So next summer the soccer goal safari begins, with big games and the most coveted trophy in world soccer: the FIFA World Cup. Here are the eight groups for the initial stage of the competition:

Group A

• South Africa (Hosts)
• Mexico
• Uruguay
• France

Group B

• Argentina
• Nigeria
• Korean Republic
• Greece

Group C

• England
• United States of America
• Algeria
• Slovenia

Group D

• Germany
• Australia
• Serbia
• Ghana

Group E

• Netherlands
• Denmark
• Japan
• Cameroon

Group F

• Italy
• Paraguay
• New Zealand
• Slovakia

Group G

• Brazil
• Korea DPR
• Ivory Coast
• Portugal

Group H

• Spain
• Switzerland
• Honduras
• Chile

So that is it. Next stop South Africa, and let the soccer goals flow!

Here’s how it looks, by group.

Host Country – Automatic Qualification

• South Africa

Africa Group

• Algeria
• Cameroon
• Cote d’Ivoire
• Ghana
• Nigeria

Asia Group

• Australia
• Japan
• North Korea
• South Korea

Europe Group

• Denmark
• England
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Portugal
• Serbia
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Switzerland

North and Central America

• Honduras
• Mexico
• USA

Oceania

• New Zealand

South America

• Argentina
• Brazil
• Chile
• Paraguay
• Uruguay

So unless France get disqualified – but they’ve got money so they won’t – I’ll update again after December 4 when the Final Draw is made by FIFA to decide which teams go into which World Cup Groups. Until then, get your soccer goals out so you can get some practice in, and don’t forget to practise those basketball skills as well; you never know when they’re gonna come in handy, eh, Thierry?

Thierry Henry

Unable to create any realistic scoring openings using legal methods, the French stole a goal after Thierry Henry (right: photo obtained under Creative Commons) cynically handled the ball allowing him to cross to Gallas who scored the night’s equalizer – putting France through to the World Cup Finals in South Africa. Sorry Henry, but – shame on you! It would have been nice to see a little bit of honour, especially in such an important match. So this almost certainly looks like being Ireland’s “Hand of God” tragedy. Absolute soccer goal shocker! I’m sure any Irish fans will be incandescent with rage tonight, and FIFA, for the sake of its own reputation should get involved.

So despite playing France off the field tonight, Ireland get sent home while France have now booked their ticket to the World Cup. The other teams through after completing their playoffs during the last week, and on their way to South Africa next summer, are New Zealand, Algeria, Greece, Slovenia and Portugal. Uruguay are still to play their deciding fixture against Costa Rica.

I’ll update the full list of qualifying teams once all is done and dusted; and once I’ve fully understood and grasped the concept that in FIFA Soccer, cheats do indeed prosper.

The groups each now have definite qualified teams, and there will be a series of two-leg play-offs to decide the final line up of countries going to South Africa. In the latest twist, Argentina managed automatic qualification from the South America Group and Portugal, as expected, grabbed a play-off ticket.

Let’s see which teams are already through, and promise to provide us with a feast of soccer goals. First up, the South America Group.

South America Qualifying Group

• Brazil (34 points)
• Chile (33 points)
• Paraguay (33 points)
• Argentina (28 points)

As you can see, this was a fairly close affair, but the World Cup just wouldn’t feel right without teams like Brazil and Argentina, so it’s nice to see them in the mix. And if it’s goals you are after, then Brazil will surely deliver!  There is potentially one place left for the trip to South Africa. It might be Uruguay.

North and Central America and the Caribbean

• USA (20 points)
• Mexico (19 points)
• Honduras (16 points)

Another close one for honor at the top of the table, but the USA reached out and took it. It is the fourth place in this group which enters the playoff with fifth place from the South America Group. So it looks like Uruguay will be playing Costa Rica for a ticket to the Soccer World Cup, Costa Rica narrowly missing out on automatic qualification due to goal difference.

Europe Qualifying Group

• Denmark (21 points) – Group 1 Winner
• Switzerland (21 points) – Group 2 Winner
• Slovakia (22 points) – Group 3 Winner
• Germany (26 points) – Group 4 Winner
• Spain (30 points) – Group 5 Winner
• England (27 points) – Group 6 Winner
• Serbia (22 points) – Group 7 Winner
• Italy (24 points) – Group 8 Winner
• Netherlands (24 points) – Group 9 Winner

Many of these were expected to qualify, and will hopefully come up with the goods at the finals. The remaining four places from the Euro Group will be decided by the playoffs, involving the eight best group runners up. These teams will be: Portugal, Greece, Slovenia, Russia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ukraine, France, and Republic of Ireland.

Asia Qualifying Group

• Australia (20 points) – Group 1 Winner
• Japan (15 points) – Group 1 Runner Up
• Korea Republic (16 points) – Group 2 Winner
• Korea DPR (12 points) – Group 2 Runner Up

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain played off for the chance to play New Zealand for a place at the Finals. Bahrain won and will meet New Zealand next month.

Oceania Qualifying Group

New Zealand won the group with 15 points, the other teams being New Caledonia, Fiji and Vanuatu. They are not through yet though. They have to beat Bahrain in a two-leg playoff next month.

Africa Qualifying Group

The qualifiers in the Africa zone are not complete yet with one match remaining. However, out of the five groups two cannot be caught and therefore automatically qualify:

• Ghana – Group D
• Ivory Coast – Group E

So next summer is looking promising. I’ll update again once the playoffs are done and dusted; at that point we’ll know all the teams going off to South Africa for a soccer goals bonanza – hopefully for each team the goals will be for, not against!

The rules for playing soccer indoors are different to the outdoor game, although in the British version, games are normally played fairly informally and the rule variations agreed prior to the game. There is no offside rule in indoor soccer, and so there is no requirement for assistant referees. The goalkeeper’s area is a semi-circle, and no other players are allowed in this area – the goalkeeper is not allowed to wander out of it either. It is a free kick to the opposing side if the ball is kicked above head height, but otherwise the ball is always in play, as it can be bounced off the walls to dribble past opponents. This is one reason why indoor soccer is such a great game for improving fitness. British 5-a-side is sometimes played outside in a caged area and on astroturf – in this case the ball can be kicked and rebounded of the cage in a similar way that the walls are used in the indoor variant.

The soccer goals used for indoor soccer, 5-a-side and futsal are smaller than full size goals, and usually are lower than the goalkeeper’s height. Some goals sold by sports retailers can be used, for example, as a practice goal outdoors with 6 foot wide by 4 foot high by 2 foot deep dimensions. Then for indoor play, the same goal can be flipped over to present a target that is 6 foot wide by 2 foot high by 4 foot deep.

An example of such a “flippable” indoor and outdoor soccer goal is called the Alumagoal Lil Shooter, and fits the bill, especially if you are a club that fields teams at various age levels. For example, you can use this type of goal for all indoor practice, and also use it as a normal outdoor goal, either for shooting practice or for the younger age groups.

From a fitness perspective it always pays to play some indoor soccer even if you are normally playing your soccer on a full size pitch; and it helps greatly with close ball control and tight one-touch football.

Goal Sizes

There is a variety of different goal sizes available, to cater for the different age groups. Full size goals (over 12 years old) are 8 feet high and 24 feet wide, and the size of the pitch needs to take this goal size into account – so you’ll want to mark out a pitch that is 50 yards wide and 90 yards in length.

For the juniors (8 to 11 years old) you will need to get slightly smaller goals. A good size for this age group would be 7 feet high and 21 feet wide, although you’ll be able to find a range of smaller sizes. Just pick one close to these measurements. You can use a slightly smaller pitch for this age group – same width but 70 yards in length.

The next group is the fledglings (6 to 7 years old) and again they’ll need to be practising in soccer goals the next size down. Go for goals approximately 6.5 feet tall and 18 feet wide. Again the sizes may vary but go for something close. For the fledglings, a shorter, narrower pitch is recommended (eg 30 yards by 50 yards).

Finally, there is the under-6 age group, and you’ll want to keep things simple for these guys. A soccer goal that is 4 feet high and 9 feet wide is a good size. And to keep their interest and avoid exhausting them, shrink the pitch for them to 20 yards wide by 40 yards long.

There are other sizes available for other types of football, in particular the low height indoor soccer goals used for 5-a-side soccer. I’ll cover this in a later post.

Soccer Goals Accessories

Unless you want your teams to do extra fitness training, the extra accessories you will need to get hold of are nets and fasteners. You will certainly need these extras if you’ve bought your soccer goals to be used in competitive soccer matches – otherwise you’d be losing precious minutes of play retrieving the ball after a goal was scored!

The nets are sized to fit each particular size of goal, and many sports retailers will have charts to help you pick the correct nets for the goal frames you are using.

You will need to attach the nets to the goals, and there is a selection of different methods, either clips or bars, or velcro strips that you can use to secure the nets by wrapping them around the goal posts and crossbar.

Finally, if you are using soccer goals for juniors or younger, and you opted for lighter-weight equipment, ensure that they are securely anchored, to prevent accidents in case they tip over. Stakes and anchors for these goals will be readily available at the sports store you bought the goals from, or may have been supplied with the goals themselves.

Cheap Soccer Goals

Before you jump in and buy any kind of soccer goal, you need to be clear who is going to be using it, whether it is for a little practice in the backyard or for matches, how much space is available to you etc. There is little point in buying a pair of aluminum 8 foot by 24 foot soccer goals just to kick a football around the back garden with your toddling four-year-old son!

So the best soccer goals for this type of situation are the small, lightweight plastic ones. They’ll be the cheapest ones also. Remember that although these are lightweight, durable and portable, they can easily get knocked or blown over, so always remember to anchor them when in use, for safety. The plastic practice goals are great for shooting and usually have a tighter rebound net so the ball will come back out for you.

Metal Professional Goals

The more expensive type of soccer goals are made of aluminum, and are a lot heavier. For safety they should be securely fixed in place. They are designed to be a permanent fixture on the football field, not to be moved around. Because they are made of aluminum, they are weather resistant and sturdy enough (when anchored) not to move when hit by the soccer ball.

The full size metal soccer goals should be used by all players over the age of 12; they are 8 foot tall and 24 foot wide, and also have minimum pitch size requirements – 50 yards in width and 90 yards in length. These sizes apply to the outdoor game; indoor soccer goals and futsal goals are different.

Goal Requirements

It’s absolutely fine to buy the small plastic goals if you play for fun with the kids, out in the backyard. But for more serious training, for schools and colleges eager to build competitive teams, it is probably better to acquire a set of different soccer goals to best serve the different age groups. In this case, the general recommendation is to get two full sized all-weather goals and two smaller sizes for the youngsters to practise with. Usually, you’ll only be playing on half of the full-size pitch with the smaller ones.

I’ll explain a bit more next time about the different sizes and who should use them as well as what accessories you’ll need for your soccer goals.

The soccer goals that live on might do so because they are just near impossibilities – like many scored by the Brazilian ‘hitman’ Roberto Carlos. Others survive in our memories because of the importance of the goal or the timing.

I’ve chosen five top notch soccer goals to highlight because they are memorable for me. You’ll all have your own opinions and your own favorites, and they’ll probably all be different from mine – that’s the beauty of football.

I’ll have to say before anybody comments that I know these goals were not all scored during World Cup Soccer; some are from qualifying games and from other championships, but they’re just awesome soccer goals nevertheless.

I’ll do it reverse numerical order:

5. Paul Gascoigne (England)

This is one of those occasions that shows how fast a game can change. The game was England against Scotland in the 1996 Euro Championships. England were 1-0 up, and Scotland won a penalty. Arguably the penalty should have been scored and the game tied. Soccer doesn’t work like that. Seamen, the England goalkeeper, saved the penalty with his elbow conceding a corner kick. The corner produced nothing more than a free kick for England, which saw a long ball flicked on for Gazza, who chipped up past his marker and volleyed a goal. England 2 – Scotland 0. Here’s how the action played out.

4. David Beckham (England)

Now this goal demonstrates the benefit of never giving up. The game was England against Greece in the qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup Finals. England had to at least draw the game for automatic qualification. In a sub-par performance England were losing 2-1 at full time, and entered injury time perhaps with World Cup dreams in tatters. In the 93rd minute Beckham did this. England 2 – Greece 2. Never had so many Englishmen celebrated so hard for drawing a match against a team expected to be severe underdogs!

3. Roberto Carlos (Brazil)

As soccer goals go, this is verging on the unbelievable. In fact this goal is from a Spanish league match – Real Madrid versus Tenerife – rather than a Brazil international. It’s a great great goal though. Scored running at full pelt from the touchline. I’ll write nothing more other than watch and marvel.

2. Diego Maradona (Argentina)

Just to balance out the two England soccer goals above, there was an international match between England and Argentina in the World Cup Finals of 1986, remembered for all the wrong reasons – the mysterious Hand of God! But to be fair to Maradona (like he wasn’t with England!) his second goal was an absolute gem. Half the length of the pitch solo effort past four or five defenders, suckered the keeper into dive, and then slotted it in – great solo effort, great goal. Here’s a reminder.

1. Roberto Carlos (Brazil)

This is possibly the best free kick I have ever seen. He scored it during Tournoi de France in 1997. A pretty unbelievable free kick, deliberately kicking the ball at least a yard wide of the goal from way out – look at his run up! Bent the ball all the way back in, and literally left everybody rooted to the ground in disbelief. Awesome! Here it is in all its glory.

Let’s all hope the soccer goals to be scored in the 2010 World Cup Finals can match the quality of some of these!