The Road to South Africa 2010 begins in Samoa

We’re about 400 days removed from the 2006 World Cup and 1,000 days away from the 2010 World Cup so now is just about the perfect time to start the elimination process for South Africa 2010. At least it is the perfect time if you are a fan of the World Cup, which I hope to God you are because you are reading this site.

World Cup qualifying begins on Saturday. The road to South Africa begins in Apia, Samoa of all places. The South Pacific Games will be the first step in the lengthy qualification process that will see 200 teams whittled down to 32 by the time November 2009 rolls around.

The favorites heading into the South Pacific Games are the Solomon Islands, which tells you a thing or two about the quality of teams in the competition. The Solomon Islands are ranked 161st in the world. They open their campaign against the last-ranked side from American Samoa, a country that has never won an internationally-sanctioned match and which hasn’t played a match since losing 11-0 to Papua New Guinea more than three years ago.

Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji are also teams that among the contenders. The top three finishers will join New Zealand in a group competition in October. Here’s a look at the South Pacific Games groups.

It is good to have the World Cup back!