LIVE WORLD CUP DRAW: England to face USA, Algeria and Slovenia in the group stage at the 2010 finals in South Africa



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Sportsmail brings you the very latest news as the teams are drawn for the 2010 World Cup finals.

The team are drawn into put into eight groups, all featuring four teams.

At the finals - which start on June 11 - the top two teams finishing in each group will go through to the second round. They will then battle it out in the knockout stages ahead of the World Cup final on July 11.



GROUP A SOUTH AFRICA

MEXICO

URUGUAY FRANCE

GROUP B ARGENTINA NIGERIA SOUTH KOREA

GREECE

GROUP C ENGLAND USA ALGERIA SLOVENIA GROUP D GERMANY AUSTRALIA

SERBIA

GHANA



GROUP E

HOLLAND

DENMARK JAPAN CAMEROON GROUP F ITALY PARAGUAY NEW ZEALAND

SLOVAKIA

GROUP G BRAZIL NORTH KOREA

IVORY COAST

PORTUGAL GROUP H SPAIN SWITZERLAND HONDURAS CHILE

Glamour girl: Charlize Theron brings a touch of Hollywood to the draw

7.10: And here's our guide to the stadiums Fabio Capello's boys will kick off their World Cup challenge.

7.05: The boys here at Sportsmail have been working hard ... here's the complete fixture guide for next summer.



7pm: So we've got the draw - now here are the days you need to keep free in your diary

next summer - England v USA June 12 at Royal Bafokeng in Rustenburg, England v Algeria June 18 at Green Point in Cape Town and England v Slovenia June 23 at Nelson Mandela Bay in Port Elizabeth.



6.55: No World Cup would be the same without the obligatory Group of Death and this year it's the turn of favourites Brazil, Ivory Coast, Portugal and North Korea to battle it out for the two qualifying places in Group G.



6.50: The accumulated total in FIFA rankings of England's World Cup group is 84, only Group H (74) & Group E (83) are tougher on this basis.

6.45: A great draw for brand Beckham who will get to strut his stuff against USA and, interestingly, Thierry Henry received his only red card for France against Uruguay, one of their Group A opponents

6.35: England have yet to face Algeria in a senior international, we only recently faced Slovenia in a friendly at Wembley which we cruised 2-1 and our record against USA is pretty decent, too. The Three Lions have faced America nine times, won seven, no draws and two defeats. Now is a good time to mention that defeat at the World Cup Finals in 1950. And we'll leave it there!

6.30: So England draw USA, Algeria and Slovenia in the group stage of the World Cup - and Fabio Capello's men will have to fancy their chances of making their way through to the second round.



Dream draw: England will be grateful for a favourable group

5.54: Some incredibly stilted 'banter' between Valcke and Theron. Please start the draw. Please.



5.50: Running bang on time - Charlize Theron is joined on stage by the Fifa General Secretary Jerome Valcke who will conduct the draw.



5.45: And so the preamble continues! Much singing and dancing that is the norm now at these events. Great. Do the draw, will you! Sorry - I'm very impatient.



5.35: Right, we're just a few second away from the start of the draw we'll know England's fate in the next 30 minutes.



5.20: Two teams are making their World Cup debuts as independent countries - Serbia and Slovakia.



5.10: The preamble is getting underway in South Africa but our man on the scene Matt Lawton isn't pleased with what he's seeing - Please tell me that isn't the official World Cup song they've just opened with. Johnny Clegg is a 'famous' South African rock star but Nelly Furtado he ain't. Give me Forca (Euro 2004) anytime.



5.05: If you're unsure as to where the games are to be played, take a look at Sportmail's guide to all of the 2010 venues.

5.00: We're an hour away from the draw starting, some Sportmail staff are on the verge of self-combusting with excitement. Bless.



Guest of honour: Nelson Mandela addresses the audience at the draw

4.55: An email arrives from A US Base in Afghanistan, no less. American Joe Gates tells me ... My ideal USA draw would of course be South Africa, USA, Paraguay and Slovakia. My expected draw is going to be Germany, USA, Ivory Coast and Serbia.

Don't see anyway around the US getting a strong European power and a major African nation. I'm not real optimistic on getting out of the group. My dream England draw, England, Australia, Algeria and France. Brilliant!

France and Australia, Joe? I reckon we might squeeze an easier draw than that?



4.45: All the dignitaries have arrived and are beginning to settle down at the Cape Town International Convention Centre - Chief Football Correspondent Matt Lawton is there watching events unfold - Music fills the streets around the International Covention Centre but on the rooftops above you see only South African army snipers. Clearly, they're concerned for the safety of Sir Trev. No sign of Charlize yet but the crowds are gathering to see the beautiful people. Theron, Beckham, Beardsley. Actually, Peter Beardsley's not here but another Newcastle great is - Ruud Gullit no less.



4.30: I have a winner for your favourite World Cup moment - I'll post it up here in a few minutes ... and here it is. No surprises as to the winner.



VIDEO: They think they've seen this one before - they have now.





4.25: Random fact - After the abandonment of the fifth one-dayer, England have become only the second side to win a one day series in South Africa. On just three occasions has the football World Cup been won by a team outside of it's continental zone. Straws being clutched as we speak.



4.20: As if further proof was needed that we are now living in the future, Fifa and Sony have announced that they will be broadcasting 25 of the tournaments matches in 3D.



4.10: Playing catch-up on details of the finals? Here's Sportsmail's team-by-team guide to the 32 sides who will be appearing at the Finals.



Winning team? Capello with Franco Baldini and Lord Triesman arrive at the draw

4.00: Last couple of minutes to get your favourite England World Cup moment in to me. I can tell you there's a clear leader at the moment - get your vote in quick to tom.bellwood@dailymail.co.uk



3.50: Much has been made of the fan's experience at this tournament and our Chief Football Correspondent Matt Lawton has news of a development ahead of the draw - The big news to emerge here concerns the World Cup merchandise shop, where all the vuvuzelas - the stadium horns synonymous with South African football - have been removed. They don't want to ruin the draw apparently.

Personally I think it's a pity. While we all want to hear what the lovely Charlize has to say, the vuvuzelas might have given it all a bit more of a carnival atmosphere. After a few days here this week you get the distinct feeling that the South Africans are really going to embrace this World Cup. The safety of the supporters remains a concern but the people here are going to do everything they can to make the tournament a huge amount of fun.



On a roll: It's David Beckham again - this time launching the official match ball

3.40: The news from the final dress rehearsal which has just taken place reaches us ... England drew Australia, Nigeria and France.



Sunderland boss Steve Bruce is absolutely convinced England will face France in tonight's draw for the World Cup finals.

'We have got to have the French, haven't we? The French have got to be in our group.



'The French will obviously be in our group, I have got a feeling on that, and then for me, you want to try to avoid one of the big African nations because the African nations in Africa will be a handful too.'



Incisive stuff.



3.30: Right then - quick straw poll - what's your favourite England World Cup moment of all time? Hurst's third against West Germany? Platt's volley against Belgium in 1990? Michael Owen's run and goal against Argentina in 1998? Let me know and I'll post the most popular up here in a video (If I can find it!) after 4pm. Email me - tom.bellwood@dailymail.co.uk

Magic: Platt's volley against Belgium was great but is it your favourite moment

3.25: Here's a random fact to fill a gap - None of the previous 18 host nations of the World Cup have been eliminated in the first round.



3.20: Some news from earlier this afternoon - there was a bomb-scare of sorts in the building adjacent to where the draw is taking place - some men in huge protective suits marched in but soon returned - panic over.



3.05: Our man in South Africa, Chief Football Correspondent Matt Lawton has dropped me line - It's more like the Oscars than the World Cup draw here, such is the effort FIFA have gone to in putting on a show. It's a no-expense spared production with all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, not least inside the 2,000 seater main hall at Cape Town's International Covention Centre. Right now a stage that will be graced by the beautiful Charlize Theron - among a load of famous footballers - is being mopped one more time. Well they had to find something for Sir Trevor Brooking to do.



2.55: England have got Australia, Slovakia and Cameroon! Oh, hang on, that was the practice draw earlier. Still, we'd be happy with that, wouldn't we? The Aussies, our arch-sporting nemesis and Cameroon, the team ranked 11 in the world. Crumbs.



Party time: Fans get in the mood in the build up to the fan fest event

2.40: Let's get some of the nuts and bolts out of today's ceremony out of the way.

Venue: The ceremony at the Cape Town International Convention Centre will last around 90 minutes in front of 2,000 invited guests and around 800 media representatives.

The draw procedure: There are four pots -



Pot 1 - The seeded teams

South Africa, Germany, Brazil, Italy, Spain, England, Holland, Argentina.



Pot 2 - Asia, Oceania and North/Central America.

Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Mexico, Honduras.



Pot 3 - Africa and South America.

Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Algeria, Paraguay, Chile, Uruguay.



Pot 4 - Europe.

France, Portugal, Slovenia, Switzerland, Greece, Serbia, Denmark, Slovakia.



The pots are emptied one by one, beginning with Pot One - The seeded teams will be assigned to a group, A - H. The remaining three positions in each group will then be filled from the remaining three pots.



No two teams from the same confederation will face each other in the same group, except Europe who will have two teams in five of the groups.

Got all that?



Becks effect: England's famous face at a coaching session for kids in Cape Town



TV Audience: 3,254 people are working in Cape Town to bring the draw to an estimated audience of 200m, with the pictures beamed to 200 countries worldwide.



People: The great and the good of the football world will be in attendance - David Beckham, Eusebio, Franz Beckenbauer, Michel Platini and Roger Milla would form a great five-a-side team - they'll be there. As will Ethiopian distance runner Haile Gebrselassie, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former President FW De Klerk and the South Africa rugby union Captain John Smit.



Charlize Theron is (very) special guest.



Money: World Cup prize-money available to 32 teams is £380million, up £145m from 2006. The winner gets £27m. Nicely done.



2.15pm: The waiting is over, the time is - almost - upon us ... welcome to Sportsmail's coverage of the World Cup 2010 draw.



The qualification process for the tournament started way back in August 2007 and was completed just a couple of weeks ago with the last of the play-offs.



And by 6.30pm this evening all 32 teams will know who their opponents are for the group stage in South Africa.



So what fate lies in store for Fabio Capello's England?



Being seeded was bonus as we avoid some of the better teams but we'll still have to beat the likes of Spain and Brazil at some stage if we are to become world champions.

Will it be a Group of Death - England, USA, France and Ivory Coast?

A Group of Life - England, New Zealand, Slovenia, Algeria



Or a Group of Needle (my favourite!) - England, Ivory Coast, Portugal, Australia.



I'll keep you up-to-date with all the action from the draw as we're treated to the delights of singing, dancing, a video message from Nelson Mandela and, of course, Charlize Theron.

