Cape Town to host 2010 World Cup final

Cape Town was named on Friday as the host city for the 2010 World Cup finals draw, on condition it fulfilled financial guarantees,  organisers said.

The city was the preferred bidder for the event, scheduled for December 2009, but would have to agree to a number of conditions,  local organising committee chairperson Irvin Khoza said. He gave no further details.

There are 170 countries involved in preliminary matches up to November 2009 when the 32 finalists for the World Cup will be decided.

 The United States will play its first World Cup qualifier next June against the winner of an opening-round series between Barbados and Dominica and could face Cuba in its regional semifinals group.

The Americans have an automatic bye into the CONCACAF Group One second round for the 2010 World Cup, which will be played in South Africa.

  Also receiving byes to the second round in the Americans' semifinal group are Cuba, Guatemala, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Cuba will play the winner of the Aruba-Antigua and Barbuda opening series; Guatemala gets the winner of the Turks and Caicos Islands-St. Lucia series; and Trinidad and Tobago will face the winner of Bermuda-Cayman Islands opening round.

Mexico heads Group Two and will play the winner of Belize vs. St. Kitts and Nevis in the second round. Also with byes in that group are Jamaica, Honduras, Canada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Canada will face St. Vincent/Grenadines in the second round, where Jamaica will get either the Bahamas or the British Virgin Islands, while Honduras takes on the winner of Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico.

Group Three byes went to Costa Rica, Haiti, Panama and Guyana.

Costa Rica gets the U.S. Virgin Islands-Grenada opening-round winner. Haiti faces the Nicaragua-Netherlands Antilles winner; Panama gets the winner of El Salvador-Anguilla; and Guyana takes on the winner of Suriname-Montserrat.

 DURBAN, South Africa (AP) -- Draw Sunday for qualifying for the 2010 World Cup:

Europe
Group winners qualify
Top eight second-place teams advance to home-and-home playoffs
Four playoff winners qualify

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

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

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

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

    Group Five-- Armenia, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Estonia, Spain, Turkey

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

    Group Seven-- Austria, Faeroe Islands, France, Lithuania, Romania, Serbia

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

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

North and Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF)
Semifinals
Top two teams in each group advance

Group One
    Aruba-Antigua and Barbuda winner-- Cuba
    Guatemala-- Turks and Caicos Islands-St. Lucia winner
    Trinidad and Tobago-- Bermuda-Cayman Islands winner
    United States-- Dominica-Barbados winner

Group Two
    Belize-St. Kitts and Nevis winner-- Mexico
    Canada vs. St. Vincent and the Grenadines
    Honduras-- Dominican Republic-Puerto Rico winner
    Jamaica-- Bahamas-British Virgin Islands winner

Group Three
    Haiti-- Nicaragua-Netherlands Antilles winner
    Panama-- El Salvador-Anguilla winner
    Suriname-Montserrat winner-- Guyana
    U.S. Virgin Islands-Grenada winner-- Costa Rica

Asia
Third round
Top two teams in each group advance
    Group One-- Australia, China, Iraq, Qatar
    Group Two-- Bahrain, Japan, Oman, Thailand
    Group Three-- Jordan, North Korea, South Korea, Turkmenistan
    Group Four-- Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Uzbekistan
    Group Five-- Iran, Kuwait, Syria, United Arab Emirates

Africa
Second round
Winners and top eight second-place teams advance
South Africa has automatic berth and participates only
for 2010 African Cup of Nations qualifying

    Group One-- Cameroon, Cape Verde Islands, Mauritius, Tanzania

    Group Two-- Guinea, Kenya, Namibia, Zimbabwe

    Group Three-- Angola, Benin, Niger, Uganda

    Group Four-- Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa

    Group Five-- Gabon, Ghana, Lesotho, Libya

    Group Six-- Algeria, Gambia, Liberia, Senegal

    Group Seven-- Botswana, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mozambique

    Group Eight-- Ethiopia, Mauritania, Morocco, Rwanda

    Group Nine-- Burkina Faso, Burundi, Seychelles, Tunisia

    Group 10-- Chad, Mali, Republic of Congo, Sudan

    Group 11-- Eritrea, Swaziland, Togo, Zambia

    Group 12-- Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Malawi