All 32 teams that will play in the 2010 football World Cup in South Africa were decided on Thursday, when 12 countries fought for the six remaining tickets. The FIFA World Cup kicks off on June 12 next year.  

France and Portugal, who made it to the semifinals in the 2006 World Cup in Germany, were spared on the verge of elimination, but Russia, led by Dutch coach Guus Hiddink, lost to Slovenia 0-1 and saw its hopes of going to South Africa dashed. With the loss, the magical spell of Hiddink, who has led every team he coached to the World Cup since 1998, has been broken. He took his native Dutch team to the semifinals in 1998, South Korea to the semifinals in 2002, and Australia to the best of 16 in 2006.

Greece made the cut for the first time in 16 years. Uruguay and Algeria were also among the last ones to join the lucky batch. There were not many surprises among the 32 qualified teams, but North Korea and New Zealand raised eyebrows. North Korea, which surprised the world by advancing to the quarterfinals in 1966, is getting its first chance in 44 years. New Zealand is making the first appearance in 28 years, taking advantage of the power vacuum created by the migration of Australia from the Oceania Football Confederation to the Asian Football Confederation in 2006.