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 11 October 2008 09:09 BST

Croatia for England again

Sunday, 25 Nov 2007 20:32
England drawn against Croatia in 2010 World Cup qualifying draw
England have been drawn against Croatia for the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, days after being beaten 3-2 at Wembley by Slaven Bilic's side.

Managerless England, seeded in the second pot for South Africa 2010, will also face Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Andorra in group six.

Scotland face a difficult task in qualifying for their first World Cup since France 1998 after being drawn alongside Holland, Norway, FYR Macedonia and Iceland in group seven.

Northern Ireland, in group three, will have to overcome Czech Republic and Poland, while Wales face the challenge of finishing above Germany, Russia or Finland in group four.

World champions Italy meanwhile have been drawn in group eight against Bulgaria, the Republic of Ireland, Cyprus, Georgia and Montenegro.

Click here for the full draw.

The nine group winners from the European section will automatically qualify for South Africa 2010, with the eight best group runners-up playing off against each other for the remaining four spots.

The entire map for the road to South Africa is being laid out in Durban today, with the pitting of South Korea and North Korea in group three of the Asian qualifying section among the other highlights.

Qualification has already begun in Oceania, while Paraguay top the South American 'super-group' after four qualifying games.

Only South Africa are guaranteed a place among the 32 teams that will take part in football's biggest tournament in 2010.

As well as the hosts a further five teams from the continent out of 48 are bidding for their place at the finals, while the top four teams from Asia and South America, as well as three from the Concacaf region, will also qualify.

The remaining two spots will be determined in play-offs between the winner of the Oceania group – likely to be New Zealand after Australia moved into the Asian qualifying zone – and the fifth-best Asian team; and the fifth-placed South American team versus the Concacaf team that finishes fourth.

New Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke presided over today's draw, supported by South African president Thabo Mbeki and Fifa president Sepp Blatter.

Also in attendance were some of Africa's greatest ever players, including Liberia's George Weah, Abedi Pele of Ghana, former Leeds star Lucas Radebe of South Africa and Ghanaian-born France World Cup winner Marcel Desailly.

European qualifying section

Group one
Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Albania, Malta
Group two
Greece, Israel, Switzerland, Moldova, Latvia, Luxembourg
Group three
Czech Republic, Poland, Northern Ireland, Slovakia, Slovenia, San Marino
Group four
Germany, Russia, Finland, Wales, Azerbaijan, Lichtenstein
Group five
Spain, Turkey, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Armenia, Estonia
Group six
Croatia, England, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Andorra
Group seven
France, Romania, Serbia, Lithuania, Austria, Faroe Islands
Group eight
Italy, Bulgaria, Republic of Ireland, Cyprus, Georgia, Montenegro
Group nine
Holland, Scotland, Norway, FYR Macedonia, Iceland

Click here for the full draw.End of story


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