Preliminary Round for 2006 World Cup

    ASIAN ZONE:

    Group 1

    Iran, Qatar, Jordan, Laos

    Group 2

    Uzbekistan, Iraq, Palestine, Taiwan

    Group 3

    Japan, Oman, India, Singapore

    Group 4

    China, Kuwait, Malaysia, Hong Kong

    Group 5

    United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Yemen, North Korea

    Group 6

    Bahrain, Syria, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan

    Group 7

    South Korea, Lebanon, Vietnam, Maldives

    Group 8

    Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkmenistan, Sri Lanka

    Qualifiers: Four and one team into playoffs

    Eight winners from the first phase qualify for second phase, with two groups of four. Top two in each group qualify for World Cup finals in Germany.

    Third-placed groups in each group play off over two legs and the winner plays off against fourth-placed team from North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF) region.

    Seven teams have already been eliminated in a preliminary round: Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Macao, Pakistan, Mongolia, Guam, and Nepal

    OCEANIA ZONE:

    Group 1

    Tahiti, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Tonga, Cook Islands

    Group 2

    Fiji, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, American Samoa

    Qualifiers: One team into playoff against fifth-placed team in South American qualifying

    The first two from each group qualify for six-team tournament which includes Australia and New Zealand, which are exempt from the first round.

    The first two in this group play off in two-legged tie in September 2005, with the winner going on to play the fifth-placed team in South America.

    NORTH, CENTRAL AMERICA, CARIBBEAN ZONE (CONCACAF):

    Group 1

    Granada or Guyana vs. USA

    Group 2

    Bermuda or Montserrat vs. El Salvador

    Group 3

    Haiti or Turks and Caicos Islands vs. Jamaica

    Group 4

    British Virgin Islands or St Lucia vs. Panama

    Group 5

    Cayman Islands or Cuba vs. Costa Rica

    Group 6

    Aruba or Surinam vs. Guatemala

    Group 7

    Antigua and Barbuda or Netherlands Antilles vs. Honduras

    Group 8

    Canada vs. Belize

    Group 9

    Dominica or Bahamas vs. Mexico

    Group 10

    U.S. Virgin Islands or St. Kitts and Nevis vs. Barbados

    Group 11

    Dominican Republic or Anguilla vs. Trinidad and Tobago

    Group 12

    Nicaragua vs. St. Vincent and the Grenadines

    Qualifiers: Three and one team into playoff against fifth-placed team in Asian qualifying competition

    Twelve winners from preliminary round are divided into three groups of four.

    Teams which finish first and second in each of these groups go into single group of six. The top three qualify for finals in Germany and fourth-placed team plays off against fifth-placed Asian team.

    AFRICAN ZONE:

    Group 1

    Senegal, Mali, Zambia, Togo, Liberia, Congo

    Group 2

    South Africa, RD Congo, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Uganda, Cape Verde

    Group 3

    Cameroon, Egypt, Cote d'Ivoire, Libya, Sudan, Benin

    Group 4

    Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Algeria, Angola, Gabon, Rwanda

    Group 5

    Tunisia, Morocco, Kenya, Guinea, Malawi, Botswana

    Qualifiers: Five

    Five group winners qualify for the 2006 World Cup finals.

    A total of 21 nations already eliminated in qualifying in October and November 2003: Burundi, Niger, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Namibia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Chad, Madagascar, Swaziland, Eritrea, Lesotho, Gambia, Sao Tome, Mauritius, Mozambica, Equitorial Guinea, Somalia, Central African Republic

    Qualification tournament will also count for 2006 African Nations Cup finals in Egypt.

    EUROPEAN ZONE (UEFA):

    Group 1

    Czech Republic, Holland, Romania, Finland, Macedonia, Armenia, Andorra

    Group 2

    Turkey, Denmark, Greece, Ukraine, Georgia, Albania, Kazakhstan

    Group 3

    Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Latvia, Estonia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg

    Group 4

    France, Republic of Ireland, Switzerland, Israel, Cyprus, Faroe Islands

    Group 5

    Italy, Slovenia, Scotland, Norway, Belarus, Moldova

    Group 6

    England, Poland, Austria, Wales, Northern Ireland, Azerbaijan

    Group 7

    Spain, Belgium, Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia Herzegovina, Lithuania, San Marino

    Group 8

    Sweden, Croatia, Bulgaria, Iceland, Hungary, Malta

    Qualifiers: Thirteen, plus host Germany which qualify automatically.

    The eight group winners and the two best runners-up qualify for the World Cup finals in Germany.

    The remaining six runners-up will be drawn into three playoff matches over two legs with winners qualifying for finals.

KK/IS

END

MNA