The group stage draw divided the 20 remaining sides into 5 groups of 4, which were played from February to June 2008, from which the winners and runners-up advanced to the final group stage.
==== Trenutna lestvica (Tretji krog) ======= Azija (AFC) ==="(43 teams competing for 4 or 5 berths; a playoff against OFC determines which confederation gets the extra berth)"Two preliminary rounds (one in October 2007 and one in the first half of November) narrowed the field from 43 to 20 prior to the group stage draw in Durban on 25 November 2007.