6 finals berths (one of which goes automatically to hosts South Africa)
1st stage
The 10 lowest-ranked countries of the 53 entrants were drawn in five two-leg ties. However, the Central African Republic and Sao Tome e Principe, who had been drawn together, both withdrew. FIFA awarded byes to the two highest-ranked countries of the remaining eight – Swaziland and Seychelles – and reordered the draw:
Djibouti v Somalia* 1-0
Madagascar v Comoros Islands 6-2, 4-0 (agg 10-2)
Sierra Leone v Guinea-Bissau 1-0, 0-0 (agg 1-0)
1st legs - 14/17.10.07; 2nd legs - 17.11.07
*Decided on a single match, in Djibouti, 16.11.07
The winners advanced to the 2nd stage.
2nd stage
The 48 countries* have been drawn in round-robin groups:
Group 1
Cameroon
Cape Verde Islands
Mauritius
Tanzania
Group 2
Guinea
Kenya
Namibia
Zimbabwe
Group 3
Angola
Benin
Niger
Uganda
Group 4
Equatorial Guinea
Nigeria
Sierra Leone
South Africa
Group 5
Gabon
Ghana
Lesotho
Libya
Group 6
Algeria
Gambia
Liberia
Senegal
Group 7
Botswana
Ivory Coast
Madagascar
Mozambique
Group 8
Ethiopia
Mauritania
Morocco
Rwanda
Group 9
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Seychelles
Tunisia
Group 10
Chad
Congo
Mali
Sudan
Group 11
Eritrea
Swaziland
Togo
Zambia
Group 12
Democratic Republic of Congo
Djibouti
Egypt
Malawi
The group winners and the eight best runners-up will advance to the 3rd stage.
*South Africa will participate despite having a finals berth guaranteed because the World Cup qualifying campaign doubles as the qualifying campaign for the 2010 African Nations Cup.
3rd stage
The 20 countries will be drawn in five four-team round-robin groups, the winners of which will qualify for the finals.
*If South Africa reach the 3rd stage and then win their group, the runners-up in that group will take the World Cup finals berth.