Oceania
The qualifying should originally have ended in late September, but New Zealand vs Fiji was postponed due to visas not being issued. The match has been rescheduled for November, so New Zealand have everything in their own hands; two points or more against New Caledonia would assure qualification. Fiji and Vanuatu are both eliminated.
03.00, Ba: Fiji 2-0 Vanuatu
06.00, Noumea: New Caledonia 1-3 New Zealand (a brief scare through a second-half equaliser, but Shane Smeltz scored two goals and sent New Zealand into the play-offs.)
Code:
New Zealand 12 +8 P
- - - - - - - - -
NCaledon 5 +2
Fiji 4 -4
Vanuatu 1 -6
New Zealand to playoff with Asia
Asia
The qualifying proper starts now, after spring's preliminaries. Ten teams fight for four direct spots to South Africa and a fifth play-off spot. The day's matches are played at ungodly hours in the Arab states; I think this is related to Ramadan, to make sure players can warm up, get some food, etc. before the games start some time after ten. Presumably crowds will be low.
18.15, Abu Dhabi, grp B: UAE 1-2 North Korea (North Korea could be on the way to a World Cup, even though UAE are probably weakest in the group. Eurosport shows South vs North on Wednesday, should probably get in front of a TV then)
18.30, Manama, grp A: Bahrain 2-3 Japan (import away victory, as the East Asians didn't have that many problems despite a late own goal)
19.00, Doha, grp A: Qatar 3-0 Uzbekistan (storming win for the Qataris, who hit the Uzbeks on the counter after scoring an early goal)
19.15, Riyadh, grp B: Saudi Arabia 1-1 Iran (a share of the spoils here, with a late equaliser bringing Iran into a good position)
Code:
Group 1 Group 2
Qatar 3 +3 North Korea 3 +1
Japan 3 +1 Iran 1 0
----------------- -----------------
Australia (0)0 0 Saudi Arabia 1 0
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Bahrain 0 -1 South Kor (0)0 0
Uzbekistan 0 -3 Un Ar Emir 0 -1
Africa
23 matches; the most important (imo) in bold. Many groups have a battle for first in this round, important as only the first placed team goes directly through - the others have to compare points with other runner-ups to be assured of qualification.
5 September
18.00, Djibouti, grp 12: Djibouti 0-3 Malawi (as expected, Djibouti are trounced)
20.00, Tripoli, grp 5:
Libya 1-0 Ghana (another away loss for Ghana, which sees them precariously placed at second in the group. They'll have six points for the runners-up table, just about average - their good goal difference might be enough though. Libya also need a point in Gabon in order to win the group)
20.00, Blida, grp 6:
Algeria 3-2 Senegal (how the mighty have fallen...or, conversely, how the mighty have recovered, as Algeria was once a grand power of football themselves. Algeria scored three goals from the 60th to the 73rd minute, demolishing Senegalese hopes - though Senegal have a home match against Gambia where they should manage to qualify on points)
6 September
11.00, Curepipe, grp 1: Mauritius 1-4 Tanzania (Mauritius rooted to bottom)
12.30, Victoria, grp 9: Seychelles 1-2 Burundi (Seychelles still rooted to foot of the table, Burundi still need a miracle)
13.00, Port Libby, grp 4:
South Africa 0-1 Nigeria (In all practical terms, South Africa are out. They could still finish second, but they will nevertheless only carry one point against the top four sides, and that will clearly not be enough to qualify)
13.00, Nairobi, grp 2:
Kenya 1-0 Namibia (another win for Kenya after a first half penalty, and they now look fairly assured of qualifying from this group now. Seven points in the top-three matches ought to be enough.)
16.30, Freetown, grp 4: Sierra Leone 2-1 Equatorial Guinea (Sierra Leone comfortable winners despite a late consolation goal)
17.00, Praia, grp 1:
Cape Verde 1-2 Cameroon (Mexico-based Alain Nkong sealed the comeback, as Cameroon jumped four points ahead of Portugal D and sealed first place)
17.00, Banjul, grp 6:
Gambia 3-0 Liberia (Falu-raised and Bergen-based Njogu Demba-Nyrén scored two goals as Gambia moved into second place with a game to spare. Their goal difference means a draw in Dakar against Senegal could be enough)
17.00, Nouakchott, grp 8: Mauritania 0-1 Rwanda (Rwanda are now basically qualified, given their last side is against a weak Ethiopia side that are in any case likely to be excluded from the group due to government interference)
18.00, Ouagadougou, grp 9:
Burkina Faso 0-0 Tunisia (Tunisia secured a play-off position in a dull draw - seven points should be enough to make it through. Also play Seychelles in the final round, so if Burundi throw an upset they could still win.
19.00, Cairo, grp 10: Sudan 1-2 Chad (Chad are now tied with Congo, and still hunting second place, but they will probably not get enough points to qualify even if they win the return leg)
7 September
11.30, Antananarivo, grp 7: Madagascar 1-0 Botswana (odd goal takes Madagascar into second place, but it's doubtful whether more teams than Ivory Coast qualify from here)
13.00, Harare, grp 2:
Zimbabwe 0-0 Guinea (no goals from either side leaves Guinea needing to beat Kenya to qualify, while Zimbabwe's chances are out of their hand)
13.00, Bloemfontein RSA, grp 5: Lesotho 0-3 Gabon (Gabon set themselves up to qualify with any win against Libya)
13.00, Maputo, grp 7:
Mozambique 1-1 Ivory Coast (Miro, a new call-up, pegged back Bakary Koné's early second half goal, leaving Mozambique to rely on a Madagascar loss in Ivory Coast - not entirely unlikely. In that case they would be fairly well positioned, having five points from four games in the top three)
14.30, Brazzaville, grp 10:
Republic of Congo 1-0 Mali (Mali remain first on goal difference, but need a win over Chad to be safe)
14.30, Kinshasa, grp 12:
Democratic Republic of Congo 0-1 Egypt (another battle for first - the teams are currently separated by how much they beat hapless Djibouti by)
15.00, Cotonou, grp 3:
Benin 3-2 Angola (two goals from Razak Omotoyossi helped Benin secure first place in the group, while Angola are done with their qualifying against the top four teams and can only hope that four points will be enough. I doubt it - in that case Angola will be the first 2006 qualifier to be eliminated from the 2010 cup)
15.30, Niamey, grp 3: Niger 3-1 Uganda (after four straight losses, Niger came back from 0-1 down for their first win of the qualifying, scuppering Uganda's hopes)
Postponed matches:
Chililabombwe, grp 11:
Zambia vs Togo (postponed till Wednesday due to the period of mourning for the Zambian president)
Addis Abeba, grp 8: Ethiopia vs Morocco (Ethiopia's Football Federation is excluded for FIFA, and a disqualification from the Cup beckons)
Code:
Africa (5 games unless stated in brackets):
Group 1 Pt GD Group 2 Pt GD Group 3 Pt GD Group 4 Pt GD
Cameroon 13 +7 Q Kenya 10 +4 Benin 12 +5 Q Nigeria 15 +7 Q
----------------- ------------------ ----------------- -----------------
Cape Verde 9 +2 P Guinea 8 +3 Angola 7 +1 Sierra Leone 7 -1
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Tanzania 5 +1 E Zimbabwe 6 0 Uganda 7 -2 South Africa 4 -1 E
Mauritius 1 -9 E Namibia 3 -7 E Niger 3 -4 E Eq Guinea 3 -5 E
Group 5 Pt GD Group 6 Pt GD Group 7 Pt GD Group 8 Pt GD
Libya 12 +4 Algeria 9 +3 Ivory Coast 9 +5 Rwanda 12 +5 P
----------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------
Gabon 9 +4 Gambia 8 +3 Madagascar 6 -2 Morocco (4) 9 +6
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ghana 9 +3 Senegal 8 +2 Mozambique 5 +1 Ethiopia (4) 6 +2
Lesotho 0 -11E Liberia 2 -8 E Botswana 5 -4 Mauritania 0 -13E
Group 9 Pt GD Group 10 Pt GD Group 11 Pt GD Group 12 Pt GD
Burkina Faso13 +7 P Mali 9 +4 Swaziland (3)4 0 Egypt 12 +7 P
----------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------
Tunisia 10 +3 P Congo Brazza 9 +1 Zambia (3) 4 0 DR Congo 9 +10
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Burundi 6 -2 Chad (4) 6 -1 Togo (2) 3 +0 Malawi 9 +7
Seychelles 0 -8 E Sudan (4) 3 -4 Eritrea w/d Djibouti 0 -24E
Top team + 8 best runners-up qualify. P signifies a team guaranteed second or better.
Code:
Runner-up tables (matches against current last team removed):
Tunisia (4) 7 +1
Morocco (3) 6 +3
Congo Br (4) 6 0
Angola (4) 4 0
Gambia (3) 4 0
Zambia (3) 4 0
S Leone (3) 4 0
Congo Ki (3) 3 0
-----------------
Gabon (3) 3 -1
Cape Verde(3)3 -1
Guinea (3) 2 -2
Madagascar(3)2 -3
The cut thus looks to be either five or six points.
Europe
Not that many interesting matches, but a few that should be close are bolded.
13.00, Skopje, grp 9: Macedonia 1-0 Scotland (Macedonia evidently on the way to the World Cup. The other teams are really rubbish.)
14.00, Caerdydd, grp 4: Wales 1-0 Azerbaijan (low crowds, no goals for 80 minutes, then Sam Vokes came off the bench to bring Wales three points)
15.00, Wrocław, grp 3: Poland 1-1 Slovenia (Poland took an early lead through a penalty, then allowed Slovenia to come back, and were in the end lucky to get the one point)
15.30, Bratislava, grp 3:
Slovakia 2-1 Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland suffered a setback to recent resurgence, but this could be a close group if the Czechs don't get into gear)
16.00, Tiraspol, grp 2: Moldova 1-2 Latvia (a late resurgence from the hosts wasn't enough. The location of the match is intriguing; Tiraspol is the capital of Transnistria, a de facto independent republic with similar status to the recently well known South Ossetia and Abkhazia.)
16.00, Yerevan, grp 5: Armenia 0-2 Turkey (more political conflicts: the match was attended by the Turkish president, the first visit by a Turkish head of state in Armenia. The football went as expected, with Tuncay and Semih netting)
16.45, Tirana, grp 1: Albania 0-0 Sweden (at least Norway weren't the only Scandinavian nation to suffer utter embarrassment)
17.00, Oslo, grp 9: Norway 2-2 Iceland (one cross and a blistering Gudjohnsen free kick continues Iceland's excellent sporting year. Norway's coach must be fearing for his job)
17.00, Lviv, grp 6: Ukraine 1-0 Belarus (90th-minute penalty settles the derby, which wasn't played as much of one)
17.45, Budapest, grp 1:
Hungary 0-0 Denmark (Denmark hit the inside of the post and was, as expected, closest, but failed to put control on things)
17.55, Tel Aviv, grp 2:
Israel 2-2 Switzerland (Israel came back from 0-2 with twenty minutes to spare, with Switzerland's new coach Ottmar Hitzfeld blaming the heat)
18.00, Ta'Qali, grp 1: Malta 0-4 Portugal (meh)
18.00, Montjuïc, Barcelona ESP, grp 6: Andorra 0-2 England (meh)
18.00, Mainz GER, grp 8: Georgia 1-2 Republic of Ireland (neutral ground due to South Ossetia conflict - goals from Doyle and Whelan)
18.00, Podgorica, grp 8: Montenegro 2-2 Bulgaria (Montenegro's first qualifier as an independent nation - they'll be no pushovers, as they led 2-1 going into injury time. Mirko Vučinić, of Roma, is the star of the team, and hit the crossbar and a goal today)
18.00, Cluj, grp 7: Romania 0-3 Lithuania (good results for Jamee overall this week, one feels)
18.15, Luxembourg, grp 2: Luxembourg 0-3 Greece (yawn)
18.15, Zagreb, grp 6: Croatia 3-0 Kazakhstan (Croats not slipping up against weaker nations)
18.15, Beograd, grp 7: Serbia 2-0 Faroe Islands (eek)
18.30, Wien, grp 7: Austria 3-1 France (France's group certainly isn't easy, except for the Faroes, but with this result to start with the French have plumbed new surrender depths - while the Euro seems to have revitalised Austrian football)
18.45, Vaduz, grp 4: Liechtenstein 0-6 Germany (ketchup in second half)
18.45, Liège, grp 5: Belgium 3-2 Estonia (decent play by Belgium, who will build on their Olympic squad to make a decent fist at challenging Turkey and Spain)
18.45, Larnaca, grp 8: Cyprus 1-2 Italy (Cypriot football continues to do well, but an injury time goal from Antonio Di Natale prevented them taking anything but pride from the game)
20.00, Murcia, grp 5: Spain 1-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina (Spain have had trouble with Bosnia before, but beleaguered visitors were beaten by a David Villa goal. Villa did, however, miss a penalty)
Code:
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3
Portugal 3 +4 Greece 3 +3 Slovakia 3 +1
----------------- ----------------- -----------------
Sweden 1 0 Latvia 3 +1 Poland 1 0
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Denmark 1 0 Switzerland 1 0 Slovenia 1 0
Hungary 1 0 Israel 1 0 Czech Rep (0)0 0
Albania 1 0 Moldova 0 -1 San Marino(0)0 0
Malta 0 -4 Luxembourg 0 -3 Nor Ireland 0 -1
Group 4 Group 5 Group 6
Germany 3 +6 Turkey 3 +2 Croatia 3 +3
----------------- ----------------- -----------------
Wales 3 +1 Belgium 3 +1 England 3 +2
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Finland (0) 0 0 Spain 3 +1 Ukraine 3 +1
Russia (0) 0 0 Estonia 0 -1 Belarus 0 -1
Azerbaijan 0 -1 Bos i Herc 0 -1 Andorra 0 -2
Liechtenstein0 -6 Armenia 0 -2 Kazakhstan 0 -3
Group 7 Group 8 Group 9
Lithuania 3 +3 Italy 3 +1 FYR Macedonia3 +1
----------------- ----------------- -----------------
Austria 3 +2 Rep Ireland 3 +1 Iceland 1 0
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Serbia 3 +2 Bulgaria 1 0 Norway 1 0
France 0 -2 Montenegro 1 0 N'lands (0) 0 0
Faroe Islands0 -2 Georgia 0 -1 Scotland 0 -1
Romania 0 -3 Cyprus 0 -1
Group winner to World Cup
Eight best runners-up to play-off
CONCACAF
21.30, Port of Spain, grp 1: Trinidad and Tobago 1-1 Guatemala (after a good start to qualifying, Trinidad faltered somewhat in this game, as a Keon Daniel goal was equalled by an injury-time effort)
22.00, Mexico City, grp 2: Jamaica 0-3 Mexico (reversed leg due to hurricane Gustav; as expected, Mexico coasted to victory)
00.00, Montréal, grp 2: Canada 1-2 Honduras (Honduras and Jamaica look set to squabble for second, as the Canadians simply care about other sports)
00.00, Havana, grp 1: Cuba 0-1 United States (Clint Dempsey scored as the United States' football team visited Cuba for the first time in 61 years - would have been a decent propaganda victory if the US had failed to do as expected)
01.30, San Salvador, grp 3: El Salvador 5-0 Haiti (might was too weak a word. Clearly El Salvador and Costa Rica have drawn the lucky lot)
02.00, San José, grp 3: Costa Rica 7-0 Suriname (goals flowed freely for Costa Rica, though four of them came after 75 minutes)
Code:
Group 1 Pt GD Group 2 Pt GD Group 3 Pt GD
USA 6 +2 Mexico 6 +4 Costa Rica 6 +8
Trinidad/Tob 4 +2 Honduras 3 0 El Salvador 3 +4
----------------- ----------------- -----------------
Guatemala 1 -1 Canada 1 -1 Haiti 1 -5
Cuba 0 -3 Jamaica 1 -3 Suriname 1 -7
Top two to final league stage
South America
6 September
19.00, Buenos Aires: Argentina 1-1 Paraguay (three points from four games, the Argentinean statistic now reads. Heinze headed an own goal after 12 minutes, and Tévez was sent off - which Man Utd will have no qualms with as he will be quarantined for the next game - before Agüero equalised in the second half)
21.10, Quito: Ecuador 3-1 Bolivia (back to normal for Bolivia, who held 1-1 at half-time despite getting a man sent off, but were beaten by a penalty and a counter)
23.20, Bogotá: Colombia 0-1 Uruguay (Villarreal's Sebastián Eguren scored from an early corner, leaving Colombia clueless on home soil. They're still fourth, but only until Chile and Brazil play tonight)
01.30, Lima: Peru 1-0 Venezuela (not a good away trip for Venezuela, who fell to third-to-last and became the first team to lose to Peru)
following day, 01.00, Santiago: Chile 0-3 Brazil (despite a penalty missed and Kleber being sent off, Luis Fabiano of Sevilla scored twice as Brazil took a surprisingly comfortable away win)
Code:
South AmericPt GD
Paraguay 14 +8
Brazil 12 +7
Argentina 12 +6
Uruguay 11 +10
-----------------
Colombia 10 +1
- - - - - - - - -
Chile 10 -3
Ecuador 8 -4
Venezuela 7 -2
Peru 6 -11
Bolivia 4 -12
Top four to World Cup
Fifth to play-off with Asia
:o 
