The South Africa 2010 World Cup draw - as it happened

Published on Friday 4 December 2009 15:49

THE draw for next year's World Cup in South Africa is held today, from 5.15pm UK time, and you can find out the results as they happen here.

The stage is set at the Cape Town International Convention Centre

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GROUP A

Team 1: South Africa

Team 2: Mexico

Team 3: Uruguay

Team 4: France

GROUP B

Team 1: Argentina

Team 2: South Korea

Team 3: Nigeria

Team 4: Greece

GROUP C

Team 1: England

Team 2: USA

Team 3: Algeria

Team 4: Slovenia

GROUP D

Team 1: Germany

Team 2: Australia

Team 3: Ghana

Team 4: Serbia

GROUP E

Team 1: Netherlands

Team 2: Japan

Team 3: Cameroon

Team 4: Denmark

GROUP F

Team 1: Italy

Team 2: New Zealand

Team 3: Paraguay

Team 4: Slovakia

GROUP G

Team 1: Brazil

Team 2: North Korea

Team 3: Ivory Coast

Team 4: Portugal

GROUP H

Team 1: Spain

Team 2: Honduras

Team 3: Chile

Team 4: Switzerland

18.37: Provisional schedule for 2010 World Cup.

18.32: As for England? Could have been better, could have been worse. Most English fans will be disappointed if they fail to make the knock-out stages. Then again, most English fans will be disappointed if they don't win it.

18.27: So there we have it. Toughest group? Difficult to say but on paper it's perhaps Group A. France, Uruguay and Mexico are all ranked in the world's top 20 and South Africa will have home advantage. Softest group? Well there are no easy games at this level, if you'll pardon the cliche, but there won't be many sleepless nights in Italy this weekend...

18.22: It's Slovenia for England.

18.21: One pot to go and it's the European teams. Should be interesting...

18.19: Tough groups so far; A, B and E. Easy groups (for the top seeds) F and G. No need to speak any language other than Spanish group; H.

18:17: England's next opponent is Algeria,

18.10: England will play USA first.

18.08: South Africa v Mexico will be the opening game.

18.02: Charlize Theron is now introducing a host of South African sporting stars on to the stage - and David Beckham.

17.55: The message they keep repeating this evening: "South Africa is ready".

17.52: At last. Here we go...

17.44: Nelson Mandela video address: "In Africa, soccer enjoys great popularity and has a particular place in the hearts of people. This is why it is so important that the Fifa World Cup will for the first time ever be hosted on the African Continent in 2010. We feel privileged and humbled that South Africa has been given the singular honour of being the host country."

17.39: In case you're planning ahead, the World Cup takes place between 11 June and 11 July.

17.21: The draw begins in about 25 minutes and is expected to be spun out over an hour and a half.

17.13: David Beckham is in South Africa to help England's 2018 World Cup bid.

16.57: The draw ceremonies have become more lavish in recent times. Today's event is billed as an African celebration. Nobel Peace laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Frederik W. de Klerk will be among the attendees, while Nelson Mandela – at 91, he is frail and now makes few public appearances – will address the crowd of 3,000 through a video message.

16.22: Football Association chairman Lord Triesman predicted England "will sail through" the group stage if they keep to their qualifying campaign form.

What do you think? And who will you be supporting? Leave your comment below or send it to [e-mail]

16.18: A reminder of how the draw works...

Eight groups of four will drawn, each group containing one team from each pot.

POT 1 (Seeds)

South Africa, Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Argentina, England.

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.

16.15: A touch of glamour will be provided by Hollywood actress Charlize Theron, who will be drawing the teams along with Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke.

16.14: Hundreds of millions of fans are expected to follow the draw today, knowing that the pure luck of how teams are picked from the four pots will go a long way to deciding who wins the trophy in 2010.

16.05: England manager Fabio Capello claims he's not fazed by 'group of death' scenario which would include France or Portugal as well as a side like Ivory Coast, who boast Didier Drogba and Barcelona's Yaya Toure.