World Cup Qualifying

To earn a ticket to the 2010 soccer World Cup in South Africa, three-time champions Germany will have to face Russia, Finland, Wales, Azerbaijan, and Liechtenstein. The group was decided in a drawing held Sunday, Nov. 25, in the South African city of Durban.

Although Germany continued its long-standing tradition of landing in relatively easy tournament groups, German team officials have already begun dampening expectations.

"Russia will be tough, but we must not underestimate Finland," said Germany's assistant coach Hans Flick.

Soccer legend Franz Beckenbauer agreed in an interview on Premiere television that "Russia will be the most difficult," but added that all the teams "should be beatable."

"Without being arrogant, you'd have to say we're the clear favorite in this group," the German soccer kaiser said.

Only 32 will go the World Cup

Germany have lost in only two of the 64 World Cup qualifiers they've played. They have also managed to win a spot in all of the 11 World Cup finals they've had to qualify for.

Worldwide, 199 teams will compete for 31 places at the championship. Host country South Africa gets the 32nd spot.

In Europe, the winners of the nine qualifying groups determined on Sunday automatically receive a ticket to the World Cup, while eight of the runners-up will battle for the remaining four places from the region.

Croatia anxious about re-match

England is bound to be out for revenge during the qualifying matches after Croatia beat them twice, dashing their hopes for the 2008 European Championships and putting coach Steven McClaren out of a job on Thursday.

Croatia will face England again in the run-up to the next World Cup -- admittedly with reluctance.

"When I saw the draw, I was saying 'oh no!'" said Croatia's coach Slaven Bilic. "Everyone in Croatia was saying 'give us England again' but I wanted to avoid them. It is a very, very hard draw because they are by far the best team from the second pot."

Champs Italy expect easy win

Italy, who did not get a free spot in South Africa after winning the 2006 Cup in Germany, were particularly pleased with their grouping in Sunday's drawing, which pits them against Bulgaria, Ireland, Cyprus, Georgia and Montenegro.

"It's a very good draw," said Giancarlo Abete, president of the Italian Soccer Federation. "We could not have asked for better. As world champions we should win this group."

The European qualifying groups for the 2010 World Cup:

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

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

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

Group Four: Germany, Russia, Finland, Wales, Azerbaijan, Liechtenstein

Group Five: Spain, Turkey, Belgium, Bosnia, Armenia, Estonia

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

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

Group Eight: Italy, Bulgaria, Ireland, Cyprus, Georgia, Montenegro

Group Nine: Netherlands, Scotland, Norway, Macedonia, Iceland