Uruguay qualify to take last spot in 2010 FIFA World Cup

November 19, 2009

Uruguay have qualified for the 2010 World Cup following a 1:1 draw with Costa Rica; Uruguay won on a 2:1 aggregate when they won 1:0 on Saturday. With the win all 32 teams have qualified for the 2010 games. On the same day Algeria, Greece, Slovenia, Portugal and France also qualified for the tournament.

Sebastian Abreu scored for Uruguay first when he headed in a goal. Walter Centeno scored for Costa Rica but a draw failed to seal a win for Costa Rica and lost the game and the chance to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. The game continued despite it being stopped after five minutes media started scuffling with the Costa Rica substitutes.

With Uruguay’s qualification they join other South American teams Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile. Two-time former winners Uruguay missed the 2006 World Cup after losing in a qualifier to Australia, who have also qualified for next year’s tournament. Next year’s World Cup will see the return of several teams to the tournament. The host South Africa are making their first appearance since 2002 along with Denmark, Nigeria, Cameroon and Slovenia. Chile last appeared in 1998, Greece in 1994 and Algeria in 1986. New Zealand and Honduras have also qualified, their last appearance was in 1982 and North Korea have not competed in the World Cup since 1966.

Other teams that have qualified include The Netherlands, South Korea, Japan, Ghana, England, Spain, Côte d'Ivoire, Germany, Italy, Mexico, the United States and Switzerland. Serbia and Slovakia will be making their first appearance as a single team. Serbia has previously qualified as Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro, while Slovakia previously played as Czechoslovakia.

The tournament is due to start in South Africa on the June 11, 2010 and last for one month.