for the second round that did not qualify for the finals of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations.
* A component based on FIFA ranking. The 20 teams that qualify for the second round will be ranked from 1st to 20th in order of the October FIFA ranking. The top team will be allocated 20 points, the second 19 points and the team coming in 20th place will get one point.
The points attained through each of the above criteria will be added together, and the teams will be ranked according to their points. The first five teams will be placed in Pot 1, the teams from 6 to 10 in Pot 2, the teams from 11 to 15 in Pot 3 and the teams from 16 to 20 in Pot 4.
If Angola advances to this stage then all the other three teams in Angola's group will automatically advance to 2010 African Cup of Nations, since Angola qualifies as host.
South America
For South America, the number of places (teams) is 4 or 5. A play-off against the North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF) determines which confederation gets the extra place. There are 10 teams competing for these 4 or 5 places.
There are no groups. The 10 teams will be playing against each other in 18 rounds and the table will contain the whole 10 teams. The first four qualify automatically, the 5th will meet the 4th placed team in the CONCACAF qualification round, in a two-legged play-off for a place in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Asia
For Asia, the number of places (teams) is 4 or 5. A play-off against Oceania (OFC) determines which confederation gets the extra place. There are 43 teams competing for these 4 or 5 places.
As complicated as the African qualification, the Asian one got to its fourth qualification round now, 10 teams remaining in the competition, after there were 20 in the third round and 43 initially.
These 10 teams were split into two groups of five teams each. The top two teams in each group will qualify for the World Cup Finals, with the two third-placed sides advancing to a play-off. All teams play home and away against each of the other four teams in the group.
The play-off: Teams finishing 3rd in the two groups will play for the 5th place overall. The winner will be the team with the highest aggregate score over two legs. The winning team will play against the OFC qualifying round winner.
North, Central America and Caribbean
For North, Central America and Caribbean, the number of places (teams) is 3 or 4. A play-off against South America (CONMEBOL) determines which confederation gets the extra place. There are 35 teams competing for these 3 or 4 places.
There are two preliminary rounds, which will reduce the 35 entrants to 24 and then 12. This will be followed by 3 third round groups of 4 (held across the second half of 2008), with the top two in each group advancing. The top 3 teams from the fourth round group of 6 (held from February to October 2009) will qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The 4th place team will compete in a home-and-away play-off against the 5th-placed team from CONMEBOL.
Complicated, I know. The third and fourth round are the only ones that matter, so we'll concentrate a little bit on those.
The third round: The 12 winners from the second round will compete in this round, being placed into three groups of four teams each. They will play a double round robin, home and away. The first two teams from each group advance to the fourth round.
The fourth round: So we have 3 group winners and 3 runner-ups from the third round, 6 teams overall. They will play against each other a double-round-robin, home and away. The first three teams will qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The 4th team will compete in a home-and-away play-off against the 5th-placed team in the CONMEBOL qualifying round.
The play-off: The 4th placed team will play against the 5th placed team in the CONMEBOL qualification round, in a home and away play-off. The winner of this play-off will qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup final tournament.
Oceania
For Oceania, the number of places (teams) is 0 or 1. A play-off against Asia determines which confederation gets the extra place. There are 10 teams competing for 0 or 1 place, Oceania being the only confederation that doesn't automatically get a place in the final tournament.
Its final round will also be the 2008 OFC Nations Cup. Consequently, the winner will also be considered the OFC Nations Cup champion, and will represent the OFC in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. This is the first OFC World Cup qualifying campaign since Australia's move from the OFC to the AFC.
So the most important round of the qualification is actually another competition, The 2008 Oceania Nations Cup, won by New Zealand, who has qualified for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and will play the play-off against the 5th placed team in the AFC qualifying round.
you! 
