FIFA decides on playoff system for 2006 World Cup ( 2003-12-05 11:02) (Xinhua) The fifth-placed team in the
South American group will meet winners of the Oceania zone to vie for a place in
the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany, FIFA decided in Frankfurt, Germany on
Thursday.
Also the fourth placed team in the final group of the CONCACAF zone will meet
the winners of an Asian playoff, a same playoff system with the 2002 finals.
This model to decide the last qualifiers may cause a repeat of Australia
against Uruguay, who finished fifth in South America forthe 2002 finals and won
a World Cup berth as they beat Australia 3-1 in the two-leg playoff.
Oceania's direct place is still out of sight as the world's soccer governing
body FIFA drew back its promise in June and turned down a proposal to increase
the number of finalists from 32to 36.
The last time a team from the Oceania confederation qualified for the World
Cup finals was New Zealand in 1982, and Australia made their only appearance at
the finals of 1974 World Cup in Germany.
The playoffs are due to be played in November 2005 at the end of the
qualifying competition. The draw for the main qualifying rounds will be made in
Frankfurt on Friday.
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