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LONDON - THERE are 435 days before the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but 204 footballing nations are already jostling hard for the 32 spots available.
Most have passed the halfway stage in their qualifying routes. While some are all but eliminated, others are shaping up to mount a challenge for football's biggest prize.
While there are outsiders who may shine in Africa's first World Cup, here are the top eight teams who are most likely to challenge for the Cup, reported The Independent.
1 ARGENTINA
So far, coach Diego Maradona has been a success, despite courting controversy by dropping midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme. There are doubts about their defence, but while there is Lionel Messi, the football- mad country can dream, especially with Javier Mascherano, Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero alongside him.
Rising star: Sergio Aguero may have fathered Maradona's first grandchild, but this quicksilver striker does not need nepotism to win a place.
2 ENGLAND
With South Africa's June weather similar to that of cool and rainy England, it means England stars like Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard can finally play their high-tempo game without running out of gas in the knockout stages.
Rising star: Theo Walcott has shown in qualifying games that he has the skill and speed to frighten anyone.
3 FRANCE
They have a mix of experience and youth to prosper, but it is feared too many core players are either too young (Sami Nasri, Karim Benzema) or too old (Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira).
Rising star: Yoann Gourcuff is impressing many during a season- long loan from AC Milan to Bordeaux.
4 NETHERLANDS
Much depends on their RealMadrid quartet of Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart, Arjen Robben and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.
As always, their challenge will come down to whether their collective ego can survive a month.
Rising star: Ibrahim Afellay is a versatile attacking midfielder tipped for a big move soon.
5 BRAZIL
They struggled to qualify, but still won the 2007 Copa America in style, beating Argentina 3-0 in the final. Any team with Kaka, Ronaldinho, Robinho, Alexandre Pato and Lucio will provide attacking play, despite coach Dunga's defensive tactics.
Rising star: Alexandre Pato is emerging as a great striker for AC Milan.
6 ITALY
With the return of coach Marcello Lippi, the architect of their 2006 World Cup triumph, the Azzurri are rising again. Disregarding the crisis in the club game, the national team still have quality and nous to spare.
Qualifying is a given - the focus is on peaking in 2010.
Rising star: Giampaolo Pazzini has blossomed into a great scorer with Sampdoria.
7 SPAIN
Success at Euro 2008 appears to have given the squad a huge injection of confidence. The core of last summer's team remains and there is plenty of depth in the squad. Most importantly, they have goalscorers Fernando Torres, David Villa, Daniel Guiza.
Rising star: Bojan Krkic has been hailed by his club Barcelona as their next big scorer.
8 GERMANY
Never count the Germans out. Despite an indifferent qualifying campaign, everyone knows they will perform well in major tournaments. However, coach Joachim Loew's attempts to introduce more young players have seen mixed success and there are question marks everywhere.
Rising star: Mesut Ozil has spurned his Turkish origins to make his German bow last month.
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