Qualified teams - Fifa World Cup 2010

HOSTS

South Africa

UEFA (Playoffs still to come)
PLAY-OFFS: Seeds: Russia, France, Portugal, Greece. Non-seeds: Ireland, Slovenia, Ukraine, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Denmark
England
Germany
Italy
Netherlands
Serbia
Spain
Slovakia
Switzerland

CONMEBOL

Brazil
Paraguay
Chile

PLAY-OFFS: Argentina/Uruguay/Ecuador

CONCACAF

Mexico
United States

PLAY-OFFS: Costa Rica/Honduras

AFRICA

Ghana
Ivory Coast

TBD (Nov. 14): Egypt/Algeria, Cameroon/Gabon, Tunisia/Nigeria

ASIA

Australia
Japan
South Korea
Korea DPR

INTERCONTINENTAL PLAY-OFF: New Zealand/Bahrain (0-0 after first leg)

[the noise factor]

Hard times for the US.

USA defender Oguchi Onyewu had surgery this week to repair a ruptured patellar tendon in his left knee. The U.S. Soccer Federation estimates six months of recovery after his operation.

Six months puts Onyewu recovery around April 2010, giving him little time to regain match fitness before the World Cup, which starts June 11 in South Africa.

Another U.S. player doubtful for the World Cup is forward Charlie Davies who is is likely to miss the World Cup after sustaining serious injuries, including several broken bones, in a car crash recently.