Welcome to the 2010 World Cup
Published November 4, 2009
Another thrilling round of qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and four more teams have made it to the football fiesta to be held in South Africa. Argentina, Honduras, Switzerland and Slovakia join 19 other teams, including hosts South Africa, who have already qualified for the World Cup 2010. That's 23 teams selected, and 9 more to go...
Russia may not have qualified for the World Cup, but they're the highest ranked team in the qualifier playoff. As for the Argentinean camp, former legendary player who once wore the number 10 soccer shirt, and current Argentina team coach, Diego Maradona, faced criticism from both the fans and the media. They feared that Argentina would fail to qualify under Maradona, but luck was on Argentina's side as Mario Bolatti scored a goal against Uruguay. So, with a 1-0 win, coach Maradona got his team a ticket to the World Cup, though in the fourth and last position with 28 points. It seems Maradona showed had some resentment to show towards the media after the game...
Argentina now join Brazil, Paraguay and Chile as one of the four teams from the South American Group to have secured a berth to South Africa. According to the CEO of the Organizing Committee, Dr Danny Jordaan, "The World Cup would not be the same without the presence of Diego Maradona and the Argentineans. With their qualification, fans at next year's tournament will also be able to watch one of the world's most talented players in Lionel Messi... Argentina has become a fixture in the World Cup and as one of the biggest teams in the history of the tournament, enjoys fanatical support at home and around the world."
As of now, the qualifying teams to the 2010 World Cup are: Africa: South Africa (as host), Ghana, Ivory Coast Asia: Japan, Australia, South Korea, North Korea Europe: England, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Serbia, Italy, Switzerland, Slovakia North America: USA, Mexico, Honduras South America: Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Argentina
In the Conacaf hexagonal, the US led with 20 points, followed by Mexico at 19 points, and both Honduras and Costa Rica with 16 points, though Costa Rica has less goals than Honduras. In the European Group, Slovakia qualified for the first time after defeating Poland by 1-0. And Switzerland qualified after drawing against Israel, making it the nation's ninth visit to the World Cup.
Now, Portugal, France, Russia, Greece, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ukraine and Republic of Ireland will meet each other at the play offs. The remaining nine teams who finally qualify for the 2010 World Cup well be known in November, while the final draw is expected to take place on the 4th of December 2009. "As more and more teams qualify for the World Cup next year the focus of the world and its media is beginning to shift toward the reality of the tournament, the teams who will be part of the tournament, the stars in those teams who will grace our fields and the performances we can expect from them," said Dr Danny Jordaan.
With the South African government and local population pulling out all stops to host this mega soccer tournament and do their country proud, block your dates, keep your favourite team's soccer uniforms ready to wear for a uniquely African tournament from June until the end of July 2010. Or, better still, be there in South Africa to catch the action live!
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