32 teams but where are the slots allocated

[UMass]

The European get 13 spots
S America gets 4 1/2 spots playoff w/ CONCACAF
Concacaf gets 3 1/2 spots playoff w/ S American
Asia gets 4 1/2 spots
this is what I am sure of but where are the remaining spots go
Africa gets 5 spots but S south Africa is automatic so are they getting 6 spots w/ s Africa?
That leaves Ocianic group w/ a playoff against Asia 1/2 spot. Do they get 2 spots.
Link would be helpful and I read the fifa link....no help

World Cup 2007
11 June to 11 July 2010.
32 teams

1. European teams 13
2. African 6 including South Africa
3. South America 4 ½ *
4. CONCACAF 3 ½ *
5. ASIA 4 ½
6. Oceanic 2 ½


32 teams, 31 slots up for grabs
South Africa qualify automatically as the host nation, so the rest of the world will be competing for the remaining 31 places in the final phase. As has been the case at past tournaments, the majority of teams will come from Europe, which has 13 slots.
African teams have an interesting three years ahead of them, since this will be their first FIFA World Cup on home soil and in front of their own partisan fans. Each of Africa's participating nations will therefore be doubly keen to secure one of the five berths available.
South America have been allocated four places, with a further slot available via a play-off with a team from the North, Central American and Caribbean Zone, who themselves have three guaranteed places.
Asia will be represented by four teams at the tournament, with a fifth berth also available via a play-off with the winners of the Oceania Zone.
Preliminary draw in Durban
The majority of the teams who have successfully submitted their application by 1 March will go into the various pots for the preliminary draw, which will take place on 23 November 2007 in Durban. South Africa's second largest city, situated on the Indian Ocean, will provide a picturesque backdrop for this widely followed event, where qualifying groups and ties will be drawn for all six confederations.
By the time the draw takes place, however, some teams will have already got their campaigns underway, with the qualifying process in a number of confederations starting much earlier.
Oceania to get the ball rolling
The first qualifying matches will be held as early as August 2007, when the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) hosts the South Pacific Games from 25 August to 8 September, which will serve as a preliminary qualifying tournament for the Oceania Zone. The top three teams will then go on to meet New Zealand in the OFC Nations Cup from 8 September to 21 November 2007, with home and away games between the four teams to determine the winners and runners-up.
thanks

[dfb547490]

2.5 spots for Oceania?? No f'ing way. They were going to have an automatic spot, but I suspect it'll only be a half-spot now that Australia is gone.

My guess is it'll look something like this:

CONCACAF - 3.5 (undeserved, but US and Mexico are both huge TV markets for FIFA and they can't afford to risk either team not qualifying)
SA - 4.5
Africa - 5.5 (incl SA)
Asia - 4.5
Oceania - .5
Europe - 13.5

Playoffs - Asia vs Oceania, CONCACAF vs SA, Europe vs Africa

[thespian89]

Wait..I'm confused..what are you asking? The slots will be allocated as following.

UEFA: 13
CONMEBOL: 4.5; 0.5= 5th place vs 4th place CONCACAF
CONCACAF: 3.5; 0.5= 4th place vs 5th place CONMEBOL
CAF: 6 including SA
AFC: 4.5; 0.5= 5th place vs 1st place OFC
OFC: 0.5; 0.5= 1st place vs 5th place AFC

[giffenbone]

I thought it was already decided

1 - South Africa (Host)
13 - Europe
4 - South America
3 - North America
4 - Asia
5 - Africa
1 - playoff between North America and South America
1 - playoff between Asia and Oceania

= 32

[westsidepunk]

I had heard that there was a possibility of the OFC 1/2 spot actually being placed into the final round of Asian qualifying and having the spot decided through that process.

[ussoccerFan12358]

Nope.

[FnordUnitedFC]

In an ideal world, instead of confederations squabbling over 1/2 spots, I'd love to see a World Playoff to get into the World Cup (like we have now for the 0.5 slots). Something like this would be awesome.

Guaranteed slots:
1 - South Africa
9 - UEFA
2 - CONCACAF
3 - CONMEBOL
3 - CAF
2 - Asia

Guaranteed slots: 20

Playoff slots: 12 (24 teams - home and home)

UEFA - 7
CONMEBOL - 3
CONCACAF - 4
Africa - 4
Asia - 4
Oceania - 2

24 teams, random draw FA cup style, home and home series played something like on 2 day in October 2009. All 12 matches the same day. No seeding in the playoffs, you get who you get. All of the UEFA boys think that they deserve 16 slots? Great, go win your 7 playoff games and earn them.

Africans think that they deserve 8? Awesome, go earn them. Same for every confederation. You get the chance to play your way in. Much fairer than the politics now that decide who gets what.

A pipe dream I know, but the World Playoffs would be awesome to watch.

[jpg75]

I agree a world playoff would be nice, but a more realistic scenario would be a 4 team playoff based in Hawaii. Oceania winner, CONCACAF 4th, AFC 5th and CONMEBOL 5th compete for the final 2 spots.

giffenbone and thespian are correct...

[Ringo]

I agree a world playoff would be nice, but a more realistic scenario would be a 4 team playoff based in Hawaii. Oceania winner, CONCACAF 4th, AFC 5th and CONMEBOL 5th compete for the final 2 spots.

more realistic but yet completely unrealistic.

[jpg75]

more realistic but yet completely unrealistic.

Yeah, but it sounds like fun!

[scaryice]

I had heard that there was a possibility of the OFC 1/2 spot actually being placed into the final round of Asian qualifying and having the spot decided through that process.

Yeah, that's correct.

[Eleven Bravo]

I'm not saying CONCACAF is the best region, but i definately think 3.5 is the deserved amount of teams given for a 32+ global tournament.

USA and Mexico have proven that they are a contender to make it to the next rounds...even though the US didn't get out of group play in 06, they did tie and outplay the champs, and were in the group of death. 2010 should be a different story.

Costa Rica is better than a lot of the crap in the World Cup. Angola and Togo are not better than Costa Rica. I'd say that Costa Rica is on lines with Ecuador, but they'll never get that respect because they're in CONCACAF.

Canada is a growing soccer nation. I don't see how they didn't make it to the hex, but i definately feel with the arrival of Toronto FC, you will see Canada become more and more of a contender for the CONCACAF super power. In other words, i really feel that if they could get a good coach to change their program around, they will join the ranks of USA and Mexico as the superpowers of CONCACAF.

Jamaica and Honduras are a lot better than their results say. If they could just get half a descent coach they would alright. granted, they'll never be a contender for the whole thing, but they could be a spoiler and have the potential to make it to the second round.

And nations like Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba, Guatemala, and maybe El Salvador, Grenada, and Haiti are no worse than a country like TOGO!!!

...other than that CONCACAF is absolutely horrible. ;)

[Adam Zebrowski]

when t&t hired beenhaker, they were NOT in the mix for germany...

beenhaker took, them, got them organized defensively, and pl;aying together as a team. and with mexico dumping their lasy match got to germany...

jamaica and honduras have better talent. and david suazo might be the best player in concacaf...

geberally though, outside usa, costa rica and mexico, depth is a major issue, a drop-off occurs over a long qualification with cards and injuries plaguing the 2nd tier squads...

but t&t shows how it can be done, even with faded stars

[TrueCrew]

For my money...

Oceania should have a berth. The whole reason Australila went to Asia was because FIFA went back on a promise to give them a guaranteed berth. FIFA did NOT decide to give them only a 1/2 spot BECAUSE Australia went to Asia.

4.5 for Asia is way too many. (Hell, 4 may be too many). Japan, S. Korea, and not much else. Saudi's are decent. Iran. No more than 4. China should be 5th, but they stink. No teams in the 16 last time.

3.5 for CONCACAF is too many. 3 Should be the number. We performed well in '02. 2 teams in the final 16 and Costa Rica going out on GD in a group that included Turkey and Brazil (SF and winners). Still, not much outside the Big 2. Honduras, Costa Rica, Jamaica, T&T. Not much else.

What I'd like to see:
UEFA: 14 (or 13.5)
Africa: 5
South America: 5 (or 4.5)
Asia: 4 (or 4.5)
Concacaf: 3 (or 3.5)
Oceania: 1

If you have to have playoffs, pit the little regions (CONCACAF/Asia) against South America and Europe. If the weaker confederations think they deserve more teams, let them prove it vs. the big boys.

We're halfway there w/ CONCACAF vs. CONMEBOL, now just pit Asia vs. Europe for the last spot. FIFA have it wrong.

[FnordUnitedFC]

For my money...

Oceania should have a berth. The whole reason Australila went to Asia was because FIFA went back on a promise to give them a guaranteed berth. FIFA did NOT decide to give them only a 1/2 spot BECAUSE Australia went to Asia.

4.5 for Asia is way too many. (Hell, 4 may be too many). Japan, S. Korea, and not much else. Saudi's are decent. Iran. No more than 4. China should be 5th, but they stink. No teams in the 16 last time.

3.5 for CONCACAF is too many. 3 Should be the number. We performed well in '02. 2 teams in the final 16 and Costa Rica going out on GD in a group that included Turkey and Brazil (SF and winners). Still, not much outside the Big 2. Honduras, Costa Rica, Jamaica, T&T. Not much else.

What I'd like to see:
UEFA: 14 (or 13.5)
Africa: 5
South America: 5 (or 4.5)
Asia: 4 (or 4.5)
Concacaf: 3 (or 3.5)
Oceania: 1

If you have to have playoffs, pit the little regions (CONCACAF/Asia) against South America and Europe. If the weaker confederations think they deserve more teams, let them prove it vs. the big boys.

We're halfway there w/ CONCACAF vs. CONMEBOL, now just pit Asia vs. Europe for the last spot. FIFA have it wrong.

What has Africa done to deserve five spots? Was it the 1 team out of 5 that qualified for round 2 in 1990?

Perhaps it was the 1 team out of 5 that made round 2 in 1994?

Or maybe the 1 team out of 5 that made round 2 in 1998?

Of course there's the 1 team of 5 that made round 2 in 2002.

And don't forget the 1 team out of 5 that made round 2 in 2006.

Just for comparison, CONCACAF in that time went:
1/2 in 1990
2/2 in 1994
1/3 in 1998
2/3 in 2002
1/4 in 2006
Total: 7/14 vs. Africa 5/25

The great African revolution that was supposed to come never manifests itself at world cup time, and cup after cup they disappoint. I can't justify 5 spots for CONCACAF (hell I have a hard time justifying 3.5), don't get me wrong, but it is difficult to justify 5 (never mind the joke of a SIX they get with the host this time) for Africa either.

[nobody]

Whenever I see people complain about CONCACAF getting too many spots, all I can think about is how Asia gets even more.

32 teams is just a big field. No matter how you allocate the spots, you're going to have a whole bunch of no hopers out there.

[giffenbone]

I'd really like it if they gave 32 spots to CONCACAF and 0 to everybody else :D

Then maybe we'd at least have a shot at winning it all...

[FuzzyForeigner]

CONCACAF - 3.5 (undeserved, but US and Mexico are both huge TV markets for FIFA and they can't afford to risk either team not qualifying)


Concacaf=480 million people

so what would be deserved? 2.5?

[FuzzyForeigner]

No matter how you allocate the spots, you're going to have a whole bunch of no hopers out there.

that's the romance of the world cup though. Potentially even the Fiji Islands have a shot. I think that the no hopers add a cool dimension. Otherwise it would just be a tourney among Brazil, Argentina, Italy, France, and Germany. And that would be lame.

[TrueCrew]

What has Africa done to deserve five spots? Was it the 1 team out of 5 that qualified for round 2 in 1990?

Perhaps it was the 1 team out of 5 that made round 2 in 1994?

Or maybe the 1 team out of 5 that made round 2 in 1998?

Of course there's the 1 team of 5 that made round 2 in 2002.

And don't forget the 1 team out of 5 that made round 2 in 2006.

Just for comparison, CONCACAF in that time went:
1/2 in 1990
2/2 in 1994
1/3 in 1998
2/3 in 2002
1/4 in 2006
Total: 7/14 vs. Africa 5/25

The great African revolution that was supposed to come never manifests itself at world cup time, and cup after cup they disappoint. I can't justify 5 spots for CONCACAF (hell I have a hard time justifying 3.5), don't get me wrong, but it is difficult to justify 5 (never mind the joke of a SIX they get with the host this time) for Africa either.

First, Africa has more depth than CONCACAF. How many CONCACAF TEAMS have made it into the round of 16? Two. USA and Mexico. OK, Costa Rica in 1990. Its the same two/three teams every time! The only other teams that even threaten to qualify are Jamaica, T&T, and Honduras. That's six teams. Only five of which have actually qualified over that span.

Meanwhile, Africa have qualified more teams (yes, from a larger pool). Cameroon, Nigeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Angola, Togo. With more teams coming close. They have more quality teams that we do. Africa has MORE GOOD TEAMS. Period.

I'd make any of the above (save possibly Angola and Togo, though I love Adebayor) following favorites to finish 3rd (or higher) in CONCACAF. If you want to play for 4th: lots more African teams come in. Ivory Coast played well, in any other group they go through.

Second, your stats are wrong on the number of African teams. But the general gist is still correct.

1990: Italy: Africa 1/2; CONCACAF 1/2
(Cameroon and Costa Rica in, Egypt and USA out)
Costa Rica blown out in 16's 4-1 to Czech's, Cameroon loses 3-2 to England in a.e.t.: almost made the semi's)

1994: USA: Africa 1/3, CONCACAF 2/2
(Nigeria, USA, and Mexico in, Cameroon and Morocco out)
Everyone out at 16: USA 0-1 Brazil; Mexico 1:1 1:3 pens Bulgaria a.e.t; Nigeria 1:2 Italy a.e.t.
USA as the host got a seed and an easy group.

1998: France: now we have 32 teams! Africa: 1/5, Concacaf 1/3
(Nigeria and Mexico in; Morocco, Cameroon, Tunisia, South Africa, USA and Jamaica out)
Both out in the 16: Mexico loses to Germany 1:2; Nigeria pummeled by Denmark 1:4.

2002: Korea/Japan: Concacaf 2/3; Africa 1/5
(Senegal, USA, Mexico in; South Africa and Costa Rica narrowly out; Nigeria, Cameroon, and Tunisia out)
Mexico out to USA 1:2; USA out to Germany at quaters 0:1; Senegal out at quarters to Turkey 0:1 a.e.t.

2006: Germany: Concacaf 1/4; Africa 1/5
(Mexico and Ghana in; Ivory Coast out in a tough Group; USA, Costa Rica, T&T, Tunisia, Angola, Togo out.)
Ghana beats the USA in group. Mexico draws Angola.
Ghana out at 16 to Brazil: 0:3; Mexico loses heartbreaker to Argentina 1:2 a.e.t.

Totals since 1990: CONCACAF 7/14; Africa 5/18
CONCACAF: 1 Quarterfinal (USA 1990); Africa: 2 Quarterfinals (Cameroon 1990, Senegal 1998).

Last, Africa has more big time players. FIFA player of the year caliber who cut their teeth in the top leagues in the world. CONCACAF does not.

Also, 2010 will give a chance to see how Africa does as the host: similar to 1994 in the USA. Should boost other African teams as well.

I'm comfortable with Africa having 5. They certainly are deeper. And performed well vs. CONCACAF at Germany, not to mention Morocco beating us in a friendly.