FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifying groups announced in Durban

The city of Durban, situated on South Africa’s east coast, was the venue for the qualifying draw of football’s premier event, the FIFA World Cup. South Africa will host this tournament in 2010.

Here are the European groups

Group 1 : Albania, Denmark, Hungary, Malta, Sweden, Portugal

Group 2 : Greece, Israel, Latvia, Luxembourg, Moldova, Switzerland

Group 3 : Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Poland, San Marino

Group 4 : Azerbaijan, Liechenstein, Finland, Germany, Russia, Wales

Group 5 : Estonia, Armenia, Spain, Turkey, Bosnia-Herzegovina,Belgium

Group 6 : Andorra, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Croatia, England, Ukraine

Group 7 : Austria, Faroe Islands, France, Serbia, Romania, Lithuania

Group 8 : Bulgaria, Georgia, Italy, Cyprus, Republic of Ireland, Montenegro

Group 9 : Holland, Iceland, Macedonia, Scotland, Norway

Europe has 13 spots up for grabs. The nine group winners go through automatically, and the best 8 second spot teams will have a playoff to determine the remaining four.

England are in a slightly difficult group, with both Croatia and Ukraine present. Groups 1 and 3 make for interesting viewing too.

May the best teams go through !!!!.