Tunisia’s Preliminary World Cup Qualifying Group

Well the initial draw for the African region has been set and we’ve been drawn alongside Burkina Faso, Burundi, and the Seychelles. I remember when the African Cup was in Burkina Faso and we lost to them on penalties (7-8) in the Quarter Finals. I’m not sure if we’ve played them since but I hope we can give them some payback for that wound they inflicted in 1998.

If you want to see the full list of groups for Africa check here. The rest of the groups from around the world are available here (England is in Croatia’s group again!). In our zone the 12 group winners and 8 best runners up will be drawn into 5 groups comprised of 4 teams each in the next round (and the group winners from that round can book their tickets to South Africa 2010). I don’t see us having any problems getting to the second round of qualifying. It’s the next round that’s usually the more challenging one for us. I’m sure many remember how our qualification for the last world cup came down to our final group game against Morocco where we needed a draw on home soil (and we got it in thrilling fashion, the game ending 2-2).

For now I think it’s cool we’re drawn with the Seychelles again (we played them to qualify for this year’s African Cup). The players really enjoyed visiting that country and all came back saying how beautiful it was. Let’s hope they focus some on the soccer too! Say what you want about our current form and our displays on the world stage but we’ve managed to make it to three straight World Cups and thats truly impressive for a country as small as ours. A lot of European powerhouses and other respectable football nations can’t boast of having been to the last three editions of the globe’s ultimate competition. Here’s to making it four straight! The road to South Africa 2010 starts here.