UEFA Announces Small Changes to European World Cup Qualifying

With 53 teams in Europe competing for 13 spots in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, UEFA boss Michel Platini announced that changes have been made to the qualifying format. This go around there will be eight qualifying groups with six teams each and one group with five teams. In the past, there have been fewer groups with more teams in each group.

The nine group winners will automatically advance to the World Cup, while the best eight runners-up will face home-and-away play-off matches for the remaining four spots. The draw for European groups will be held in Durban in November and qualifying will begin next summer after the Euro 2008 tournament.