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World Cup 2010
- Thread starter BoyBrumby
- Start date
- Status
Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
Europe
16.00, Tórshavn, grp 7: Faroe Islands 0-1 France (lol. France hobble, stumble and grind their way through
16.00, Baku, grp 4: Azerbaijan 0-2 Germany (Berti Vogts-coached Azerbaijan have only conceded 7 goals in 6 matches. Trouble is, they haven't scored yet...)
17.00, Oslo, grp 3: Norway 4-0 Scotland (incompetent refereeing handed Norway a lifeline 30 minutes through the half - the hosts had won two of their last 13 internationals and had already wasted numerous chances, but after the pedantic sending-off of Gary Caldwell and the fluky touch to John Arne Riise's free kick, Norway dominated utterly. A fifth goal was denied by the linesman, but Morten Gamst Pedersen rounded off the match with a lovely free kick ping from 20 yards. Fairly big night for the Former Yugosl...etc., as they are now second in the group with a 4-7 goal difference, and handed away a 2-0 lead to lose to Spain.)
18.15, Minsk, grp 6: Belarus 1-3 Croatia (No help from Minsk, as the German-coached side implode at the back too many times in what seemed to be an entertaining game. Nevertheless, the Croats seem to be too far back to do anything but make second.)
18.45, Maribor, grp 3: Slovenia 5-0 San Marino (and minnow bashing of visitors to round it off.)
It does appear as the worst runner-up will be from the worst group.
North and Central America
20.00, Ciudad de México: Mexico 2-1 United States (despite an early goal and some pressure midway through the second half, the smog, the vitriolic chants, and the punishing altitude once again took apart the US. Though the group is, on paper, still exciting, both teams will take enough points to join Costa Rica in the World Cup almost regardless.
23.30, Port of Spain: Trinidad and Tobago 1-0 El Salvador (Yay, a prediction right for once. An early goal by US-based Cornell Glen sent T&T into the lead, but after having been outplayed in the first half. El Salvador fought back in the second, but could not get the second goal.
01.30, San Pedro Sula: Honduras 4-0 Costa Rica (wow. A costly loss for Costa Rica, meaning the run-in to avoid the play-off spot will be intense. Poland-based Carlo Costly got on the scoresheet twice for the hosts, who suffered their heaviest competitive defeat since losing 0-5 to Brazil in 1997.)
16.00, Tórshavn, grp 7: Faroe Islands 0-1 France (lol. France hobble, stumble and grind their way through
16.00, Baku, grp 4: Azerbaijan 0-2 Germany (Berti Vogts-coached Azerbaijan have only conceded 7 goals in 6 matches. Trouble is, they haven't scored yet...)
17.00, Oslo, grp 3: Norway 4-0 Scotland (incompetent refereeing handed Norway a lifeline 30 minutes through the half - the hosts had won two of their last 13 internationals and had already wasted numerous chances, but after the pedantic sending-off of Gary Caldwell and the fluky touch to John Arne Riise's free kick, Norway dominated utterly. A fifth goal was denied by the linesman, but Morten Gamst Pedersen rounded off the match with a lovely free kick ping from 20 yards. Fairly big night for the Former Yugosl...etc., as they are now second in the group with a 4-7 goal difference, and handed away a 2-0 lead to lose to Spain.)
18.15, Minsk, grp 6: Belarus 1-3 Croatia (No help from Minsk, as the German-coached side implode at the back too many times in what seemed to be an entertaining game. Nevertheless, the Croats seem to be too far back to do anything but make second.)
18.45, Maribor, grp 3: Slovenia 5-0 San Marino (and minnow bashing of visitors to round it off.)
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 Switzerland11-6 13 NornIron(7)12-6 13
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Portugal 8-4 9 Latvia 10-6 10 Slovenia(7)10-4 11
Sweden 6-2 9 Israel 10-8 9 Poland 18-7 10
Albania (8) 4-8 6 E Luxembourg 3-13 4 Czech Rep 6-4 8
Malta (8) 0-21 1 E Moldova 2-11 1 S Marino(8) 1-37 0 E
Group 4 Group 5 Group 6
Germany (7)20-4 19 Spain 13-2 18 England (7)26-4 21
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
Russia 12-3 15 Bos i Herc 18-6 12 Croatia (7)15-7 14
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Finland 8-10 10 Turkey 6-5 8 Ukraine 9-6 11
Wales (7) 5-7 9 Belgium 9-11 7 Belarus (5)15-10 9
Azerb'n 0-7 1 E Estonia 5-15 5 Kazakhstan 7-22 3
Liecht'stein1-15 1 E Armenia 3-15 1 Andorra (7) 2-25 0 E
Group 7 Group 8 Group 9
Serbia (7) 15-5 18 Italy 9-3 14 N'lands (7)16-2 21 Q
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
France 8-6 13 Rep Irel (7)8-5 13 FYR Macd 4-7 7
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Lithuania(7)6-6 9 Bulgaria 6-4 8 Scotland 3-9 7
Austria 7-9 7 Cyprus 6-9 5 Norway 6-5 6
Romania 7-10 7 Montenegro 5-8 4 Iceland (7) 5-11 4 E
Faroe Is 1-8 1 Georgia (7) 4-9 3 E
Group winners to World Cup, eight best runners-up to play-off
Code:
Current runners-up
Russia 5 4 0 1 11-3 12
France 5 3 1 1 7-6 10
Bosnia and Hercegovina5 3 0 2 14-5 9
Croatia 5 2 2 1 9-7 8
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
-------------------------------------------
FYR of Macedonia 6 2 1 3 4-7 7
Runners-up if result against bottom teams is not counted
Russia 5 4 0 1 11-3 12
Ukraine 6 3 2 1 9-6 11
France 5 3 1 1 7-6 10
Bosnia and Hercegovina5 3 0 2 14-5 9
Slovenia 6 2 2 2 5-4 8
Bulgaria 5 1 4 0 6-4 7
Switzerland 4 2 1 1 7-6 7
Hungary 4 2 1 1 4-2 7
-------------------------------------------
FYR of Macedonia 6 2 1 3 4-7 7North and Central America
20.00, Ciudad de México: Mexico 2-1 United States (despite an early goal and some pressure midway through the second half, the smog, the vitriolic chants, and the punishing altitude once again took apart the US. Though the group is, on paper, still exciting, both teams will take enough points to join Costa Rica in the World Cup almost regardless.
23.30, Port of Spain: Trinidad and Tobago 1-0 El Salvador (Yay, a prediction right for once. An early goal by US-based Cornell Glen sent T&T into the lead, but after having been outplayed in the first half. El Salvador fought back in the second, but could not get the second goal.
01.30, San Pedro Sula: Honduras 4-0 Costa Rica (wow. A costly loss for Costa Rica, meaning the run-in to avoid the play-off spot will be intense. Poland-based Carlo Costly got on the scoresheet twice for the hosts, who suffered their heaviest competitive defeat since losing 0-5 to Brazil in 1997.)
Code:
Costa Rica 6 4 0 2 9-9 12
Honduras 6 3 1 2 10-6 10
USA 6 3 1 2 11-8 10
--------------------------------------------
Mexico 6 3 0 3 8-9 9
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
El Salvador 6 1 2 3 6-8 5
Trinidad-Tobago 6 1 2 3 7-11 5
Top three to World Cup. Fourth to play-off with South America
Last edited:
Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
105,000. Sold out.
Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
Yeah, fixed right as you posted that.
Craig
World Traveller
Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
5 September update
Africa
12.30, Blantyre, grp E: Malawi vs Guinea (Guinea won 2-1 in their home leg in June, their first win of the final stage of qualifying, and a draw should be enough to make the Africa Cup of Nations - and given they have never lost to Malawi in five attempts, it should be possible. Given that Ivory Coast are racing away, that's really all they can hope for.)
13.30, Kigali, grp C: Rwanda vs Egypt (Egypt took a comfortable 4-0 win at home three months ago, and seems to have gained some coherence from the Confederations Cup. A full week to train together should help them against the bottom-dwellers, who have only managed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations once.)
14.30, Libreville, grp A: Gabon vs Cameroon (Gabon, a side scraped together of players representing clubs from French backwaters such as Angers, Brest, and Kingston upon Hull, qualified for the group stage on goal difference but are yet to give up points before their double-header with northern neighbours Cameroon, who need points after losing in Togo and failing to beat Morocco.)
17.00, Abidjan, grp E: Ivory Coast vs Burkina Faso (Ivory Coast all but confirmed qualification with a 3-2 away win in Ouagadougou three months ago. Attendance will be limited to 20,000 in a bid to increase security at the stadium in Abidjan.)
Sunday
13.00, Maputo, grp B: Mozambique vs Kenya (both sides have struggled to penetrate the group's heavyweights, and this match shapes up to be a play-off for the final Africa Cup of Nations spot. Kenya won 2-1 in the first leg.)
15.00, Cotonou, grp D: Benin vs Mali (in a group where Ghana leads by five points, outsiders Benin went down 1-3 away three months ago, and with more dropped points here they'll need to look backwards, to keep the Africa Cup spot, rather than forwards.)
15.30, Lomé, grp A: Togo vs Morocco (Togo, the surprise qualifiers of 06, looked close to repeating the feat when they trumped Cameroon 1-0 in March. Since then, they've lost heavily in Gabon and drawn with Morocco, but remain second in the group on others' ineptitude and a postponed match.)
16.00, Abuja, grp B: Nigeria vs Tunisia (the top clash. Tunisia got off to a good start with a brace of wins, while Nigeria dropped points in Mozambique, but the two teams drew 0-0 in Tunisia, thus Tunisia lead by two points ahead of this away match.)
17.00, Accra, grp D: Ghana vs Sudan (with six points from two away games, plus another home win, Ghana are as good as home in this qualification group, and the war-ravaged nation can't really pose opposition at this stage.)
21.00, Blida, grp C: Algeria vs Zambia (Algeria, the leading football nation of Africa in the early 80s, had fallen completely off the radar after their 1990 triumph in the Africa Cup of Nations. They failed to qualify for the continental tournament in 06 and 08, and looked to struggle after only three points from the first three games of qualifying, but has gone unbeaten in six matches since with impressive home wins over Senegal and Egypt, as well as an away win in Zambia. The visitors really gave away their chances with that loss, and must concentrate on keeping Rwanda behind them.)
Asia
19.00, Manama: Bahrain vs Saudi Arabia (the first leg of the two-legged play-off. Saudi Arabia were eliminated on goal difference by North Korea, while Bahrain finished in no man's land in a group dominated by the all-conquering Australians and Japanese. The Bahraini island, population 800,000, are rated as rough equals to the Saudis, and could become the smallest country to qualify for the World Cup if they win this match and the play-off against New Zealand.)
Europe
14.00, Glasgow, grp 9: Scotland vs FYR Macedonia (Scotland's qualification hopes are slim after a ridiculously poor performance in Norway; the visitors are second in the group with a 4-7 goal difference, but have two away matches still to play. It seems very likely that the second-placed team will be the worst runner-up - at least by any objective measure of quality - but with two wins, either side here could get 13 points, which may be enough to avoid elimination.)
14.00, Kyiv, grp 6: Ukraine vs Andorra (easy three points for Ukraine - the main aim is to catch up with Croatia's current four-goal advantage on goal difference.)
15.00, Lankaran, grp 4: Azerbaijan vs Finland (Finland need to find a way through the Vogts-coached defence to have a small chance of stealing second place from giants Germany and Russia. Defending their own goal isn't that much of a problem, Azerbaijan are yet to score in 540 minutes of football.)
16.00, Yerevan, grp 5: Armenia vs Bosnia-Hercegovina (the talented Bosnian side - including Edin Dzeko and Vedad Ibišević, the hits of the Bundesliga last year, much-vaunted Lyon youngster Miralem Pjanić - a Bosniak who grew up in Luxembourg - and German-born Zvjezdan Misimović, another star of the Wolfsburg miracle last year - have poured in goals so far in qualifying, and have a gap to Turkey and Belgium in the race to finish second behind Spain. If Bosnia and Hercegovina are to keep that advantage, they should really beat the group's bottom dwellers, who are more keen on wrestling, weightlifting and chess than football.)
16.00, St Petersburg, grp 4: Russia vs Liechtenstein (even the Russians can't be bothered to go watch Liechtenstein, so the match is put in the low-capacity Stadion "Petrovsky". Russia will aim to win 8-0 and pass Germany's goal difference.)
17.00, Chisinau, grp 2: Moldova vs Luxembourg (Moldova are in practice eliminated with four games to play, and are really only playing to avoid being bottom seeds in the next qualification.)
17.00, Tbilisi, grp 8: Georgia vs Italy (Italy usually win the group unbeaten, and with Georgia bottom with no wins...they might just yawn to a 0-0 draw, but the hosts definitely won't win.)
17.30, Sofia, grp 8: Bulgaria vs Montenegro (Bulgaria, one of three (!) unbeaten sides in the group, just don't win. Then again, Montenegro don't either - nil wins from six so far - and a 0-0 draw would, judging by past history, be likely. Bulgaria need the win to catch up with the Republic of Ireland, though.)
18.00, København, grp 1: Denmark vs Portugal (in one of the more interesting groups in Europe, Denmark have run away with things after their dramatic late reversal in Portugal, while the visitors must aim for a second spot and play-off. For that task, the double-header with Hungary will be more important than this match, but the Danes surely can't keep on fluking results. Their best player is, after all, Nicklas Bendtner.)
18.00, Budapest, grp 1: Hungary vs Sweden (meanwhile the Swedes haven't had results go their way - only one loss, but that was to Denmark at home, and they've also drawn with Albania. Hungary, meanwhile, are second in the group, but are yet to play Portugal, and if they don't get anything from those two matches, they're out of the qualifying spots. Could go either way.)
18.00, Ramat Gan, grp 2: Israel vs Latvia (Israel are behind Latvia on the table, but I wouldn't expect this to last - a solid side at home, Israel are yet to qualify for the World Cup, and as they trail by four points it seems unlikely they'll manage it this year. They'll get an honourable third again.)
18.00, Kayseri, grp 5: Turkey vs Estonia (Turkey have been poor so far, losing both matches with Spain and drawing with Belgium, though they did beat second-placed Bosnia. The new stadium in Kayseri will host the match, where the Estonians - who haven't been quite as useless as usual - should get trounced by a couple of goals.)
18.30, Basel, grp 2: Switzerland vs Greece (in perhaps the easiest group in qualifying, Switzerland have been quite decent after a horrific start with a 1-2 defeat to Luxembourg. They repaired that with an away win in Greece, and given they have a home game here, they look likely to take first place in the group - but with a draw, Greece keep the advantage.)
18.30, Bratislava, grp 3: Slovakia vs Czech Republic (a big local derby. The Czechs are fifth (!!) after losing 1-2 at home in Prague to the Slovaks, but with everyone beating everyone, this is a group where the runner-up could potentially be eliminated. Slovakia could break away to first with another win, which would put them five points ahead of the competition, though it should be noted that they have played twice against San Marino.)
18.30, Chorzow, grp 3: Poland vs Northern Ireland (Norn Iron are stuttering through the group, while Poland have some big wins under their belt (10-0 over San Marino) but also have to cope with losses in Slovakia and Northern Ireland. With a Polish win here, the teams will be tied for second, with seven points in the runners-up table - which means at least two more wins are required to make the play-offs.)
18.30, Zagreb, grp 6: Croatia vs Belarus (as if this assignment wasn't tricky enough for Belarus, they're anxious over the fitness of Aliaksandar Hleb, which, given that they really need a win to keep up with the Croats, means their World Cup hopes are all but over. Hleb, bizarrely, claimed there was about 10 % chance in an interview with kicker last month...suppose he has to believe.)
18.30, Graz, grp 7: Austria vs Faroe Islands (in the upset group, it does look like Austria are essentially out of it unless they can convince France to be even more rubbish than they have been so far - here is a decent chance for a home win, even considering past results between the two nations.)
18.30, Nicosia, grp 8: Cyprus vs Republic of Ireland (Ireland went down 2-5 last time they played on the island, and Cypriot football have shown glimpses of improvement - club sides have qualified for the Champions League in successive years, first Anorthosis and then APOEL, while the national team have occasional wins before embarrassing themselves. With five points from six, the hosts are essentially out of it, which may be what Ireland need to secure three points here.)
18.45, Reykjavík, grp 9: Iceland vs Norway (Norway looking to keep up their referee-boosted form from last month, and also to emulate the women's team, who beat Iceland 1-0 by pure luck one week ago at the Euros. The Iceland squad, who have suffered five losses from seven games, have nothing to play for, except throwing a spanner in the works for their eastern neighbours - which they have promised to do in what shapes to be a punting derby.)
19.00, St Denis, grp 7: France vs Romania (Both sides are decent on paper, yet haven't shown any form since 2007. France are second in the group, and should make the play-offs - even perhaps steal Serbia's thunder - but need the three points here. Or perhaps they don't, given that a loss will surely, surely, be the end of Domenech.)
20.00, La Coruña, grp 5: Spain vs Belgium (Home win. Next.)
CONCACAF
00.11, Salt Lake City: United States vs El Salvador (the theoretical possibility of one of the CONCACAF big two going out drew a little closer when the US went own in Mexico. Yet, here's a home game they should be bossing, and the US don't tend to choke on occasions like this. The El Salvador squad started qualifying well, but recently lost to Trinidad and Tobago, and need an upset win here if the gap to the qualification spots is to be kept below six points.)
01.00, San Pedro Sula: Honduras vs Trinidad and Tobago (Russell Latapy had a poor start to his career as coach after taking over from the widely derided Francisco Maturana, presiding over losses in the first two games, but a 1-0 win over El Salvador means there's still a faint hope. This is a big match for T & T, essentially a six-pointer - if they lose, they will probably need nine points from the last three to catch up. The Honduras team, however, are coming off strong results - joint third in the Gold Cup after knocking off Canada, a 4-0 win over Costa Rica. The two top club teams from the two nations also clashed in the Champions League recently, with Honduras taking two wins - Marathón beating San Juan 3-1 and Real España beating W Connection 1-0.)
02.00, San José: Costa Rica vs Mexico (despite winning at the Azteca, Mexico still languish in fourth place in the group, needing to overtake one of thetop three to avoid a potentially very tricky play-off match in South America. Costa Rica, who are coming off a 0-4 trouncing in Honduras, have a streak of 11 successive home qualifying wins - though the last team to win here in qualifying was, indeed, Mexico, grabbing a 2-1 win in February 2005.)
South America
20.30, Lima: Peru vs Uruguay (Peru, the only side unable to qualify, face an Uruguayan side that they lost 0-6 to in Montevideo, but since then, the visitors have stumbled badly. They seem unable to cast the choker tag, and with the home loss to Argentina they trail the qualifying spots by four points.)
20.30, Medellín: Colombia vs Ecuador (seven goals from 14 matches. And yet Colombia are only three points away from the play-off spot, and with a win here, they'd be tied with Ecuador on fifth. With Ecuador usually being rubbish away from the safe altitude of Quito, they're in with a decent shout in the league where everyone beats everyone. Indeed, Ecuador's last win in Colombia came in 1977 - though they did manage a 0-0 draw when qualifying for the 2002 World Cup.)
22.30, Asunción: Paraguay vs Bolivia (Paraguay got off to a great start, and though they lost the first place in the group to Brazil in June, it seems unlikely that they'll lose to South America's second minnow, Bolivia. They're expected to qualify, but only because matches like this are gimmes.)
00.30, Rosario: Argentina vs Brazil (the big one. The teams last met in June 2008, with a 0-0 draw that resulted in boos from the Brazilian crowd, but since then Brazil seem to be back to form, while Argentina have changed coaches with amusing results. Maradona still has a job, theoretically, but with the gap to the non-qualifiers only two points, a loss here would be disastrous and presumably mean that Argentina would have to employ a proper coach.)
01.30, Santiago: Chile vs Venezuela (Chile are in excellent form, winning in Paraguay in June and with four wins and one draw from the last five. Venezuela are theoretically in the hunt for fifth, but it seems unlikely that they'll steal points here.)
Africa
12.30, Blantyre, grp E: Malawi vs Guinea (Guinea won 2-1 in their home leg in June, their first win of the final stage of qualifying, and a draw should be enough to make the Africa Cup of Nations - and given they have never lost to Malawi in five attempts, it should be possible. Given that Ivory Coast are racing away, that's really all they can hope for.)
13.30, Kigali, grp C: Rwanda vs Egypt (Egypt took a comfortable 4-0 win at home three months ago, and seems to have gained some coherence from the Confederations Cup. A full week to train together should help them against the bottom-dwellers, who have only managed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations once.)
14.30, Libreville, grp A: Gabon vs Cameroon (Gabon, a side scraped together of players representing clubs from French backwaters such as Angers, Brest, and Kingston upon Hull, qualified for the group stage on goal difference but are yet to give up points before their double-header with northern neighbours Cameroon, who need points after losing in Togo and failing to beat Morocco.)
17.00, Abidjan, grp E: Ivory Coast vs Burkina Faso (Ivory Coast all but confirmed qualification with a 3-2 away win in Ouagadougou three months ago. Attendance will be limited to 20,000 in a bid to increase security at the stadium in Abidjan.)
Sunday
13.00, Maputo, grp B: Mozambique vs Kenya (both sides have struggled to penetrate the group's heavyweights, and this match shapes up to be a play-off for the final Africa Cup of Nations spot. Kenya won 2-1 in the first leg.)
15.00, Cotonou, grp D: Benin vs Mali (in a group where Ghana leads by five points, outsiders Benin went down 1-3 away three months ago, and with more dropped points here they'll need to look backwards, to keep the Africa Cup spot, rather than forwards.)
15.30, Lomé, grp A: Togo vs Morocco (Togo, the surprise qualifiers of 06, looked close to repeating the feat when they trumped Cameroon 1-0 in March. Since then, they've lost heavily in Gabon and drawn with Morocco, but remain second in the group on others' ineptitude and a postponed match.)
16.00, Abuja, grp B: Nigeria vs Tunisia (the top clash. Tunisia got off to a good start with a brace of wins, while Nigeria dropped points in Mozambique, but the two teams drew 0-0 in Tunisia, thus Tunisia lead by two points ahead of this away match.)
17.00, Accra, grp D: Ghana vs Sudan (with six points from two away games, plus another home win, Ghana are as good as home in this qualification group, and the war-ravaged nation can't really pose opposition at this stage.)
21.00, Blida, grp C: Algeria vs Zambia (Algeria, the leading football nation of Africa in the early 80s, had fallen completely off the radar after their 1990 triumph in the Africa Cup of Nations. They failed to qualify for the continental tournament in 06 and 08, and looked to struggle after only three points from the first three games of qualifying, but has gone unbeaten in six matches since with impressive home wins over Senegal and Egypt, as well as an away win in Zambia. The visitors really gave away their chances with that loss, and must concentrate on keeping Rwanda behind them.)
Code:
Group A Group B Group C
Gabon (2) 5-1 6 Tunisia 4-1 7 Algeria 5-1 7
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
Togo 1-3 4 Nigeria 3-0 5 Egypt 6-4 4
Morocco 1-2 2 Kenya 3-6 3 Zambia 2-3 4
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Cameroon (2)0-1 1 Mozambique 2-4 1 Rwanda 0-5 1
Group D Group E
Ghana 5-0 9 Ivory Coast10-3 9
------------------- -------------------
Mali 4-4 4 Burkina Faso7-5 6
Benin 2-4 3 Guinea 5-7 3
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sudan 1-4 1 Malawi 1-8 0
Group winners to World Cup, top three to Africa Cup of Nations19.00, Manama: Bahrain vs Saudi Arabia (the first leg of the two-legged play-off. Saudi Arabia were eliminated on goal difference by North Korea, while Bahrain finished in no man's land in a group dominated by the all-conquering Australians and Japanese. The Bahraini island, population 800,000, are rated as rough equals to the Saudis, and could become the smallest country to qualify for the World Cup if they win this match and the play-off against New Zealand.)
Europe
14.00, Glasgow, grp 9: Scotland vs FYR Macedonia (Scotland's qualification hopes are slim after a ridiculously poor performance in Norway; the visitors are second in the group with a 4-7 goal difference, but have two away matches still to play. It seems very likely that the second-placed team will be the worst runner-up - at least by any objective measure of quality - but with two wins, either side here could get 13 points, which may be enough to avoid elimination.)
14.00, Kyiv, grp 6: Ukraine vs Andorra (easy three points for Ukraine - the main aim is to catch up with Croatia's current four-goal advantage on goal difference.)
15.00, Lankaran, grp 4: Azerbaijan vs Finland (Finland need to find a way through the Vogts-coached defence to have a small chance of stealing second place from giants Germany and Russia. Defending their own goal isn't that much of a problem, Azerbaijan are yet to score in 540 minutes of football.)
16.00, Yerevan, grp 5: Armenia vs Bosnia-Hercegovina (the talented Bosnian side - including Edin Dzeko and Vedad Ibišević, the hits of the Bundesliga last year, much-vaunted Lyon youngster Miralem Pjanić - a Bosniak who grew up in Luxembourg - and German-born Zvjezdan Misimović, another star of the Wolfsburg miracle last year - have poured in goals so far in qualifying, and have a gap to Turkey and Belgium in the race to finish second behind Spain. If Bosnia and Hercegovina are to keep that advantage, they should really beat the group's bottom dwellers, who are more keen on wrestling, weightlifting and chess than football.)
16.00, St Petersburg, grp 4: Russia vs Liechtenstein (even the Russians can't be bothered to go watch Liechtenstein, so the match is put in the low-capacity Stadion "Petrovsky". Russia will aim to win 8-0 and pass Germany's goal difference.)
17.00, Chisinau, grp 2: Moldova vs Luxembourg (Moldova are in practice eliminated with four games to play, and are really only playing to avoid being bottom seeds in the next qualification.)
17.00, Tbilisi, grp 8: Georgia vs Italy (Italy usually win the group unbeaten, and with Georgia bottom with no wins...they might just yawn to a 0-0 draw, but the hosts definitely won't win.)
17.30, Sofia, grp 8: Bulgaria vs Montenegro (Bulgaria, one of three (!) unbeaten sides in the group, just don't win. Then again, Montenegro don't either - nil wins from six so far - and a 0-0 draw would, judging by past history, be likely. Bulgaria need the win to catch up with the Republic of Ireland, though.)
18.00, København, grp 1: Denmark vs Portugal (in one of the more interesting groups in Europe, Denmark have run away with things after their dramatic late reversal in Portugal, while the visitors must aim for a second spot and play-off. For that task, the double-header with Hungary will be more important than this match, but the Danes surely can't keep on fluking results. Their best player is, after all, Nicklas Bendtner.)
18.00, Budapest, grp 1: Hungary vs Sweden (meanwhile the Swedes haven't had results go their way - only one loss, but that was to Denmark at home, and they've also drawn with Albania. Hungary, meanwhile, are second in the group, but are yet to play Portugal, and if they don't get anything from those two matches, they're out of the qualifying spots. Could go either way.)
18.00, Ramat Gan, grp 2: Israel vs Latvia (Israel are behind Latvia on the table, but I wouldn't expect this to last - a solid side at home, Israel are yet to qualify for the World Cup, and as they trail by four points it seems unlikely they'll manage it this year. They'll get an honourable third again.)
18.00, Kayseri, grp 5: Turkey vs Estonia (Turkey have been poor so far, losing both matches with Spain and drawing with Belgium, though they did beat second-placed Bosnia. The new stadium in Kayseri will host the match, where the Estonians - who haven't been quite as useless as usual - should get trounced by a couple of goals.)
18.30, Basel, grp 2: Switzerland vs Greece (in perhaps the easiest group in qualifying, Switzerland have been quite decent after a horrific start with a 1-2 defeat to Luxembourg. They repaired that with an away win in Greece, and given they have a home game here, they look likely to take first place in the group - but with a draw, Greece keep the advantage.)
18.30, Bratislava, grp 3: Slovakia vs Czech Republic (a big local derby. The Czechs are fifth (!!) after losing 1-2 at home in Prague to the Slovaks, but with everyone beating everyone, this is a group where the runner-up could potentially be eliminated. Slovakia could break away to first with another win, which would put them five points ahead of the competition, though it should be noted that they have played twice against San Marino.)
18.30, Chorzow, grp 3: Poland vs Northern Ireland (Norn Iron are stuttering through the group, while Poland have some big wins under their belt (10-0 over San Marino) but also have to cope with losses in Slovakia and Northern Ireland. With a Polish win here, the teams will be tied for second, with seven points in the runners-up table - which means at least two more wins are required to make the play-offs.)
18.30, Zagreb, grp 6: Croatia vs Belarus (as if this assignment wasn't tricky enough for Belarus, they're anxious over the fitness of Aliaksandar Hleb, which, given that they really need a win to keep up with the Croats, means their World Cup hopes are all but over. Hleb, bizarrely, claimed there was about 10 % chance in an interview with kicker last month...suppose he has to believe.)
18.30, Graz, grp 7: Austria vs Faroe Islands (in the upset group, it does look like Austria are essentially out of it unless they can convince France to be even more rubbish than they have been so far - here is a decent chance for a home win, even considering past results between the two nations.)
18.30, Nicosia, grp 8: Cyprus vs Republic of Ireland (Ireland went down 2-5 last time they played on the island, and Cypriot football have shown glimpses of improvement - club sides have qualified for the Champions League in successive years, first Anorthosis and then APOEL, while the national team have occasional wins before embarrassing themselves. With five points from six, the hosts are essentially out of it, which may be what Ireland need to secure three points here.)
18.45, Reykjavík, grp 9: Iceland vs Norway (Norway looking to keep up their referee-boosted form from last month, and also to emulate the women's team, who beat Iceland 1-0 by pure luck one week ago at the Euros. The Iceland squad, who have suffered five losses from seven games, have nothing to play for, except throwing a spanner in the works for their eastern neighbours - which they have promised to do in what shapes to be a punting derby.)
19.00, St Denis, grp 7: France vs Romania (Both sides are decent on paper, yet haven't shown any form since 2007. France are second in the group, and should make the play-offs - even perhaps steal Serbia's thunder - but need the three points here. Or perhaps they don't, given that a loss will surely, surely, be the end of Domenech.)
20.00, La Coruña, grp 5: Spain vs Belgium (Home win. Next.)
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 Switzerland11-6 13 NornIron(7)12-6 13
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Portugal 8-4 9 Latvia 10-6 10 Slovenia(7)10-4 11
Sweden 6-2 9 Israel 10-8 9 Poland 18-7 10
Albania (8) 4-8 6 E Luxembourg 3-13 4 Czech Rep 6-4 8
Malta (8) 0-21 1 E Moldova 2-11 1 S Marino(8) 1-37 0 E
Group 4 Group 5 Group 6
Germany (7)20-4 19 Spain 13-2 18 England (7)26-4 21
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
Russia 12-3 15 Bos i Herc 18-6 12 Croatia (7)15-7 14
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Finland 8-10 10 Turkey 6-5 8 Ukraine 9-6 11
Wales (7) 5-7 9 Belgium 9-11 7 Belarus 15-10 9
Azerb'n 0-7 1 E Estonia 5-15 5 Kazakhstan 7-22 3
Liecht'stein1-15 1 E Armenia 3-15 1 Andorra (7) 2-25 0 E
Group 7 Group 8 Group 9
Serbia (7) 15-5 18 Italy 9-3 14 N'lands (7)16-2 21 Q
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
France 8-6 13 Rep Irel (7)8-5 13 FYR Macd 4-7 7
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Lithuania(7)6-6 9 Bulgaria 6-4 8 Scotland 3-9 7
Austria 7-9 7 Cyprus 6-9 5 Norway 6-5 6
Romania 7-10 7 Montenegro 5-8 4 Iceland (7) 5-11 4 E
Faroe Is 1-8 1 Georgia (7) 4-9 3 E
Group winners to World Cup, eight best runners-up to play-off00.11, Salt Lake City: United States vs El Salvador (the theoretical possibility of one of the CONCACAF big two going out drew a little closer when the US went own in Mexico. Yet, here's a home game they should be bossing, and the US don't tend to choke on occasions like this. The El Salvador squad started qualifying well, but recently lost to Trinidad and Tobago, and need an upset win here if the gap to the qualification spots is to be kept below six points.)
01.00, San Pedro Sula: Honduras vs Trinidad and Tobago (Russell Latapy had a poor start to his career as coach after taking over from the widely derided Francisco Maturana, presiding over losses in the first two games, but a 1-0 win over El Salvador means there's still a faint hope. This is a big match for T & T, essentially a six-pointer - if they lose, they will probably need nine points from the last three to catch up. The Honduras team, however, are coming off strong results - joint third in the Gold Cup after knocking off Canada, a 4-0 win over Costa Rica. The two top club teams from the two nations also clashed in the Champions League recently, with Honduras taking two wins - Marathón beating San Juan 3-1 and Real España beating W Connection 1-0.)
02.00, San José: Costa Rica vs Mexico (despite winning at the Azteca, Mexico still languish in fourth place in the group, needing to overtake one of thetop three to avoid a potentially very tricky play-off match in South America. Costa Rica, who are coming off a 0-4 trouncing in Honduras, have a streak of 11 successive home qualifying wins - though the last team to win here in qualifying was, indeed, Mexico, grabbing a 2-1 win in February 2005.)
Code:
Costa Rica 6 4 0 2 9-9 12
Honduras 6 3 1 2 10-6 10
USA 6 3 1 2 11-8 10
--------------------------------------------
Mexico 6 3 0 3 8-9 9
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
El Salvador 6 1 2 3 6-8 5
Trinidad-Tobago 6 1 2 3 7-11 5
Top three to World Cup. Fourth to play-off with South America20.30, Lima: Peru vs Uruguay (Peru, the only side unable to qualify, face an Uruguayan side that they lost 0-6 to in Montevideo, but since then, the visitors have stumbled badly. They seem unable to cast the choker tag, and with the home loss to Argentina they trail the qualifying spots by four points.)
20.30, Medellín: Colombia vs Ecuador (seven goals from 14 matches. And yet Colombia are only three points away from the play-off spot, and with a win here, they'd be tied with Ecuador on fifth. With Ecuador usually being rubbish away from the safe altitude of Quito, they're in with a decent shout in the league where everyone beats everyone. Indeed, Ecuador's last win in Colombia came in 1977 - though they did manage a 0-0 draw when qualifying for the 2002 World Cup.)
22.30, Asunción: Paraguay vs Bolivia (Paraguay got off to a great start, and though they lost the first place in the group to Brazil in June, it seems unlikely that they'll lose to South America's second minnow, Bolivia. They're expected to qualify, but only because matches like this are gimmes.)
00.30, Rosario: Argentina vs Brazil (the big one. The teams last met in June 2008, with a 0-0 draw that resulted in boos from the Brazilian crowd, but since then Brazil seem to be back to form, while Argentina have changed coaches with amusing results. Maradona still has a job, theoretically, but with the gap to the non-qualifiers only two points, a loss here would be disastrous and presumably mean that Argentina would have to employ a proper coach.)
01.30, Santiago: Chile vs Venezuela (Chile are in excellent form, winning in Paraguay in June and with four wins and one draw from the last five. Venezuela are theoretically in the hunt for fifth, but it seems unlikely that they'll steal points here.)
Code:
Brazil 14 7 6 1 25-6 27
Chile 14 8 2 4 23-14 26
Paraguay 14 7 3 4 20-13 24
Argentina 14 6 4 4 19-15 22
---------------------------------------------
Ecuador 14 5 5 4 18-20 20
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Uruguay 14 4 6 4 23-16 18
Colombia 14 4 5 5 7-11 17
Venezuela 14 5 2 7 17-24 17
Bolivia 14 3 3 8 19-30 12
Peru 14 1 4 9 7-29 7
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Norn Iron 1-0 up away from home to Poland. There'll be some serious riots in town tonight I suspect. We'll be in seriously good shape if we win this match. I'm not watching, because Norn Iron are the most painful football team to watch that I've ever seen, but best of luck to them.
Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
You haven't seen Norway, clearly.
Would be fun if NI went through in that group though...
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I have seen Norway, watched them decapacitate Scotland just a few weeks back. Jackie Fullerton doesn't commentate on their games.You haven't seen Norway, clearly.
Would be fun if NI went through in that group though...
Northern Ireland are actually a decent side these days, best we've had in years, but they're horrendously dour. Tight at the back and with no flair whatsoever. That said, I don't really care. Hope we get to South Africa, where we'll proceed to lose all our games because none are at Windsor Park.
Scaly piscine
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Rare situation for England supporters to be able to sit back and laugh at other big countries' qualification struggles. Is quite fun really.
grecian
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Not really rare tbh, only maclown has stopped it in the last decade or so.
Anyway pissed off about Portugals equaliser and swedens winner in the last few minutes of matches
Scaly piscine
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
It's pretty much always gone down to the last game hasn't it? Bar maybe once under the vegetable I think.Not really rare tbh, only maclown has stopped it in the last decade or so.
Anyway pissed off about Portugals equaliser and swedens winner in the last few minutes of matches
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Nah Sven had you racing through qualification easily every time. You wouldn't have known it though because the press were preoccupied with the one draw against Austria or defeat to Northern Ireland and continually insisted he was actually doing an awful job and they needed an Englishman in charge.
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