Asia
6 June
08.00, Pyongyang, grp 2: North Korea 0-0 Iran (appalling. Really no words to describe this match. Iran are pretty much out of things now.)
14.05, Tashkent, grp 1: Uzbekistan 0-1 Japan (Japan got there first. No goal-rich match after Okazaki's early strike though. Uzbekistan has a minute chance of making the top three, if they win by two goals in Bahrain.)
16.00, Doha, grp 1: Qatar 0-0 Australia (couldn't have been more boring than DPRK vs IR Iran, but happy to have missed this all the same. Oz haven't conceded goals yet, fair play.)
16.15, Dubai, grp 2: UAE 0-2 South Korea (South Korea comfortably the better side, and they're now guaranteed a top three position.)
Code:
6 games unless stated
Group 1 Group 2
Australia 8-0 14 Q South Korea11-3 14
Japan 9-3 14 Q North Kor(7)7-5 11
------------------- -------------------
Bahrain 5-6 7 Saudi Arabia8-8 10
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Qatar (7) 4-13 5 Iran 6-6 7
Uzb'stan (7)5-9 4 UAE (7) 6-16 2 E
Top two teams to World Cup, third-placed to play off with each other and then with New Zealand
Africa
12.00, Chililabombwe, grp C: Zambia 1-0 Rwanda (Portugal-based striker Rainford Kalaba scored for Zambia with ten minutes to go, propelling them to the top of the group for 27 hours, ish. Zambia missed a penalty, but still managed to get away with points.)
12.30, Blantyre, grp E: Malawi 0-1 Burkina Faso (After a horrible start, Malawi are almost definitely out of the running for the World Cup; 0-6 from two matches and a home defeat. This group will be between the neighbours. Qatar-based Moumouni Dagano netted his tenth goal in eight qualifying matches!)
14.30, Libreville, grp A: Gabon 3-0 Togo (the hosts took a comfortable 3-0 win to continue their streak against Togo and take a considerable lead in the group following the away win over Morocco.)
16.00, Rades, grp B: Tunisia 2-0 Mozambique (As expected, Tunisia take a five-point lead after being a class above Mozambique at home.)
Sunday
14.30, Yaoundé, grp A: Cameroon vs Morocco (Morocco have never beaten Cameroon in seven matches - a bit surprising, but it does show how strong Cameroon have been in African football in the past 20 years. With both sides starting with shock losses, the group is wide open.)
15.00, Cotonou, grp D: Benin vs Sudan (war-ravged Sudan has enough population to succeed, and Omdurman clubs Al-Merreikh and Al-Hilal, around which the national team is built, have reached the last eight of the Champions League. Benin's squad is more traditionally French-concentrated, but has very few achievements on the national stage.)
16.00, Abuja, grp B: Nigeria vs Kenya (after a promising start to qualifying, Kenya have lost their last two matches, and travel to a Nigeria side that need points after dropping points in Mozambique.)
17.00, Conakry, grp E: Guinea vs Ivory Coast (the Bangoura cousins attempt to lead Guinea back on track after a fairly dismal showing in Ouagadougou.)
19.00, Bamako, grp D: Mali vs Ghana (two sides with quite a few European-based stars - Essien and Appiah for Ghana, Kanouté and Seydou Keita for Mali - have been tipped to challenge for first place in the group, and the teams are fighting for early advantage after Mali dropped points in Sudan)
19.30, Blida, grp C: Algeria vs Egypt (these sides both disappointed in the opener, and the resurgence of Algerian football might be some way off. Egypt are possibly the best side who haven't reach the World Cup in the past 20 years.)
Code:
2 games played unless stated
Group A Group B Group C
Gabon 5-1 6 Tunisia 4-1 6 Zambia 2-1 4
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
Togo 1-3 3 Nigeria (1) 0-0 1 Egypt (1) 1-1 1
Morocco (1) 1-2 0 Mozambique 0-2 1 Algeria (1) 0-0 1
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Cameroon (1)0-1 0 Kenya (1) 1-2 0 Rwanda 0-1 1
Group D Group E
Ghana (1) 1-0 3 Burkina Faso5-2 6
------------------- -------------------
Mali (1) 1-1 1 Ivory C (1) 5-0 3
Sudan (1) 1-1 1 Guinea (1) 2-4 0
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Benin (1) 0-1 0 Malawi 0-6 0
Top team to World Cup, top three teams to Africa Cup of Nations
CONCACAF
6 June:
22.05, Bacolet, Tobago: Trinidad and Tobago 2-3 Costa Rica (Costa Rica are as good as qualified following a see-saw match at Tobago; Fredrikstad youngster Celso Borges, a bench-warmer in the Norwegian Premier League, scored twice in the second half to earn man-of-the-match honours.)
00.27, Chicago: USA 2-1 Honduras (despite conceding a costly opening goal, the US came back in front of a very healthy crowd of 55,647 - though this was largely made up of the Latino population of Chicago. A handball penalty from Landon Donovan helped them rebound and win, however.)
02.00, San Salvador: El Salvador 2-1 Mexico (New coach, same result. Mexico currently out of qualifying spots. Rotfl.
Code:
Costa Rica 5 4 0 1 9-5 12
USA 5 3 1 1 10-6 10
El Salvador 4 1 2 1 6-6 5
-------------------------------------------
Honduras 4 1 1 2 5-6 4
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mexico 4 1 0 3 4-7 3
Trinidad and Tobago 4 0 2 2 5-9 2
CONMEBOL
6 June
19.00, Montevideo: Uruguay 0-4 Brazil (An emphatic way of breaking a streak. Brazil advance to first place, and suddenly there's little doubt they will make their 19th successive World Cup finals.)
20.50, La Paz: Bolivia 0-1 Venezuela (Bolivia crashed back to earth following their unseating of Maradona, missing a penalty and providing Venezuela with an own goal. With Uruguay's loss there isn't that much up to the qualifying spots, but their poor goal difference and having played more away games will count against them.)
21.00, Buenos Aires: Argentina 1-0 Colombia (in an even game, Argentina eked out thanks to Colombia's inability to score; six goals in thirteen matches is appalling, and they missed some gilt-edged chances in this game, too. Getafe defender Daniel Diaz scored the only match of the goal, while Maradona singled out over-the-top midfielder Juan Sebastián Verón for praise.)
22.50, Asunción: Paraguay 0-2 Chile (Paraguay were toppled from top spot by goals from Matias Fernández and Humberto Suazo upset a not-full-strength Paraguay to ensure the chase for top spot is close. However, a top four seems to have broken loose.)
7 June
Sunday 20.30, Lima: Peru vs Ecuador (Ecuador, who reached the last sixteen in the last World Cup, are now in serious trouble, and unless they win in Lima - which, like most of Ecuador, is at considerable altitude - they will probably not have much of a chance of qualifying.)
Code:
Brazil 13 6 6 1 23-5 24
Paraguay 13 7 3 3 19-11 24
Chile 13 7 2 4 19-14 23
Argentina 13 6 4 3 19-13 22
-------------------------------------------
Uruguay 13 4 5 4 21-14 17
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Venezuela 13 5 1 7 15-22 16
Ecuador 12 3 5 4 14-19 14
Colombia 13 3 5 5 6-11 14
Bolivia 13 3 3 7 19-26 12
Peru 12 1 4 7 6-26 7
UEFA
6 June
15.00, Baku, grp 4: Azerbaijan 0-1 Wales (zero goals in five games from Azerbaijan...)
15.00, Almaty, grp 6: Kazakhstan 0-4 England (meh.)
15.30, Bratislava, grp 3: Slovakia 7-0 San Marino (yeah.)
15.45, Skopje, grp 9: FYR Macedonia 0-0 Norway (Ugh.)
16.00, Helsinki, grp 4: Finland 2-1 Liechtenstein (Liechtenstein took the lead on 13 minutes, their first goal in qualifying. Finland eked home, but the Olympiastadion crowd will hardly be satisfied.)
16.00, Grodno, grp 6: Belarus 5-1 Andorra (No news here, either.)
17.30, Sofia, grp 8: Bulgaria 1-1 Republic of Ireland (in front of a "signing" crowd, according to Bulgarian news outlet Standart, Bulgaria could not capitalise on second half opportunities and let Trapattoni's Ireland continue to stumble their way to second place.
18.00, Solna, grp 1: Sweden 0-1 Denmark (not half as exciting as the last clash. Kim Källström missed an early penalty, while Denmark were gifted a goal by Micke Nilsson, playing in Sweden's perennially poorly covered position, right back. The game, however, was overshadowed by the tragic news that Henrik Larsson's brother has been found dead.)
18.00, Marijampolė, grp 8: Lithuania 0-1 Romania (Marica scores in front of a crowd which would have embarrassed a Norwegian Premier League match. Clearly basketball is still the sport of choice in the Baltic state. Still, the Romanian keeper was tested just before the finish.)
18.15, Zagreb, grp 6: Croatia 2-2 Ukraine (a result which group leaders England will no doubt be pleased with, as Ukraine keep their chase for second alive but fail to hold on to a 2-1-lead. Indisciplined defending and the lack of a creative spark of Eduardo didn't help the hosts.)
18.30, Beograd, grp 7: Serbia 1-0 Austria (a penalty settled this match in front of 50,000 mad Belgraders. Vidic went off with a troubled leg at half time.)
18.30, Larnaka, grp 8: Cyprus 2-2 Montenegro (Not quite dull. Seoul striker Dejan Damjanović came off the bench to turn the match and ruin the hopes of the hosts. Neither side really have a chance now.)
18.45, Reykjavík, grp 9: Iceland 1-2 Netherlands (two early goals killed the match.)
19.45, Tirana, grp 1: Albania 1-2 Portugal (a goal in injury time means Portugal should secure second place in this group now.)
Code:
6 games played unless stated
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3
Denmark 13-2 16 Greece 12-4 13 Slovakia 17-6 15
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
Hungary 8-2 13 Swiss 11-6 13 NornIron(7)12-6 13
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Portugal 8-4 9 Latvia 10-6 10 Poland 18-7 10
Sweden (5) 2-2 6 Israel 10-8 9 Czech Rep 6-4 8
Albania (8) 4-8 6 E Lux'bourg 3-13 4 Slovenia 5-4 8
Malta (7) 0-17 1 E Moldova 2-11 1 S Marino(7) 1-32 0 E
Group 4 Group 5 Group 6
Germany 18-4 16 Spain 13-2 18 England 20-4 18
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
Russia (5) 9-3 12 Bos i Herc 18-6 12 Croatia 12-6 11
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Finland (5) 8-7 10 Turkey 6-5 8 Belarus (5)14-7 9
Wales (7) 5-7 9 Belgium 9-11 7 Ukraine (5) 7-5 8
Azerb'n (5) 0-5 1 Estonia 5-15 5 Kazakhstan 6-20 3
Liecht'st 1-15 1 Armenia 3-14 1 Andorra 2-19 0
Group 7 Group 8 Group 9
Serbia 13-5 15 Italy 9-3 14 N'lands 14-2 18 Q
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
France (5) 7-6 10 Rep Irel (7)8-5 13 Scotland (5)3-5 7
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Lithuania(7)6-6 9 Bulgaria 6-4 8 Iceland 5-9 4
Austria 7-9 7 Cyprus 6-9 5 FYR Macd (5)2-7 4
Romania 7-10 7 Montenegro 5-8 4 Norway (4) 2-3 3
Faroe Is (4)1-5 1 Georgia (7) 4-9 3
Top team to World Cup, all runners-up teams except worst to knock-out play-off
Code:
Runners-up
France 5 3 1 1 7-6 10
Bosnia and Hercegovina5 3 0 2 14-5 9
Russia 4 3 0 1 8-3 9
Hungary 4 2 1 1 4-2 7
Switzerland 4 2 1 1 7-6 7
Republic of Ireland 5 1 4 0 4-3 7
Northern Ireland 5 2 1 2 5-6 7
Scotland 5 2 1 2 3-5 7
-------------------------------------------
Croatia 4 1 2 1 6-6 5