The 2010 FIFA World Cup will take place in South Africa and people are already talking about it. The following countries have qualified such as North Korea [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea], South Korea [Republic of Korea], Japan, Australia, Netherlands, and South Africa.

Before predicting, it would be better to take a look at what has transpired at the present time.

North Korea qualified when it managed to produce a draw in its game against Saudi Arabia and the inability of Iran to defeat South Korea. South Korea earned its qualification after defeating the United Arab Emirates. The Netherlands became the first country from Europe to qualify after defeating Iceland.

Australia was able to qualify after a draw against Qatar while Japan qualified after its victory over Uzbekistan. South Africa is the host and has qualified. The rest of the world is asking the question and making predictions about who will qualify. In the case of the CONCACAF Qualifiers, Mexico and the United States are playing against each other with the hope of being able to participate in the World Cup.

In the CONCACAF, the first three teams are able to qualify. Costa Rica is in first place with 12 points, 4 wins, 0 draws, and 1 loss. The USA is in second place with 10 points, 3 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss. Honduras is in third place with 7 points, 2 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses. While Mexico in fourth place with 6 points, 2 wins, 0 draws, and 3 losses, it needs to win against the USA in order to maintain any hope of going to the World Cup.

The USA has to win its game against Mexico in order to remain in the competition for the 2010 World Cup. It has not been an easy road for the USA even though its team is better than when the USA hosted the 1994 World Cup. The concept of soccer has taken root in the USA as well. My prediction is that Costa Rica and the USA have the biggest possibilities of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup under the CONCACAF Banner barring a freak accident.

New Zealand has the possibility of qualifying after winning the Oceanian Zone qualification but it would have to play against the team that is fourth or fifth place in the Asian standings. The countries that could play against New Zealand would be Saudi Arabia and Bahrein. I predict that Saudi Arabia will defeat Bahrein and then go on to defeat New Zealand

The South American Continent will have Brazil qualifying since it its in first place with 27 points, 7 wins, 6 draws, and 1 loss. Chile is in second place with 26 points, 8 wins, 2 draws, and 4 losses. Paraguay is in third place 24 points, 7 wins, 3 draws, and 4 losses. Argentina is in fourth place with 22 points, 6 wins, 4 draws, and 4 losses. My prediction is that Brazil and Argentina will qualify as perennial favorites although Argentina may have a rough time.

The European and African countries are already attempting to resolve their qualifications dilemna. It would be impossible to predict who would qualify since there are many good teams. According to the rules governing Europe, there are nine groups. The winners of the nine groups would have an automatic qualification with the runner ups going into play off matches. The only thing that could be said is that I wish the best for the teams that are competing in this important sporting tournament.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/h i/football/internationals/8087 418.stm

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/p reliminaries/nccamerica/standi ngs/index.html

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/p reliminaries/southamerica/stan dings/index.html

http://www.helium.com/items/1549350-who-quailfies-2010-fifa-world-cup