England v Holland
World Cup Qualifier
8.05pm, Thursday 31 August 2006
The Valley, Charlton Athletic FC
Live on Sky Sports

To buy tickets for the game click here

We've reached crunch time for World Cup Qualification as teams from around the globe have China 2007 on their mind with just a handful of games remaining.

England go into Thursday's game against Holland with everything to play for, but what is the situation for the other sides vying to be one of the 16 to make the final tournament?

While some of the details can get complicated we’ll start with the simplest fact that many of you will already be aware of; China qualify as hosts. They will be joined from the Asian section by Australia and North Korea who booked their places via the AFC Women's Championship in July.

China saw off Australia in the final on penalties and with both sides sure of their qualification, North Korea secured their place by triumphing over Japan in the third place play-off.

Despite losing out, Japan still hold out some hope of qualification as they face a further play-off with the third-placed side from the North American section.

Teams from North and Central America have yet to begin their qualification period, with the 2006 Women's Gold Cup providing the two sides to head east next year. Mexico, Panama, Canada and the favourites USA have made it to the final qualifying stage with the Central American sides yet to be confirmed.

In Europe there are a number of sides tantalisingly close to taking one of five places, while Norway are the first to make it to China from UEFA. Sweden are in an especially strong position in their group while everyone will be aware of the situation with England and France.

Russia have put the pressure on reigning World and European Champions Germany, shooting to the top of the table with a string of victories.

Although with games in hand and a 5-1 win over Russia earlier in qualifying, Silvia Neid's experienced players will feel confident of overturning the deficit to keep alive their hopes of retaining their title.

The sides from South American will fight it out in Buenos Aires at the South American Games in November, but Brazil and Argentina will be much fancied to make the two spots their own.

The African contingent will be confirmed when two teams emerge from the Women's African Football Championship in Nigeria.

As always be sure to log on to TheFA.com/Womens for the latest news on Women’s football.