So here we are, 32 teams finally made it through the qualifying rounds and will now be allocated their respective groups for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.Visit this site later as we will be streaming the draw LIVE.
What: Fifa World Cup 2010 draw
Where: Cape Town, South Africa
When: December 4, 2009 5pm GMT.
The 32 nations will be drawn into eight groups of four with the top two in each group progressing to the knockout stages, beginning with a round of 16.
The teams will be seeded in four pots which have been confirmed by Fifa:
Pot 1: (seeds)
South Africa, Germany, Brazil, Italy, Spain, England, Holland, Argentina.
Pot 2: (Asia, Oceania and North/Central America)
Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Mexico, Honduras.
Pot 3: (Africa and South America)
Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Algeria, Paraguay, Chile, Uruguay.
Pot 4: (Europe)
France, Portugal, Slovenia, Switzerland, Greece, Serbia, Denmark, Slovakia.
* Hosts South Africa will be automatically positioned as A1; the other seeded teams will be drawn into the other groups B-H, but will always be in position ‘1’ of their group.
* Groups will be drawn from A to H and the positions in the group will be drawn for Pots two to four
* Geographical criteria will also be respected, meaning that no two teams from the same confederation will be drawn in the same group (except European teams, where a maximum of two will be in a group). For example, South Africa cannot play the African teams from Pot 3 and Argentina and Brazil cannot be drawn against the three remaining South American teams.
South African Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron has been unveiled as a guest presenter for the draw, alongside the draw’s host Carol Manana, South Africa’s self-styled ‘First Lady of Sport’. Theron and Manana will be joined on stage by England’s David Beckham, Ethiopia’s two-time Olympic gold medallist Haile Gebrselassie, South Africa’s first black international cricketer Makhaya Ntini, Springbok Rugby World Cup-winning captain John Smit and South African footballer Matthew Booth.
South Africa president Jacob Zuma, and Fifa president Sepp Blatter will welcome the audience, and other guests include Franz Beckenbauer, Michel Platini, Eusebio and Roger Milla. Former South African president Nelson Mandela will address the audience by video message. Other attendees include Nobel Peace Prize winners FW de Klerk and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.