The 32 teams participating at next year's FIFA World Cup™ finals discovered their fate this evening when the Final Draw for South Africa 2010 took place in Cape Town.

 
Exclusively for Radio Netherlands Worldwide, reactions from African players, Eyong Enoh (Cameroon, Ajax Amsterdam), Sekou Cisse (Cote d'Ivoire, Feyenord FC Rotterdam) playing in the Dutch league and whose countries are qualified.

The six ambassadors representing the African continent (South Africa host country, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Algeria), are not afraid to meet the big guns. So says the Cameroonian midfielder Eyong Enoh of Ajax Amsterdam.
 
Eyong Enoh:

“Sometimes in a tournament it is not always easy to predict though you can talk about the big countries on paper. But in a competition like that, most of the time it all depends how fit the players are. Are there any injuries? What is the mentality? I think this World Cup will be a World Cup with a lot of surprises.”
 
Sekou Cisse:
"Our group with Brazil and Portugal is a tough one. But we are not scared. You can say that it is the group the death but I maintain that we are not afraid of anyone. But it also depends on our preparation."
 
According to Eyong Enoh, the African Cup of Nations (CAN) which still has yet to be played in January 2010 in Angola will be a good test for the 6 qualified African nations.
 
Eyong Enoh:
“For us (Cameroon), the first step to know exactly how we have prepared for the World Cup would be the Africa Cup of Nations next month in Angola and from there we can know what has been done and what still needs to be done and how prepared we are.”

The big favourites remain Brazil, Germany, Argentina and the Netherlands. But Enoh believes that the African sides should not be excluded.
 
Eyong Enoh:
“.... It is a World Cup and in a World Cup we must be ready to play against anyone and it is a tournament and not a single game. Just like in 1990 we were in the same group with Argentina, and we beat them 1-0. Having the Netherlands in our group is very interesting. The Dutch start strong but in the important phases they have problems. Although, they have learned a lot in previous competitions"
 
The Dutch will face Cameroon on 24 June in the last group match in Cape Town. They will play their first match on 14 June against Denmark. On 19 June they will play, in Durban, against Japan. 
 
Regarding African chances, according to both Cisse and Enoh, it is an open competition and the African teams stand a very good chance.
 
Eyong Enoh:
"It's open, it's a tournament, it’s a competition. I am aware that there will be many surprises. We would like to reach the finals."
 
Sekou Cisse:
"A dream final: Africa has to be represented. It will be tough."
 
In Group A, where the host country faces tough opposition from big teams like France and Mexico, the South Africa coach Carlos Alberto Parreira has also said that his team was not afraid of any of the teams it drew against.

"We are going to play the ball on the ground," Parreira said after the draw in Cape Town Friday.
  
"We are going to prepare ourselves, we are not afraid. Mexico are a good side, France have got players in the Champions League and they are good side."
     
The World Cup will kick off in Johannesburg on 11 June with a match between host South Africa and Mexico.
 
Below are the 8 groups:
Group A

South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France

Group B

Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece

Group C

England, United States, Algeria, Slovenia

Group D

Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia

Group E

Netherlands, Japan, Cameroon, Denmark

Group F

Italy (holders), New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia

Group G

Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal

Group H

Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland