"We haven't got an easy group. Sweden and Ireland always do very well in qualifying," Joachim Low, Germany coach
Perennial qualifiers Germany will be expected to dominate Group C of European qualifying, although Sweden, Republic of Ireland and Austria will all be confident of making an impression.
The draw for the European zone yielded some potentially thrilling sections, with local rivalries set to be stirred and the world champions left to do battle with another winner of football's ultimate prize.
Switzerland and Slovakia seized Europe's last two automatic berths in South Africa, while Portugal, Greece, Slovenia and Ukraine made the play-offs.
Romania ended their disappointing South Africa 2010 qualifying campaign with a 3-1 home victory over Group 7's bottom team, the Faroe Islands.
Switzerland, Greece, Slovakia and Slovenia head into Wednesday's final qualifiers hoping to claim the two remaining direct tickets to South Africa.
