Paraguay first up for holders Italy

Friday 4 December 2009
Four of the eight FIFA World Cup groupsFour of the eight FIFA World Cup groups (©AFP)Photos/WallpapersPhotos/Wallpapers »

Holders Italy will begin the defence of their world title against Paraguay on 14 June in Cape Town after the draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup took place in the South African city.

Top seeds
Of UEFA's other seeded teams, Germany are in Group D alongside Serbia; the Netherlands are in Group E with Denmark; England were drawn into Group C alongside Slovenia; and European champions Spain find themselves in Group H with Switzerland. Portugal, meanwhile, feature in a testing pool alongside five-time winners Brazil, Ivory Coast and North Korea.

Host nation
Ballon d'Or winner and FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi will try to guide his Argentina side past Nigeria, Korea Republic and Greece in Group B. Finally, 2006 runners-up France will meet hosts South Africa along with Mexico and Uruguay. The final will be held at Johannesburg's Soccer City Stadium on 11 July.

2010 FIFA World Cup group stage draw
Group AGroup B
South Africa
Argentina
Mexico
Nigeria
Uruguay
Korea Republic
France
Greece
Group CGroup D
England
Germany
United States
Australia
Algeria
Serbia
Slovenia
Ghana
Group EGroup F
Netherlands
Italy
Denmark
Paraguay
JapanNew Zealand
Cameroon
Slovakia
Group GGroup H
Brazil
Spain
North Korea
Switzerland
Ivory Coast
Honduras
Portugal
Chile

©uefa.com 1998-2009. All rights reserved.

  • ©UEFA 1998-2010. All rights reserved.
  • The UEFA word, the UEFA logo and all marks related to UEFA competitions, are protected by trade marks and/or copyright of UEFA. No use for commercial purposes may be made of such trade marks. Use of UEFA.com signifies your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.