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Hosts South Africa drawn with France
[ Jan 5, 2010 12:51:37 ] Host nation South Africa must overcome Mexico, France and Uruguay if they are to get to the knockout stages of the World Cup finals.
The draw for the 2010 finals, hosted by actress Charlize Theron, was made at the Cape Town International Convention Center on Friday, with the 32 qualifiers split into eight groups of four nations.
France, winners in 1998 and finalists at the last tournament in 2006, reached the finals in controversial fashion after Thierry Henry's handball helped them defeat Ireland in their European playoff.
Soccer City in Johannesburg will stage the opening match of the tournament on Friday June 11 when the hosts take on Mexico with France and Uruguay playing each other in the day's second match.
"Meeting the host nation is never a gift on such an occasion," French national coach Raymond Domenech told the France Federation's official Web site.
"That said, to play against South Africa, the first African country to host a World Cup on its continent, is a great sense of pride for everything this match could be worth.
Full Draw:
GROUP A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
GROUP B: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, Greece
GROUP C: England, United States, Algeria, Slovenia
GROUP D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana
GROUP E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon
GROUP F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia
GROUP G: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal
GROUP H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile
CNN
