How France qualified for World Cup 2010

France's World Cup record: 1930 1st rd, 1934 1st rd, 1938 QF, 1954 1st rd, 1958 3rd, 1966 1st rd, 1978 1st rd, 1982 4th, 1986 3rd, 1998 Winners, 2002 1st rd, 2006 RU.

How France qualified for World Cup 2010: European play-off winners.

The Coach: Raymond Domenech (French, 57).Appointed: July 2004. WC experience: Player: None. Coach: 2006. He won eight caps as a player and he has made hard work of qualifying for two World Cup finals, even he did reach the final in between.

The Country: France are like England: they have won on home territory and the expectation ahead of every tournament is that they will win the World Cup again.

France came close last time, losing on penalties in the final to Italy when Zinedine Zidane attracted most of the headlines. It should not be forgotten that Les Bleus started the 2006 campaign badly, only just qualifying for the knockout stages, so the luck of their success against the Republic of Ireland should be taken in context.

France's campaign for 2010 qualification got off to a disappointing start with a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Austria in Vienna and speculation followed regarding the future of Domenech.

Despite qualification the jury is still out on the coach. A man who is of Spanish and Catalan descent admitted he had problems with former Arsenal player Robert Pires ... because of his Scorpio star sign.

Pires said at the time: "I must be annoying him. It's like being at school. It's like I'm 20 years old and playing football for the first time." South Africa could be the same.

Telegraph verdict: Any right-minded football fan will regard the French as the tournament’s bête noire after Thierry Henry’s disgraceful cheating to deny the Irish. They seem to progress in spite of – rather than because of – their coach and like Argentina are guilty of a criminal misuse of talent. However if harnessed, as was eventually proved in the last World Cup, could go far.

Source - Telegraph.co.uk

South African Bafana team ready to suprise in 2010

According to some of the world's football greats, who have travelled from far and wide to Cape Town to attend the Final Draw for the 2010 Fifa World Cup™, what millions of people see on TV on Friday night and when they arrive in South Africa next year will come as a pleasant surprise.

Brazilian football legend and former World Cup winner Cafu said he was more than impressed by what he had seen in South Africa since his arrival last month.

"When I was in Brazil I thought [the Final Draw] would all be well organised, but I did not know it would be so well organised. I am honoured to be here and to be part of this week so far," said the retired footballer who still holds the record for the most number of caps for Brazil – 143.

But while Cafu has been surprised by what he has seen, former England great and World Cup Ambassador Gary Mabbut believes it is the travelling fans who will get the biggest surprise next year.

"I have no doubt in my mind that the world will be surprised by what South Africa has to offer. We are going to give the world a big surprise and I don’t think the world is ready for it. I believe everybody is going to get a huge wake-up call when they see what South Africa is capable of," Mabbut said.

His sentiments were echoed by Jamaican Football Association president Captain Horace Burrell, who encouraged football fans to visit South Africa next year.

"Come to South Africa. It is going to be an experience that you will never have expected. It is going to be fun. It is going to be filled with laughter. There will be dancing and singing and vuvuzelas being blown in the stadium. It is going been a massive party the likes of which the world has never seen. South Africa is the place to be."

Burrell dismissed concerns that a poor showing from the South African national side would have a negative effect on attendance figures on next year's tournament.

"People are going to be coming here for an exciting time. The world will be here, and my personal view is that whatever happens, this World Cup is going to be the greatest one of all. Based on the tremendous amount of interest from all over the world, I believe the stadiums will still be full even if South Africa don't do well."

With Cape Town hosting a number sporting icons and celebrities, thousands of people will gather in the city centre to see them arrive and many more will attend the Fifa Fan Fest in Cape Town's Long Street to watch the Draw.

The galaxy of football stars attending the event includes Luis Figo, Abedi Pele Ayew, George Weah, Garry Mabbut, David Beckham, Ruud Gullit, Fernando Hierro and Gabriel Omar Batistuta.

Beckham, who will be a draw assistant tonight will be joined on stage by two-time Olympic gold medallist and nine-time athletics world champion Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, South African cricket legend Makhaya Ntini, John Smit, the captain of the world cup winning South African rugby team, and South African football player Matthew Booth.

Oscar winning South African actress Charlize Theron will be the guest presenter and will assist Fifa secretary-general Jerome Valcke, who will be in charge of the actual draw.

Guests tonight will include Issa Hayatou, chairman of the Organising Committee for the Fifa World Cup, Nobel Peace Prize winners FW de Klerk and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, as well as former football icons Franz Beckenbauer, Michel Platini, Eusebio, Marcel Desailly and Roger Milla.

Source: 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa Organising Committee

Third Ticket Phase 2010 world cup Starts

Third ticketing sales phase to kick off on 5 December.

A global rush for 2010 FIFA World Cup™ tickets is expected on 5 December 2009.

“It’s traditionally by far the most important sales phase, as the world’s football fans will by then know who will be playing whom in the group matches,” said Horst R. Schmidt, chairman of the Ticketing Sub-Committee, ahead of the start of the next sales phase.

The tournament line-up will pit many of the world’s football superpowers against each other and will include most of the game’s leading international stars.

Applications for tickets to Africa’s first FIFA World Cup™ can be made via FIFA.com. South African residents also have the chance to apply for tickets via application forms available in all FNB branches across the country. “The good news for all football fans wanting to experience this special event is that about one million tickets for all 64 matches and categories will become available in the third sales phase – including a limited number for the opening match and the final.” Fans will have to apply within 49 days (until 22 January) for individual match tickets or Team-Specific Series. If there are over-subscribed matches or categories, or over-subscribed ticket products or categories, there will be an electronic random selection draw on 1 February to identify the successful applicants.

“We’re confident that our preparations for the tournament are going extremely well. Now, it’s time to focus on the teams and the stars coming to South Africa 2010, for the global football world to see who their teams will be up against and for our Host Cities and residents to gear up to welcome the teams that will be heading their way. We encourage fans in South Africa and around the world to grab this chance to get tickets for what will be an unforgettable event,” said Danny Jordaan, Chief Executive Officer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa.

So far, a total of 674,403 tickets have been sold, corresponding to 90% of the tickets made available to date. Of those tickets, 53.6% (361,582) have been purchased by South African residents. The foreign country that has purchased the most tickets is the United States (84,103 tickets), followed by the UK (48,388), Germany (25,112), Australia (17,876), Canada (11,662), Switzerland (11,045), Japan (10,558) and Brazil (8,006). There are two types of ticket products available: individual match tickets for a specific match as well as Team-Specific Ticket Series (TST) to follow the national team of the customer’s choice. Applicants can apply for a maximum of four tickets per match and for up to a maximum of seven matches. The maximum number of TSTs that each applicant can apply for is four.

The prices for group matches range from USD 20 to USD 160 (opening match: USD 70 – USD 450; final: USD 150 – USD 900) or ZAR 140 to ZAR 1,120 (opening match ZAR 490 – ZAR 3,150; final: ZAR 1,050 – ZAR 6,300. Category 4 tickets, the most affordable, have been exclusively set aside for South African residents.

All 32 participating member associations will be allocated 12 per cent of all purchasable tickets in the stadiums where their three group games will be played. These tickets will be available through individual websites operated by the 32 participating member associations.

Football fans can also purchase authorised travel packages through participating tour operators appointed by FIFA through MATCH Event Services Pty Limited by clicking the link on the right hand side.

Source - FIFA.COM

Summary of 2010 World Cup FIFA Final Draw Results

2010 FIFA WORLD CUP DRAW RESULTS

CAPE TOWN: Asia’s four teams in the 2010 FIFA World Cup discovered the identity of their rivals after the draw for the Finals here on Saturday.

AFC

2010 FIFA WORLD CUP GROUPINGS Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, Korea Republic, Greece Group C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana, Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia Group G: Brazil, Korea DPR, Côte d'Ivoire, Portugal Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile Source - iransportspress.com