FIFA Preliminary alreadily decided only left to be ratified>

[Pepsi]

Durban, South Africa
Sunday, 25 November
1500 GMT
BBC coverage: BBC Sport website and BBC 5 Live. Video streaming on BBC Sport website (UK users only)

A total of 170 countries will go into Sunday's draw in Durban for the 2010 World Cup preliminary competition.

The teams are chasing 31 places at the World Cup finals, with only hosts South Africa guaranteed a spot at the tournament in 30 months' time.

Even 2006 champions Italy must qualify to defend their title.

There will be 861 qualifying matches to determine the line-up for the 2010 World Cup finals, lasting more than 800 days and finishing in November 2009.

A total of 205 countries entered the preliminaries but five have since withdrawn.

A further 30 were eliminated in pre-preliminary matches played in Africa, Asia and Oceania.

The draw comes four months after the 2010 preliminary campaign kicked off in Samoa in August.


Holders Italy will be chasing one of 13 European spots at the finals
The event will see Asia's groups drawn first, followed by those in the Concacaf region, made up of countries in central and north America and the Caribbean.

About an hour into the draw, Europe will be put in the spotlight when its 53 teams are divided into nine qualifying groups - eight of six teams and one of five.

The winners of each European group will qualify for the World Cup finals and the best eight runners-up play off for four more qualifying berths.

The evening rounds off with the draw for the African Zone, where 48 teams will be placed into 12 groups of four teams.

There is no draw for South America and the Oceania region, who have already started their preliminary competition.


Europe has the biggest representation at the World Cup finals with 13 places

Africa will have three rounds of qualification, the first of which is already completed.

Asia has five stages of qualification, two of which have been completed

All Concacaf's 35 members have entered four stages of qualifying, the first two of which will be played on a knockout basis.

The 10 South American countries began their super group in October.

Oceania is already deep into its qualifying campaign with a group competition involving Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand and Vanuatu.
Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke said the seeding for qualifying groups in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Concacaf region had been determined.

However, he added that it needed to be ratified by the competition's organising committee, which meets in Durban on Saturday, before being announced.

The Fifa rankings are being used to determine the seeds for the various continental qualification groups.

[Jamaica2099]

Stories aplenty from CONCACAF

(FIFA.com) Saturday 24 November 2007

Qualifying campaigns in the North, Central American and Caribbean Zone have traditionally been dominated by heavyweights Mexico and the United States, but surprise results remain a common currency in the region. Who can forget Jamaica's historic qualification for France 1998, for example? Or more recently Trinidad and Tobago's dramatic play-off success that sealed a place at Germany 2006?

Read on as FIFA.com takes a look at some of the highlights of preliminary phases gone by.
Toughest groups
In Honduras, the pain of defeat in the second qualifying round for Germany 2006 still rankles. Los Catrachos were upset by unfancied Guatemala, who - led by inspirational forward Carlos Ruiz - forced their way through to the final six-team qualifying round alongside Costa Rica.
In fact, Honduras have been involved in several of the most exciting groups in recent memory. Back in the race for a spot at Spain 1982, Honduras and El Salvador both made it through from a group including a Mexico side spearheaded by goalscorer supreme Hugo Sanchez. The Tricolor would have their revenge on the road to Korea/Japan 2002, however, defeating the Central Americans in their final game to qualify alongside the USA and Costa Rica.

Classic matches
There are many observers who point to 19 November 1989 as the day the United States' were reborn as an international footballing force. On home territory in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago needed just a draw to qualify for Italia '90. Yet up stepped the USA's Paul Caligiuri to grab the only goal of the game and earn his country a place at the showpiece event, the first of an unbroken series of five consecutive appearances at world football's top table.
It would take 16 years for T&T to banish the painful memories of that fateful match. With Port of Spain the setting once more, the islanders held their collective breath as coach Leo Beenhakker guided his charges to an historic 2-1 win over Mexico and with it a play-off against Bahrain for a place at Germany 2006.
Biggest upsets
There is no doubt that Jamaica's qualification for France 1998 triggered some of the most flamboyant celebrations ever seen. The Reggae Boyz, who had failed even to reach the final qualifying round for USA 1994, stormed ahead of the likes of Costa Rica, El Salvador and Canada and ensured their supporters cut a colourful swathe across French soil that summer.
One side to have consistently punched above their weight are St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The national team of the tiny Caribbean archipelago have managed to qualify for every second qualifying phase in the North, Central American and Caribbean Zone since 1994 and continue to make progress. After losing every game in their first appearance at that stage, last time out they picked up a brace of wins against fellow surprise packages St. Kitts and Nevis.
Familiar foes
Given the region's footballing make-up, CONCACAF's biggest sides clash with remarkable frequency. As a result, supporters can look forward to showdowns of the calibre of Mexico-USA, Costa Rica-Honduras and Jamaica-Trinidad and Tobago every four years, historic encounters that could well be repeated on the road to South Africa

Months away, but FIFA whetting our appetites with rivalries already.