CONCACAF to keep 3.5 slots for 2010?

It's possible that CONCACAF might keep their three automatic and one playoff slots for South Africa 2010, despite the poor performance of the CONCACAF representatives (except Mexico) in Germany this past summer.  That's the word that representatives of Costa Rica's football federation are getting, but confirmation of that won't be until next May.

If CONCACAF does indeed keep their slots from 2006, it will be less a result of their quality and more the political clout of Jack Warner.  But if performance doesn't improve in 2010, expect the pressure to take away a slot to intensify from other regions, especially Europe.