6 June 2009 marked the next step in the build up to the 2010 Soccer World Cup with the first national teams qualifying for the largest soccer event in the world.

As a host, South Africa’s national team, Bafana Bafana is automatically qualified for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Japan, Australia, the Korea republic and The Netherlands were the first teams qualifying.

The first team to qualify for FIFA 2010 was Japan, currently ranked 31st in the FIFA world ranking, on 6 June. Japans national team beat Uzbekistan 0-1.

Australia’s national soccer team, the socceroos, secured their entry to the FIFA World Cup with a 0-0 Draw against Qatar. Both Japan and Australia accumulated 14 points in 6 games.

Korea Republic was the third team to qualify beating United Arab Emirates 2-0/ The South Korean national team is currently ranked 46 in the world.

The Dutch national soccer squad was the fourth to qualify; The Netherlands, currently ranked 2nd in the FIFA World Ranking for national teams beat Iceland 1-2 in to qualify. The Dutch were unbeaten in their Group 9 with 18 points in 6 qualification matches.

Korea DPR surprised the world by being the next to qualify on 17 June. The squad won the opportunity to participate in the tournament for the first time since 1966 after a goalless draw against Saudi Arabia.

Brazil qualified for its 19th World Cup after a  3-1 victory over Argentina. Brazil is the only country that has played in every World Cup since the first tournament in 1930 and the team has won the World Cup 5 times.

Ghana’s national soccer team, the Black Stars have also qualified for the 2010 World Cup after a 2 - 0 win against Sudan on Sunday 6 Sepetmber 2009.

The European Champion, Spain qualified for the World Cup 2010 after a 3-0 win against Estonia. Cesc  Fábregas scored the first goal. Spain have won all the 8 qualification matches.

England qualified for the 2010 World Cup after beating Croatia. England showed the world that they are a serious candidate to compete for the World Cup. They beat Croatia by 5-1.

Paraguay won their match against Argentina 1-0. Paraguay have qualified as the second South America team for the 2010 World Cup 2010.

Denmark beat Sweden 1-0 to qualify for South Africa FIFA 2010 World Cup.

Despite playing with only 10 players Germany qualified for World Cup 2010 after beating Russia 1-0.

Serbia qualified for the World Cup after a 5-0 win against Romania.

Italy qualified after a draw against Ireland. ITALY scraped a draw against the Republic of Ireland to join Germany, Denmark and Serbia as the latest European teams to secure 2010 World Cup places.

The Ivory Coast qualified and is the second African country to qualify they've got a point to prove for the African continent. They beat Malawi 1-1 to qualify.

Chile qualified for the World Cup 2010 after a 4-2 victory over Colombia.

The USA are on their way to South Africa after beating Honduras 2-3.

The Mexicans earned their place in the FIFA C 2010 World Cup after a 4-1 win against El Salvador.

Argentina booked their place at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa finals as substitute Mario Bolatti hit a later winner to end Uruguay's hopes of snatching automatic qualification.

Switzerland and Slovakia are the last two European sides to book automatic places at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa after clinching top spot in groups 2 and 3 respectively on the final day of qualifiers.

New Zealand qualified for the World Cup finals on Saturday 14 November 2009 with a 1-0 win over Bahrain in the Asia/Oceania final second leg.

Nigeria qualified for South Africa 2010 after defeating Kenya's Harambee Stars 3-2.

Nigeria: The Nigerian's qualified for South Africa 2010 after defeating Kenya's Harambee Stars 3-2.

France: The French beat the Republic of Ireland 2-1 to reach World Cup finals. A blatant handball from Thierry Henry set up an extra-time winner for defender William Gallas and handed France a controversial passage into the World Cup finals.

Greece: The team qualified for the 2010 World Cup finals when they beat Ukraine 1-0 in the second leg of their playoff in Donetsk.

Algeria: The African squad became the last African nation to qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals after beating Egypt 1-0.

Portugal: Coached by former Bafana Bafana mentor Carlos Queiroz, the team qualified for the World Cup for the third time in a row when they beat Bosnia 1-0.

Slovenia: The European team earned their ticket when they beat Russia, who finished with nine men, 1-0.

Uruguay: The team completed the list of 32 nations that will be competing in South Africa in June next year with a 1-1 draw against Costa Rica.

For a complete list of countries playing in 2010 read our Countries competing in FIFA 2010.

Stay with us to enjoy the latest news, unique stories and tips on how to celebrate the first World Cup in Africa with lessons in true South African Soccer Lingo, Google Maps and special insights:

Follow our special 2010 twitter feed and get unique info on South Africa in the coming months, and join the over 20,000 people worldwide that have subscribed to our free ‘Editor’s Picks’ newsletter .


We’re about to show you what we -here in South Africa- mean with ‘An African World Cup’.