Editor's Roundtable: Discussing The FIFA 2010 World Cup Draw
by Andrea Canales, Shane Evans, Allen Ramsey and Zac Lee Rigg (Analysis | Goal.com - December 8)
Chief Editor Andrea Canales, associate editors Shane Evans, Allen Ramsey, Zac Lee Rigg and Mexico editor Luis Bueno welcome Goal.com Magazine Editor-in-chief Greg Lalas to the roundtable. more details | go to article

Why Not An African WCup Winner?
by Greg Lalas (Commentary | Sports Illustrated - December 7)
Abdullah makes his living as a tour guide on Lamu Island, a palm-tree paradise in the Indian Ocean, just off the coast from the heaving port city of Mombassa. Short and bearing a wild, rheumy eye, he's as mellow as a beach bum. But mention soccer, and Abdullah becomes as excited as a kid on a sugar high. more details | go to article

Luck Of Draw To U.S., Not SPI Powers
by Nate Silver (Analysis | ESPN - December 7)
My initial impressions of the eight groups as they were drawn in Cape Town today, as seen from a Soccer Power Index perspective: The teams that have the most to be thankful for are three in the second 10 -- the United States, Italy and Paraguay -- while the unluckiest teams were in the top 10, as No. 7 Portugal and No. 9 Ivory Coast drew No. 1 Brazil in this World Cup finals' "Group of Death." more details | go to article

The Value Of Teams In World Cup 2010
by No Author Listed (Analysis | Football Finance - December 7)
Thus we prepared a representative study of the value of all teams playing in the World Cup 2010 in South Africa In total, the total economic rights of players from 32 teams attending the event will exceed 5,000 million euros. more details | go to article

Sounds Of Revelling Soccer Fans Will Drown Out Naysayers
by Geoffrey York (Blog Entry | Toronto Globe and Mail - December 6)
Returning to my hotel on Friday night after the World Cup draw, I found myself mired in a massive traffic jam in the middle of Cape Town – and got a glimpse of how South Africa could triumph as host of the global soccer jamboree next year. more details | go to article

Statistics Are Difference Between Life And Death
by John Ashdown (Analysis | Guardian - December 6)
Adding up the Fifa rankings in each group can help to predict where any potential surprises are likely to come from. more details | go to article

U.S. Has A Clear Path Out Of The Group Stage
by Conor Nevins (Analysis | ESPN - December 5)
I've never watched a World Cup draw before. To be honest, I never really considered it. What was there to see? You were assured of a couple of cupcake groups and a Group of Death. If you were a United States fan, it was a futile exercise in crossing your fingers and hoping to avoid the worst-case scenario. more details | go to article

England Can Dream Of Lifting Cup But African Sides Will Steal Show
by James Lawton (Commentary | Independent - December 5)
David Beckham may have been merely doing his bit for the old country but it was still hard not to gag when swallowing his tributes to Jack Warner, the delegate from Trinidad whose son’s World Cup ticket caper in Germany became an ugly focus of attention three years ago, and Sepp Blatter, Fifa president and the game’s ultimate pragmatist. more details | go to article

Live With Landon
by No Author Listed (Blog Entry | Nike - December 4)
Live chat with Landon Donovan at 4pm Eastern/1pm Pacific following the World Cup draw. more details | go to article

2010 World Cup Draw
by Steven Goff (Preview | Washington Post - December 4)
In many ways, the World Cup draw is much like Selection Sunday for the NCAA basketball tournament: Coaches, players and supporters gather around TVs and computers with bracket sheets and venue information, an excruciatingly drawn-out proceeding that will lead to endless debate and dissection. more details | go to article

World Cup Live Draw Instant Analysis
by Ravi Ubha (Analysis | ESPN - December 4)
Ravi Ubha's instant analysis of the eight four-nation groups, throwing in his picks to advance to the second round. more details | go to article

USA To Face England, Algeria And Slovenia As World Cup Draw Is Set
by Ives Galarcep (Blog Entry | Soccer By Ives - December 4)
The U.S. men's national team avoided being drawn into a Group of Death, and will now face a very favorable path in the 2010 World Cup. more details | go to article

World Cup Draw Is Kind To The U.S.
by George Vecsey (Commentary | New York Times - December 4)
The World Cup draw for the United States was not even so bad when England popped out first from the magician’s hat. Then the draw kept getting better for the Yanks as Algeria and Slovenia materialized. more details | go to article

England Comes Out On Top In World Cup Draw
by Grahame L. Jones (Analysis | Los Angeles Times - December 4)
David Beckham's native country will play U.S., Algeria and Slovenia in the first round of the first World Cup to be held on African soil. The big loser in today's draw? Portugal. more details | go to article

U.S. Gets A Plum Cup Draw For Once
by Grant Wahl (Analysis | Sports Illustrated - December 4)
The gods of soccer smiled upon the United States for once on Friday, giving the Americans one of the most fortunate draws imaginable for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. more details | go to article