The Final Draw for South Africa 2010

The 32 teams participating at next year's FIFA World Cup™ finals discovered their fate this evening when the Final Draw for South Africa 2010 took place in Cape Town.

While South Africans learned that the host nation's Opening Match on 11 June would be played against Mexico at Soccer City, it was the Group D lineup which caused arguably the biggest stir. Germany, Australia, Serbia and Ghana will battle it out for two qualifying places for the Round of 16, meaning two nations with passionate support will depart the tournament early. There could be a high-profile casualty from Group G too, after Brazil, Korea DPR, Côte d'Ivoire, Portugal were drawn together.

An estimated global television audience of 200 million joined the 2,000 invited guests in the Draw Hall in watching the colourful and entertaining ceremony unfold. With African sporting stars such as athlete Haile Gebreselassie, rugby player John Smit, cricketer Makhaya Ntini, and footballers Matthew Booth and Simphiwe Dludlu assisting with the draw, along with England's David Beckham, it was always going to be an exhilarating occasion, but the undoubted centrepiece came when the eight groups were revealed.

An early highlight of the draw was the eye-catching encounter between England and USA, scheduled for 12 June, which evokes the Americans' famous 1-0 win over their transatlantic cousins at Brazil 1950. Argentina, Nigeria and Greece will get the chance to revive their group rivalry from 1994, while the heavyweight collision between Portugal and Brazil on 25 June also has the feel of a derby.

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

Although the dates and locations of each of the 48 group-stage games are known, the kick-off times will be announced shortly, upon conclusion of a meeting between FIFA, the Local Organising Committee and broadcasters.

A night to remember
With such an array of stars, the event dazzled from start to finish. After a welcome sequence from Lions Head, the mountain that provides Cape Town with such a dramatic backdrop, award-winning musician Johnny Clegg performed 'Scatterlings of Africa', a song made famous by the Academy Award-winning film Rain Main.

Fittingly, the first speech of the night came from the man without whom a FIFA World Cup in South Africa would never have been possible: the country's former president Nelson Mandela. The 91-year-old, speaking in a special video message, urged his nation to make the most of their opportunity as tournament hosts. "We must strive for excellence in our hosting of the World Cup, while at the same time ensuring the event leaves a lasting benefit to all our people," he said.

Next it was time for two special presidents to take to the stage. FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter and South African President Jacob Zuma showed their excitement at both the Final Draw and the 2010 FIFA World Cup itself in an entertaining dialogue lasting several minutes. Giancarlo Abete, President of the Italian Football Federation, then handed over the holders' FIFA World Cup Trophy to Mr Blatter, confirmation that sport's holy grail is in South Africa and ready to be contested next year.

Legendary Portugal striker Eusebio, born in neighbouring Mozambique, was introduced to the crowd before examples of the 'Win in Africa, With Africa' campaign were showcased before an expectant audience. Beninese singer-songwriter Angelique Kidjo duly took to the stage to perform her Grammy-nominated song 'Agolo'.

The first duty of the show's guest presenter, Academy Award-winning actress, Hollywood producer and proud South African Charlize Theron, was to show off the official 2010 Match Ball, adidas's Jabulani, a name meaning 'to celebrate' in Zulu. Soweto’s Gospel Choir continued the theme of happiness with a lively rendition of Pata Pata before the arrival of Draw Master and FIFA Secretary General, Jerome Valcke, signalled the moment of truth.

Some of the assembled coaches will have headed away feeling confident, others concerned by the task presented here, yet at least all now know what lies in store as they begin their planning and preparation for next year's showpiece.

the Real Story Egypt vs Algeria in Sudan

These are videos of Algerian fans before the match of Egypt vs Algeria in the Fifa world cup qualification in Khartoum holding knifes and making promises to hurt Egyptian fans.





This video was filmed by an Algerian fan before the match in Sudan on November 18.

He says that Algeria will send thugs to Sudan, "men who's own mothers won't cry over them." What does that tell you about their intention.They went to Sudan knowing that, no matter the outcome, they wanted to wreak havoc. They have proved to the world that they are nothing more than a pathetic country of barbarians that know nothing about modernity or about civilization.




Algerian going through on the Egyptian flag by their cars.



here is some videos of the damages of Egyptian offices of some companies in Algeria.



Algerian burned the office of Egypt air in the capital Algeria.





this a video of the attack on the Egyptian team bus before the match in Khartoum.



Two Algerian fans hits an Egyptian fan with knifes.

Thierry Henry handball video

Thierry Henry has admitted that replaying France's World Cup play-off against the Republic of Ireland would be "the fairest solution" following his handball in the build-up to Les Bleus' decisive goal, with his former manager at Arsenal, Arsène Wenger, insistent a rematch is the only way of restoring French credibility ahead of next summer's finals.

Fifa has ruled that the 1-1 draw at the Stade de France on Wednesday cannot now be changed despite Henry's clear infringement before squaring for William Gallas to equalise in extra-time. The French Football Federation retreated conveniently behind that decision today, conceding it was a "bitter qualification" but it had "to abide by what Fifa say", despite Henry suggesting in a carefully worded statement that a replay of the play-off second leg was preferable.

The Barcelona forward did, however, fall short of apologising for using his hand and denied being a cheat, shifting the onus back on to Fifa to resolve the furore. "Naturally I feel embarrassed at the way that we won and feel extremely sorry for the Irish who definitely deserve to be in South Africa," said Henry.

"Of course the fairest solution would be to replay the game but it is not in my control. There is little more I can do apart from admit that the ball had contact with my hand leading up to our equalising goal and I feel very sorry for the Irish. I have said at the time and I will say again that, yes, I handled the ball.

"I am not a cheat and never have been. It was an instinctive reaction to a ball that was coming extremely fast in a crowded penalty area. People are viewing a slowmotion version of what happened and not what I or any other footballer faces in the game. If people look at it in full speed you will see that it was an instinctive reaction. It is impossible to be anything other than that."

The Ireland captain, Robbie Keane, praised Henry's "courage and honour" in addressing the issue publicly today and urged the FFF to lobby Fifa to have the game replayed, though a spokesman for the French footballing authorities suggested tonight that it was, in fact, time to "move on". That will do little to ease the acute sense of embarrassment that has accompanied Raymond Domenech's side's progress to South Africa with Wenger, who was present in Paris on Wednesday night, suggesting the FFF has a moral obligation both to Ireland and to Henry to press for a rematch.

"The French Football Federation have to call for the game to be replayed – the credibility of France going to the World Cup depends on that," said Wenger, who had successfully pressed, along with his vice-chairman David Dein, to have Arsenal's FA Cup fifth-round tie against Sheffield United replayed 10 years ago when Marc Overmars's winning goal was scored when the visitors had expected the ball to be returned to them after an injury.

"French football and France as a country have a duty not to leave Thierry out there alone against the whole world. France has to say: 'Yes, it was a handball and we offer a replay,'" Wenger said.

"We want all sport to be fair. Now let's be realistic. Football, and sport in general, is full of heroes who have cheated 10 times more than Thierry. For me people who bought referees, who took drugs, they are the real cheats in sport. Thierry Henry has 14 years behind of fair behaviour in sport and he is singled out today, for me, in the wrong way. You mustn't go overboard with Thierry's behaviour. He made one mistake, and who hasn't made mistakes in life?"

Henry's reaction in twice cushioning the ball with his left hand to ensure it did not drift out of play before squaring for Gallas to score, has drawn comparisons with Diego Maradona's infamous first goal against England in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, though Wenger stressed the levels of intent were very different.

"I always said it was not the hand of God but the hand of the Devil, with Maradona," he added. "I never accepted what he did. Thierry's was an instinctive reaction of a striker. When the ball goes too far, you take your hand and use it… He meant to do it but what I mean is it is a reaction of a player when the ball is going out to keep it in.

"[He should apologise] because it is not a regular goal. You can understand at that moment, with the greed of wanting to score, he did that. With a little bit of distance, he is not a guy who wants to win pretty. He wants to win classy. But I am proud of the way France reacted. Everybody said: 'No, that's not the way we wanted to qualify.' The only people who didn't were political people. People are not happy."

Fifa kills Football

Algerians home and abroad exploded with joy as the final whistle sounded in Khartoum to send the north African country to its first football FIFA World Cup™ since 1986.

this is what Fifa put on the official website.they did not mention what the Algerian fan did to the Egyptian fans of throwing stones and using knifes against them in Khartoum.

how is that a fair game,if the Algerian fans move in Khartoum like criminals or hooligans.

Fifa loose his credibility of supporting fair clean games by not referring to any of those incidents.

Algerian fans chasing Egyptian fans through the streets of Khartoum trying to hurt them any way they can.

IF Fifa let Algeria play in the world cup in south Africa 2010 this will be the end fair game which is the soul of Football as they only qualify through anger and intimidation by players or fans not through fair play or fair support.

Portugal 1-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina

Portugal will take a slender advantage into the second leg of their FIFA World Cup™ qualification play-off against Bosnia-Herzegovina after Bruno Alves scored the only goal of tonight's match in Lisbon.

A tightly-contested encounter was decided on the half-hour mark when Manchester United winger Nani crossed to the far post where Alves was on hand to head home.

Nani, who deputised on the wing in the absence of the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, was Portugal's most enterprising player. However, the hosts' hopes of finding a second goal were continually thwarted by a disciplined display from Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The visitors showed why only Spain were able to defeat them in the group stage and they could even have taken an away goal into Wednesday's second leg a minute from the end when Edin Dzeko headed against the crossbar before substitute Zlatan Muslimovic hit a post from the rebound.

While Bosnia-Herzegovina would have been enthused by their display, their hopes in the second leg will be undermined by bookings picked up by Emir Spahic, Elver Rahimic and Samir Muratovic which rules them out of Wednesday's game.

Portugal went into the game without star winger Ronaldo and his attacking craft was missed as they struggled to break down the visitors in the early stages when they gave away possession cheaply. Chelsea schemer Deco was most culpable as his usual creative influence deserted him while Simao Sabrosa and Liedson also failed to impart an influence.

The home side had been thwarted for half an hour before they finally created the chance to go ahead. Nani combined with Deco on the right side of the area before the former curled a cross to the far post where Alves was waiting to nod in the decisive goal.

Bosnia-Herzegovina had been happy to defend before the goal, but after they went behind showed a greater attacking desire. After 38 minutes Fejae Salihovic found space down the left flank before firing in a shot that Eduardo did well to save. Five minutes later Senijad Ibricic headed a corner just over the crossbar as Portugal just about held their lead into the break.

The hosts pushed for a second after the interval with a couple of counter attacks, but again Bosnia-Herzegovina held firm. Deco fed Liedson with a long ball that the striker superbly controlled with his chest, passed the ball over a defender and then narrowly shot over. Deco then shot narrowly over himself as the visitors sat deep.

Bosnia-Herzegovina weathered the storm and Dzeko almost squeezed a shot in at Eduardo's near post with a snap shot after 77 minutes. And the hosts almost had an away goal a minute from the end when Dzeko headed Miralem Pjanic's cross against the crossbar and Muslimovic also rattled the woodwork from the rebound.

Ireland 0-1 France

On Saturday 14 November, Nicolas Anelka fired France a step closer to the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ finals, with the Republic of Ireland's brave resistance finally wilting late on.

Anelka's 72nd-minute strike, which was deflected past Shay Given by Sean St Ledger, was enough to condemn Giovanni Trapattoni's side to their first defeat of the qualifying campaign and send the French into Wednesday night's return with a lead and a precious away goal.

In truth, it was scarcely more than Raymond Domenech's side deserved after a dominant second-half display which at times left the Irish chasing shadows. And they might have won more comfortably had striker Andre-Pierre Gignac not sliced horribly wide with the goal at his mercy with 10 minutes remaining.

However, it took a fine last-gasp save by keeper Hugo Lloris to deny Glenn Whelan an equaliser as a bumper crowd of 74,103 at Croke Park dared to believe once again.

If France had arrived in Dublin with any doubts about the determination of the Irish to pile on the misery for under-pressure coach Domenech, they were dispelled within seconds of their emergence at Croke Park.

Thierry Henry and his team-mates were greeted by a sea of green and a wall of noise, and the commitment off the field was more than matched by the efforts of the men on it.

Inevitably, the visitors held sway for much of the opening half-hour as the dangerous Anelka dropped deep on the right before either cutting inside or feeding marauding full-back Bacary Sagna, while Henry's searing speed and the brawn of central striker Gignac were constant threats.

But the doggedness of central defenders Richard Dunne and St Ledger - coupled with that of the two men immediately in front of them, Keith Andrews and Whelan - proved enough to limit France's front three and impressive playmaker Yoann Gourcuff.

Of course, there were occasions when Domenech's men were simply too good for the Irish - Dunne was spared punishment for a major error of judgement when he allowed Eric Abidal's 11th-minute clearance to bounce over his head and Gignac gleefully lobbed Shay Given, only for an offside flag to ruin his big moment.

Gourcuff warmed Given's hands with a well-struck 25th-minute snap-shot, while Gignac and Henry both fired wide as the Irish keeper enjoyed a relatively quiet first 45 minutes.

Opposite number Lloris was equally, if not more, under-employed, although he did not see the flag which had gone up for a foul by Kevin Doyle marginally before Robbie Keane ran on to his flick and forced a brave point-blank save before Liam Lawrence's follow-up was deflected behind by Patrice Evra.

Keith Andrews curled a 31st-minute effort two feet wide, but the tie remained finely balanced as the two sets of players headed for their respective dressing rooms.

The French resumed at break-neck pace and very nearly carved the Republic open within seconds as Evra, Henry and Anelka combined to set up Sagna to cross, but John O'Shea made sure it was he who made contact in the middle.

United team-mate Evra was devastated to have 69th-minute penalty appeals waved away after going down under Given's challenge as he pursued Gourcuff's through-ball. But the opening goal finally arrived with 18 minutes remaining as France made their dominance pay, although with the help of a cruel twist of fate.

It was Gourcuff who once again fashioned the opening, picking out Anelka on the edge of the box, and his shot deflected off St Ledger past the helpless Given and in via the upright.

Gignac should have made it 2-0 with 10 minutes remaining when he was presented with an open goal after Anelka had charged down Given's clearance, but he shot wastefully wide and out for a throw-in.

That might have proved costly had Lloris not produced a brave block to deny Whelan three minutes from time and then pushed away another dipping effort from the midfielder, but there was no way back for the home side.

Greece 0-0 Ukraine

Greece and Ukraine's 2010 World Cup qualifying play-off tie remains in the balance after the two teams shared a goalless draw in Athens.

Theofanis Gekas, the overall top scorer in qualifying with 10 goals, wasted Greece's best chance, while Ruslan Rotan was guilty of poor finishing for the visitors on a night when both sides cancelled each other out at the Olympic Stadium. Sotiris Kyrgiakos almost won the game for Otto Rehhagel's Greece in the dying seconds but the Liverpool defender headed wide.

Both teams began brightly but it was the visitors who threatened first and registered the first shot on target when Alexandros Tzorvas pulled off a comfortable save from Andriy Shevchenko's 25-yard free-kick. Giorgos Karagounis responded for the hosts with a shot from distance which was comfortably held by Andriy Piatov in the Ukraine goal.

Former Chelsea and AC Milan forward Shevchenko then tried his luck again from another free-kick in the 13th minute but his tame effort drifted wide. Greece had the ball in the net after 16 minutes when Gekas turned in Dimitris Salpigidis cross but the assistant referee had already raised his flag for offside.

Rotan wasted a golden opportunity three minutes later after a defensive mix-up from the home side when he dragged his shot wide of the left post from the edge of the box. The visitors continued to look the more dangerous, particularly on the counter attack and Tvorvas was called upon in the 36th minute to make a smart save from Oleg Gusiev's shot from an acute angle.

Greece threatened twice before half-time but striker Giorgos Samaras' control let him down when Salpigidis picked him out with a low centre before Gekas headed straight at Piatov from Karagounis' free-kick. Samaras, who was a peripheral figure in the first half, drew a save from Piatov with a speculative shot from distance as Greece began strongly after the break.

However, again the visitors threatened and Karagounis came to Greece's rescue with a last-ditch tackle to deny Artem Milevskyy in the 55th minute. Tzorvas was called into action again in the 68th minute to push away a rasping Taras Mykhalyk's drive.

Rehhagel then handed 21-year-old striker Kostas Mitroglou his international debut as a replacement for Salpigidis with 19 minutes left as he looked to add attacking impetus to his team. However, the Olympiakos forward failed to make a significant impression and it was Samaras who next went close with a powerful shot which flew just inches over the bar.

Ukraine continued to look dangerous going forward on the break but it was the home side who almost snatched a vital win through Kyrgiakos, but the defender headed Kostas Katsouranis' right-wing cross wide of the left post with only seconds remaining.

Russia 2-1 Slovenia

Russia midfielder Sergei Semak admitted Slovenia's late goal in their 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ qualifying first leg play-off left him uneasy ahead of the return clash.

Russia dominated the match throughout and led comfortably through Everton midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov's brace. However, substitute Nejc Pecnik's header two minutes from time left the tie in the balance at 2-1, and they could even have levelled as Marko Suler forced a superb stoppage-time save from Igor Akinfeev.

"The match left me with mixed feelings," Semak told RIA Novosti. "On the one hand, I'm pleased we won, but on the other hand, the way the game ended doesn't leave you at ease in the run-up for the next match."

I'm pleased we won, but on the other hand, the way the game ended doesn't leave you at ease in the run-up for the next match.
Sergei Semak
Slovenia produced little in attack and Robert Koren's 88th-minute shot in the build-up to Pecnik's goal was their first on target. Semak added: "They didn't surprise us because it was obvious that they came here with the aim of not allowing a goal. Only after we scored the second goal did they go all out."

Goalscorer Bilyaletdinov opted to let his football do the talking, offering only the assertion that: "All commentaries will be after the second match."

Slovenia coach Matjaz Kek was relieved after Pecnik's contribution, and told the Slovenian FA's official website, nzs.si: "We have found a goal that keeps us in the game. In the first half we gave away a stupid goal, and we also started badly in the second half when (keeper Samir) Handanovic kept out some dangerous moves from the Russian team."

Kek is hopeful for Wednesday's clash in front of his nation's own fans, and continued: "The People's Stadium can create a positive outcome. We must recover and prepare for the return meeting."

Europe play-offs first leg

The prospect of a FIFA World Cup™ without Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry will move a step closer if Portugal and France come unstuck in the first leg of their South Africa 2010 play-offs on Saturday.

Having failed to secure automatic qualification for the South Africa showpiece, Portugal must overcome Bosnia-Herzegovina while France face a stern test against Giovanni Trapattoni's rejuvenated Republic of Ireland. Both France and Portugal, who lost to the French in the 2006 semi-finals, have been hampered by injury, with Les Bleus deprived of the services of Franck Ribery and Portugal missing talismanic captain Ronaldo.

France coach Raymond Domenech, apparently immune to the welter of public criticism which has rained down on him for much of his tenure, insists the French will go through. "I know my men are ready," said Domenech, whose side face Ireland in Dublin on Saturday prior to the return leg in Paris next Wednesday.

"Any pressure is internal. If the players don't feel it inside then there's something wrong and they have no place here." Yet even as Domenech seeks to throw a protective arm around his squad he himself has been squarely in the firing line, coming in for criticism from the Irish and his own countrymen alike.

Ireland defender Richard Dunne, whose side went unbeaten in qualifying only to be pipped to automatic qualification from Group 8 by reigning champions Italy, insists that with the likes of Henry and Nicolas Anelka on board, France should already be through.

"Every time a tournament comes round, France have all these world-class players and then a man who seems intent on messing them up," Dunne told The Guardian newspaper. "And we know that if we can get in front, they probably have not got the man at the top to pull them back around."

Domenech took time out to attend the Paris Masters tennis tournament this week and was promptly booed by fans when cameras picked him out in the crowd. And L'Equipe sports daily picked up on criticism by depicting the Irish team lined up behind Domenech beneath the headline, 'Their luck is him!'

The pressure is on them (France) more so than us, but we are both playing for a place in the World Cup finals, so it's enormous,
Republic of Ireland assistant coach Liam Brady.
Former Irish star Liam Brady, now an assistant to Trapattoni, says the men in green fear nobody. "The pressure is on them more so than us, but we are both playing for a place in the World Cup finals, so it's enormous," he said. "But if we were to carry a lead to Paris, the pressure would pile on them."

French forward Sidney Govou shrugged off the mind games regarding Domenech. "They (the critics) just want to put the pressure on - but it's not him who'll be out there on the pitch."

For Portugal's Deco, meanwhile, the loss of Ronaldo must not be allowed to weigh too heavily on Carlos Queiroz's side. "We have enough quality to plug the gap - we can't use his absence as an excuse. We know it won't be easy but we are confident," the Chelsea midfielder insisted.

As France and Portugal seek redemption in the form of tickets to South Africa, 2004 European champions Greece also face a fight as they go up against Ukraine, who edged Croatia out of the runners-up spot in England's group. The inconsistent Greeks lost out in their group to Switzerland and have the perceived disadvantage of playing the second leg away.

Guus Hiddink's Russia, who were unable to overhaul Germany in their group, host Slovenia. "We should never underestimate Slovenia on any account," Hiddink warned his UEFA Euro 2008 semi-finalists.