Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
Both 2k2 and 2k4 came down to the last game to avoid play-off. 2k2 came down to the last minute (Beckham scoring a free kick iirc)
-
Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.
World Cup 2010
- Thread starter BoyBrumby
- Start date
- Status
TT Boy
Hall of Fame Member
Paraguay taking on Bolivia in Estadio Defensores del Chaco. A stadium named in honour of the Paraguayan soldiers who defeated the Bolivian army in the Chaco War. The Bolivians hate that. Gotta love South American football, so tasty.
Previous game between Peru and Uruguay was filth and the Chilean ref seemed bent as two assholes.
Columbia are currently beating Ecuador, so Brazil could still guarantee their qualification tonight.
Previous game between Peru and Uruguay was filth and the Chilean ref seemed bent as two assholes.
Columbia are currently beating Ecuador, so Brazil could still guarantee their qualification tonight.
BoyBrumby
Englishman
In actual fact Scaly's right on this one. Ironically the only time we qualified before the last game in Sven's tenure was the qualifying for 2006 when your chaps beat us. Although admittedly he took over halfway thru 2002's qualifying campaign after Keegan (& for one game Wilkinson) had done the damage. For Euro 2004 we had to get a result in Turkey in the last game to qualify.
Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
Africa
12.30, Blantyre, grp E: Malawi 2-1 Guinea (a second half turnaround thanks to two goals from Msowoya, who earns his money playing for the club of the local electricity board. Malawi remain fourth on goal difference. Both sides are, thus, eliminated from World Cup contention)
13.30, Kigali, grp C: Rwanda 0-1 Egypt (veteran Ahmed Hassan scored midway through the second half, helping his Egypt to put the pressure on Algeria ahead of tomorrow's match.)
14.30, Libreville, grp A: Gabon 0-2 Cameroon (After 240 goalless minutes in the second stage of qualifying, Cameroon finally broke the deadlock with goals in quick succession from Emana, currently at Betis Seville, and Eto'o, which propelled them to second in the group. In some interesting coaching decisions from new man Paul Le Guen, Rigobert Song was benched and stripped of captaincy immediately, only to come on in the 24th minute for Sebastien Bassong.)
17.00, Abidjan, grp E: Ivory Coast 5-0 Burkina Faso (Ivory Coast exploded after being set off by an own goal, all but confirm the qualification to the next stage - in theory Burkina Faso can still overtake them, but they need to catch up an 11-goal deficit. The Ivory Coast seems to confirm their place as one of the favourites.)
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 0-0 Saudi Arabia (glad I didn't watch this...return in four days. Impenetrable defences no doubt. Saudi Arabia with a slight advantage, though a 0-0 draw at home tends to be pretty favourable in two-legged play-offs.)
Europe
14.00, Glasgow, grp 9: Scotland 2-0 FYR Macedonia (the Slavs apparently tired in the second half, allowing most chances to be created at their end; Scotland remain with the fate in their own hands, while Macedonia's chances involve a four-goal win in Norway and Norn Iron drawing buckets. McFadden earned a booking to keep him out of the Netherlands match.)
14.00, Kyiv, grp 6: Ukraine 5-0 Andorra (two injury time penalties boosted the final tally.)
15.00, Lankaran, grp 4: Azerbaijan 1-2 Finland (Azerbaijan scored first - an extreme rarity - but Petri Pasanen won the game for the visitors four minutes from time. They still need to get a result in Russia, however.)
16.00, Yerevan, grp 5: Armenia 0-2 Bosnia-Hercegovina (the visitors got a comfortable win, building a huge gap
16.00, St Petersburg, grp 4: Russia 3-0 Liechtenstein (not quite as big as needed. Two penalties helped the hosts.)
17.00, Chisinau, grp 2: Moldova 0-0 Luxembourg (Yawn. Second 0-0 draw between these sides, the only points Moldova have scrambled in this qualifying series.)
17.00, Tbilisi, grp 8: Georgia 0-2 Italy (an early own goal boosted Italy to an easy away win against the bottom team.)
17.30, Sofia, grp 8: Bulgaria 4-1 Montenegro (the hosts turned around a 0-1 deficit after an injury time equaliser at half-time; in the second time even Hertha "goalscorer" Domovchiyski netted, which suggests the opposition didn't care much.)
18.00, København, grp 1: Denmark 1-1 Portugal (well, as said, Nicklas Bendtner is Denmark's best player, and he scored. A late equaliser - the theme of the night, by the way - means Portugal are still fairly likely to take second place, though they probably need six points from the clashes with Hungary. Most likely, Denmark will qualify with four points, which should be possible given two home games against Hungary and Sweden, not to mention a visit to eliminated Albania.)
18.00, Budapest, grp 1: Hungary 1-2 Sweden (an Ibra goal in injury time meant disappointment for the home crowd, who won't be all that confident ahead of the double-header with Portugal. They need two draws or one win from these clashes, and if they can't even beat a one-man team at home, who can they beat?
18.00, Ramat Gan, grp 2: Israel 0-1 Latvia (lol. As said before the tournament, Latvia may qualify. Which would be an embarrassment to Yurp. Still, unless they come up with another great result against Switzerland in four days' time, it's impossible.)
18.00, Kayseri, grp 5: Turkey 4-2 Estonia (Estonia created a surprising amount of chances, scoring the first goal in both halves, but with four conceded goals in the new sport palace at Caesarea, the Estonians are out of the running again.)
18.30, Basel, grp 2: Switzerland 2-0 Greece (two goals in the final ten minutes puts Switzerland in pole position in the group, leading by three points with three games to play.)
18.30, Bratislava, grp 3: Slovakia 2-2 Czech Republic (derbies usually end in draws. This one too, with Czech Republic equalising twice in the second half to salvage one points. Czechs remain fifth, but have three home matches to finish things off.
18.30, Chorzow, grp 3: Poland 1-1 Northern Ireland (late chaos in the box helped Poland secure the one point, which meant disappointment for both teams. Norn Iron will be slightly happier, though, defending their hold on the second place. Both sides chased victory in the final minutes, wasting vital chances. They need at least two points from the final two games, at home to Slovakia and away in the Czech Republic.)
18.30, Zagreb, grp 6: Croatia 1-0 Belarus (an early goal from Ivan Rakitić ensured this match ended in an easy win for the hosts, effectively ensuring the visitors are out. Belarus couldn't capitalise on Vedran Ćorluka being sent off with ten minutes to go.)
18.30, Graz, grp 7: Austria 3-1 Faroe Islands (well, the Faroes got a goal.)
18.30, Nicosia, grp 8: Cyprus 1-2 Republic of Ireland (a late goal by Robbie Keane puts Ireland in a good position to take second place, with the final home game against Montenegro the decent opportunity to take the last three points which will secure the spot. Or, of course, Trapattoni's side could beat Italy and sneak first place - though that requires help from BUlgaria and Cyprus.)
18.45, Reykjavík, grp 9: Iceland 1-1 Norway (in a physical encounter, there were plenty of penalty appeals, yet Iceland were closest, wasting a number of chances alone with Norway's keeper Jon Knudsen. The Norwegians rely on massively esoteric theory, mostly involving Norn Iron and draws, to qualify.)
19.00, St Denis, grp 7: France 1-1 Romania (France continue to make just enough points for the play-offs - though, if they don't take three points in Beograd, they'll face a winner-takes-all match against Austria in the final game of qualifying. Not to mention that they still have to get through the play-off - first place seems unlikely as they're now four points behind Serbia - though given that they'll be seeded and meet one of the tinier British nations, it seems unlikely that this will pose a problem. Domenech, in his wisdom, moved Anelka on the pitch twice in about six minutes.)
20.00, La Coruña, grp 5: Spain 5-0 Belgium (Got to wonder why Belgium exists, really. Spain have qualified for the play-offs, anyway, and no one in their right mind wouldn't back them to win the group.)
Teams that can only make play-offs: Luxembourg, Wales, Belgium, Scotland, Norway, FYR Macedonia, Romania, Belarus
Spain are assured of play-off.
Likely seeds (on October FIFA ranking): Russia, Croatia, France and Greece.
Likely seeds (on October FIFA Ranking): Russia, Croatia, France and Switzerland.
Most likely 11 points (+ whatever is scored against the bottom side) will be enough to avoid being knocked out. Group 3 is well poised, with the Slovaks looking likely to finish first, while Slovenia and NI really need a win to make sure they won't be the unlucky runner-up. And the Czechs need two wins at home.
CONCACAF
00.11, Salt Lake City: United States 2-1 El Salvador (despite going down early, the US kept their good home statistic alive, pretty much knocking El Salvador out of this qualifying series.)
01.00, San Pedro Sula: Honduras 4-1 Trinidad and Tobago (a huge win for Honduras keeps them ahead of the US, and put pressure on Mexico, who were playing later in San José and would have four points up to qualifying. The Soca Warriors will need to beat the States at home and Costa Rica away...ah, who am I kidding.)
02.00, San José: Costa Rica 0-3 Mexico (now that's impressive. Second-half goals boost Mexico to their first win away in the qualifying series, the first loss for Costa Rica in competitive football on their artificial grass since 2005, putting the hosts out of the qualifying spots. They have two matches with El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago left, but from leading before the round they might miss their first World Cup since 1998.
South America
20.30, Lima: Peru 1-0 Uruguay (already eliminated Peru suddenly shored up their defence and even put in a goal six minutes from time, and Uruguay are going completely off the rails. It's only Peru's second win from 15 games. Poznań-based Hernan Rengifo was the perpetrator.)
20.30, Medellín: Colombia 2-0 Ecuador (two late goals - yes, TWO from Colombia, amazingly enough - puts the hosts temporarily into fifth place and paves the way even wider for the choking Argentineans. The final goal came in injury time, giving Colombia the edge on goal difference.)
22.30, Asunción: Paraguay 1-0 Bolivia (that will do. The hosts needed a penalty to overcome the minnows, and don't really seem like the force of 2007 and 2008, but with two home games they should take the required three points.)
00.30, Rosario: Argentina 1-3 Brazil (Hahahahaha. Argentina's first loss at home in qualifying since 1993. Brazil the dominant team, with national team and Sevilla goalpoacher Luís Fabiano netting twice to confirm Brazil's appearance in the Republic next year. Argentina have been helped by other results, however, and a win in Paraguay would make them )
01.30, Santiago: Chile 2-2 Venezuela (the visitors scored from two chances, putting a slight dent in Chile's qualification hopes, and keeping their own play-off chances alive. Chile, however, only need three points to confirm their top four spot.)
12.30, Blantyre, grp E: Malawi 2-1 Guinea (a second half turnaround thanks to two goals from Msowoya, who earns his money playing for the club of the local electricity board. Malawi remain fourth on goal difference. Both sides are, thus, eliminated from World Cup contention)
13.30, Kigali, grp C: Rwanda 0-1 Egypt (veteran Ahmed Hassan scored midway through the second half, helping his Egypt to put the pressure on Algeria ahead of tomorrow's match.)
14.30, Libreville, grp A: Gabon 0-2 Cameroon (After 240 goalless minutes in the second stage of qualifying, Cameroon finally broke the deadlock with goals in quick succession from Emana, currently at Betis Seville, and Eto'o, which propelled them to second in the group. In some interesting coaching decisions from new man Paul Le Guen, Rigobert Song was benched and stripped of captaincy immediately, only to come on in the 24th minute for Sebastien Bassong.)
17.00, Abidjan, grp E: Ivory Coast 5-0 Burkina Faso (Ivory Coast exploded after being set off by an own goal, all but confirm the qualification to the next stage - in theory Burkina Faso can still overtake them, but they need to catch up an 11-goal deficit. The Ivory Coast seems to confirm their place as one of the favourites.)
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:
3 matches unless stated
Group A Group B Group C
Gabon 5-3 6 Tunisia 4-1 7 Algeria 5-1 7
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
Cameroon 2-1 4 Nigeria 3-0 5 Egypt (4) 7-4 7
Togo 1-3 4 Kenya 3-6 3 Zambia 2-3 4
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Morocco 1-2 2 Mozambique 2-4 1 Rwanda (4) 0-6 1 E
9/9: CMR vs GAB 10/10: NG-MQ, TU-KN 10/10: AL-RW, EG-ZM
10/10: GA-MO, CM-TG 11/14: KN-NG, MQ-TU 11/14: EG-AL, RW-ZM
11/14: MO-CM, TG-GA
Group D Group E
Ghana 5-0 9 Iv Cst (4) 13-3 12
------------------- -------------------
Mali 4-4 4 Burk Faso(4)7-8 6
Benin 2-4 3 Guinea (4) 7-8 3 E
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sudan 1-4 1 Malawi (4) 2-10 3 E
10/10: BE-GH, ML-SU 10/10: GU-BF, MW-IC
11/14: GH-ML, SU-BE 11/14: BF-MW, IC-GU
Group winners to World Cup, top three to Africa Cup of Nations19.00, Manama: Bahrain 0-0 Saudi Arabia (glad I didn't watch this...return in four days. Impenetrable defences no doubt. Saudi Arabia with a slight advantage, though a 0-0 draw at home tends to be pretty favourable in two-legged play-offs.)
Europe
14.00, Glasgow, grp 9: Scotland 2-0 FYR Macedonia (the Slavs apparently tired in the second half, allowing most chances to be created at their end; Scotland remain with the fate in their own hands, while Macedonia's chances involve a four-goal win in Norway and Norn Iron drawing buckets. McFadden earned a booking to keep him out of the Netherlands match.)
14.00, Kyiv, grp 6: Ukraine 5-0 Andorra (two injury time penalties boosted the final tally.)
15.00, Lankaran, grp 4: Azerbaijan 1-2 Finland (Azerbaijan scored first - an extreme rarity - but Petri Pasanen won the game for the visitors four minutes from time. They still need to get a result in Russia, however.)
16.00, Yerevan, grp 5: Armenia 0-2 Bosnia-Hercegovina (the visitors got a comfortable win, building a huge gap
16.00, St Petersburg, grp 4: Russia 3-0 Liechtenstein (not quite as big as needed. Two penalties helped the hosts.)
17.00, Chisinau, grp 2: Moldova 0-0 Luxembourg (Yawn. Second 0-0 draw between these sides, the only points Moldova have scrambled in this qualifying series.)
17.00, Tbilisi, grp 8: Georgia 0-2 Italy (an early own goal boosted Italy to an easy away win against the bottom team.)
17.30, Sofia, grp 8: Bulgaria 4-1 Montenegro (the hosts turned around a 0-1 deficit after an injury time equaliser at half-time; in the second time even Hertha "goalscorer" Domovchiyski netted, which suggests the opposition didn't care much.)
18.00, København, grp 1: Denmark 1-1 Portugal (well, as said, Nicklas Bendtner is Denmark's best player, and he scored. A late equaliser - the theme of the night, by the way - means Portugal are still fairly likely to take second place, though they probably need six points from the clashes with Hungary. Most likely, Denmark will qualify with four points, which should be possible given two home games against Hungary and Sweden, not to mention a visit to eliminated Albania.)
18.00, Budapest, grp 1: Hungary 1-2 Sweden (an Ibra goal in injury time meant disappointment for the home crowd, who won't be all that confident ahead of the double-header with Portugal. They need two draws or one win from these clashes, and if they can't even beat a one-man team at home, who can they beat?
18.00, Ramat Gan, grp 2: Israel 0-1 Latvia (lol. As said before the tournament, Latvia may qualify. Which would be an embarrassment to Yurp. Still, unless they come up with another great result against Switzerland in four days' time, it's impossible.)
18.00, Kayseri, grp 5: Turkey 4-2 Estonia (Estonia created a surprising amount of chances, scoring the first goal in both halves, but with four conceded goals in the new sport palace at Caesarea, the Estonians are out of the running again.)
18.30, Basel, grp 2: Switzerland 2-0 Greece (two goals in the final ten minutes puts Switzerland in pole position in the group, leading by three points with three games to play.)
18.30, Bratislava, grp 3: Slovakia 2-2 Czech Republic (derbies usually end in draws. This one too, with Czech Republic equalising twice in the second half to salvage one points. Czechs remain fifth, but have three home matches to finish things off.
18.30, Chorzow, grp 3: Poland 1-1 Northern Ireland (late chaos in the box helped Poland secure the one point, which meant disappointment for both teams. Norn Iron will be slightly happier, though, defending their hold on the second place. Both sides chased victory in the final minutes, wasting vital chances. They need at least two points from the final two games, at home to Slovakia and away in the Czech Republic.)
18.30, Zagreb, grp 6: Croatia 1-0 Belarus (an early goal from Ivan Rakitić ensured this match ended in an easy win for the hosts, effectively ensuring the visitors are out. Belarus couldn't capitalise on Vedran Ćorluka being sent off with ten minutes to go.)
18.30, Graz, grp 7: Austria 3-1 Faroe Islands (well, the Faroes got a goal.)
18.30, Nicosia, grp 8: Cyprus 1-2 Republic of Ireland (a late goal by Robbie Keane puts Ireland in a good position to take second place, with the final home game against Montenegro the decent opportunity to take the last three points which will secure the spot. Or, of course, Trapattoni's side could beat Italy and sneak first place - though that requires help from BUlgaria and Cyprus.)
18.45, Reykjavík, grp 9: Iceland 1-1 Norway (in a physical encounter, there were plenty of penalty appeals, yet Iceland were closest, wasting a number of chances alone with Norway's keeper Jon Knudsen. The Norwegians rely on massively esoteric theory, mostly involving Norn Iron and draws, to qualify.)
19.00, St Denis, grp 7: France 1-1 Romania (France continue to make just enough points for the play-offs - though, if they don't take three points in Beograd, they'll face a winner-takes-all match against Austria in the final game of qualifying. Not to mention that they still have to get through the play-off - first place seems unlikely as they're now four points behind Serbia - though given that they'll be seeded and meet one of the tinier British nations, it seems unlikely that this will pose a problem. Domenech, in his wisdom, moved Anelka on the pitch twice in about six minutes.)
20.00, La Coruña, grp 5: Spain 5-0 Belgium (Got to wonder why Belgium exists, really. Spain have qualified for the play-offs, anyway, and no one in their right mind wouldn't back them to win the group.)
Code:
7 games played unless stated
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3
Denmark 14-3 17 Switzerland13-6 16 Slovakia 19-8 16
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
Hungary 9-4 13 Greece 12-6 13 NornIron(8)13-7 14
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sweden 8-3 12 Latvia 11-6 13 Poland 19-8 11
Portugal 9-5 10 Israel 10-9 9 Slovenia 10-4 11
Albania (8) 4-8 6 E Luxembourg 3-13 5 Czech Rep 8-6 9
Malta (8) 0-21 1 E Moldova 2-11 2 E S Marino(8) 1-37 0 E
9/9: AL-DK, ML-S, 9/9: ISR-LUX, LV-SUI, 9/9: NI-SK, SN-PL,
HU-PO. 10/10: DK-S, MO-GR. 10/10: GR-LV, CZ-SM. 10/10: SK-SN,
PO-HU. 10/14: DK-HUN, IS-MO, LU-SW. 10/14: CZ-PL. 10/14: PL-SK,
POR-MLT, SWE-ALB. GR-LU, LV-MO, SU-IS. SM-SV, CZ-NI.
Group 4 Group 5 Group 6
Germany 20-4 19 Spain 18-2 21 England 26-4 21
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
Russia 15-3 18 Bosnia 20-6 15 Croatia (8)16-7 17
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Finland 10-11 13 Turkey 10-7 11 Ukraine 14-6 14
Wales 5-7 9 Belgium 9-16 7 Belarus 15-11 9
Azerbaijan 1-9 1 E Estonia 7-19 5 E Kazakhstan 7-22 3 E
Liech'stein 1-18 1 E Armenia 3-17 1 E Andorra (8) 2-30 0 E
9/9: LI-FI, G-AZ, 9/9: AR-BE, BO-TU, 9/9: E-CR, BL-UK,
W-RU. 10/10: FI-W, SP-ES. 10/10: AR-S, AN-KA. 10/10: BL-KA,
LI-AZ, RU-G. 10/14: BE-TU, ES-BO. 10/14: UK-E. 10/14: AN-UK,
AZ-RU, LI-W, G-FI. BO-S, ES-BE, TU-AR. EN-BL, KA-CR.
Group 7 Group 8 Group 9
Serbia 15-5 18 Italy 11-3 17 Netherlands16-2 21 Q
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
France 9-7 14 Rep Irel(8)10-6 16 Scotland 5-9 10
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Austria 10-10 10 Bulgaria 10-5 11 Norway 6-5 7
Lithuania 6-6 9 Cyprus 7-11 5 E FYR Macd 4-9 7
Romania 9-12 8 Montenegro 6-12 4 E Iceland (8) 5-11 5 E
Faroe Is's 2-11 1 E Georgia (8) 4-11 3 E 9/9: NO-FM, SC-NL
9/9: FI-LI, R-A, SR-F 9/9: IT-BU, MN-CY
10/10: F-FI, SR-R, 10/10: IR-IT, CY-BU,
A-LI. 10/14: F-A, MN-GE. 10/14: BU-GE,
LI-SR, R-FI. IR-MN, IT-CY.
Group winners to World Cup, eight best runners-up to play-offSpain are assured of play-off.
Code:
Runners-up table
Russia 5 4 0 1 11-3 12
Croatia 6 3 2 1 10-7 11
France 6 3 2 1 8-7 11
Greece 6 3 1 2 9-6 10
Republic of Ireland 6 2 4 0 6-4 10
Scotland 7 3 1 3 5-9 10
Bosnia 5 3 0 2 14-5 9
Northern Ireland 6 2 2 2 6-7 8
-------------------------------------------
Hungary 5 2 1 2 5-4 7
Code:
Runners-up table (considering only results against top five)
Russia 5 4 0 1 11-3 12
Croatia 6 3 2 1 10-7 11
France 6 3 2 1 8-7 11
Bulgaria 6 2 4 0 10-5 10
Switzerland 5 3 1 1 9-6 10
Scotland 7 3 1 3 5-9 10
Bosnia 5 3 0 2 14-5 9
Sweden 6 2 3 1 4-3 9
-------------------------------------------
Slovenia 6 2 2 2 5-4 8Most likely 11 points (+ whatever is scored against the bottom side) will be enough to avoid being knocked out. Group 3 is well poised, with the Slovaks looking likely to finish first, while Slovenia and NI really need a win to make sure they won't be the unlucky runner-up. And the Czechs need two wins at home.
CONCACAF
00.11, Salt Lake City: United States 2-1 El Salvador (despite going down early, the US kept their good home statistic alive, pretty much knocking El Salvador out of this qualifying series.)
01.00, San Pedro Sula: Honduras 4-1 Trinidad and Tobago (a huge win for Honduras keeps them ahead of the US, and put pressure on Mexico, who were playing later in San José and would have four points up to qualifying. The Soca Warriors will need to beat the States at home and Costa Rica away...ah, who am I kidding.)
02.00, San José: Costa Rica 0-3 Mexico (now that's impressive. Second-half goals boost Mexico to their first win away in the qualifying series, the first loss for Costa Rica in competitive football on their artificial grass since 2005, putting the hosts out of the qualifying spots. They have two matches with El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago left, but from leading before the round they might miss their first World Cup since 1998.
Code:
Honduras 7 4 1 2 14-7 13
USA 7 4 1 2 13-9 13
Mexico 7 4 0 3 11-9 12
--------------------------------------------
Costa Rica 7 4 0 3 9-12 12
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
El Salvador 7 1 2 4 7-10 5
Trinidad-Tobago 7 1 2 4 8-15 5
Top three to World Cup. Fourth to play-off with South America
Remaining matches:
Sep 9: ES vs CR, ME vs HO, TT vs US
Oct 10: CR vs TT, HO vs US, ME vs ES
Oct 14: ES vs HO, TT vs ME, US vs CR20.30, Lima: Peru 1-0 Uruguay (already eliminated Peru suddenly shored up their defence and even put in a goal six minutes from time, and Uruguay are going completely off the rails. It's only Peru's second win from 15 games. Poznań-based Hernan Rengifo was the perpetrator.)
20.30, Medellín: Colombia 2-0 Ecuador (two late goals - yes, TWO from Colombia, amazingly enough - puts the hosts temporarily into fifth place and paves the way even wider for the choking Argentineans. The final goal came in injury time, giving Colombia the edge on goal difference.)
22.30, Asunción: Paraguay 1-0 Bolivia (that will do. The hosts needed a penalty to overcome the minnows, and don't really seem like the force of 2007 and 2008, but with two home games they should take the required three points.)
00.30, Rosario: Argentina 1-3 Brazil (Hahahahaha. Argentina's first loss at home in qualifying since 1993. Brazil the dominant team, with national team and Sevilla goalpoacher Luís Fabiano netting twice to confirm Brazil's appearance in the Republic next year. Argentina have been helped by other results, however, and a win in Paraguay would make them )
01.30, Santiago: Chile 2-2 Venezuela (the visitors scored from two chances, putting a slight dent in Chile's qualification hopes, and keeping their own play-off chances alive. Chile, however, only need three points to confirm their top four spot.)
Code:
Brazil 15 8 6 1 28-7 30 Q
Chile 15 8 3 4 24-15 27
Paraguay 15 8 3 4 21-13 27
Argentina 15 6 4 5 20-18 22
---------------------------------------------
Colombia 15 5 5 5 9-11 20
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ecuador 15 5 5 5 18-22 20
Uruguay 15 4 6 5 23-17 18
Venezuela 15 5 3 7 19-26 18
Bolivia 15 3 3 9 19-31 12
Peru 15 2 4 9 8-29 10 E
Remaining matches
Sep 9: BOL-ECU, BRA-CHI, PAR-ARG, URU-COL, VEN-PER
Oct 10: ARG-PER, BOL-BRA, COL-CHI, ECU-URU, VEN-PAR
Oct 14: BRA-VEN, CHI-ECU, PAR-COL, PER-BOL, URU-ARGTT Boy
Hall of Fame Member
Argies started like a train, just their obvious weakness at the back let them down. Huge pressure game and they go into with a centre back pairing with next to no international experience. Ridiculous how a 29 year old newbie from Velez could be favoured over Walter Samuel or the plethora of other experienced Argentines playing in Europe.
Maradona should be sacked for his own good. He has already lost the Boca fans, doesn't want lose a nation. Alfio Basile should be brought back as coach, as should Juan Riquelme. Only reason Maradona was brought in was Messi and Tevez idolised him and they didn't like Basile. But Basile and Riquelme are far more important, as when they were there, everything was tickety-boo.
Maradona should be sacked for his own good. He has already lost the Boca fans, doesn't want lose a nation. Alfio Basile should be brought back as coach, as should Juan Riquelme. Only reason Maradona was brought in was Messi and Tevez idolised him and they didn't like Basile. But Basile and Riquelme are far more important, as when they were there, everything was tickety-boo.
marc71178
Eyes not spreadsheets
Conspiracy, clearly,Plus Corluka sent off for the Croats and banned for Wednesday. Woe.
Uppercut
Request Your Custom Title Now!
2k2 was a salvage operation from the remnants of Keegan's prank-managing. Included the infamous 5-1 game that England never shut the **** up about too.
2k4 was close to having a play-off, not close to failing to qualify. And itbt, automatic qualification never really looked in much doubt.
marc71178
Eyes not spreadsheets
Just looking at this - Brazil have already qualified, so if they were to accidentally let Chile get a win on Wednesday, that'd put Chile up to 30 points and qualifying, hence they could accidentally allow Ecuador and Colombia to win their games...
BoyBrumby
Englishman
Nah, not true. You're seriously underestimating Turkey there. Needing a result over there is no cakewalk. If memory serves we'd dropped points at home to Macedonia which put us up against it.
Play-offs were a real possibility.
BoyBrumby
Englishman
Yeah, that'd be right. Plus yer Turks were coming off a third place in the 2002 WC so were obviously no mugs at all.
Uppercut
Request Your Custom Title Now!
Needing a draw against Turkey to avoid going into a play-off which you probably would have won anyway isn't exactly a horrid situation. And more importantly, they did it.
BoyBrumby
Englishman
Yes, we did, but you said "automatic qualification never really looked in much doubt", which isn't true. As I said, we'd drawn at home with Macedonia and, although we defeated Turkey 2-0 in England, both the goals came in the last 15 mins which is more than enough for anyone to start getting twitchy.
Turkey won every other game, which meant that we needed a draw in the last game and from memory it was fairly safely negotiated, but we were only ever a goal from the play-offs.
sledger
Spanish_Vicente
Dodgy pitch imo, remember as he took a run up a massive chunk of the turf came up just before he kicked it. Like Brumby says though, the match was really quite easily negotiated, esspecially considering how it was hyped up as being a reallytough fixture. The only thing other than the penalty that I really remember though is Kieron Dyer being near enough clean through on goal and Rustu nearly kicking his head off.
Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
Sunday's matches in Africa:
13.00, Maputo, grp B: Mozambique 1-0 Kenya (naturalised South African and captain, the wonderfully named Tico-Tico, scored a goal for the hosts to put them into third place, but still well behind the group giants.)
15.00, Cotonou, grp D: Benin 1-1 Mali (a late equaliser allowed Ghana the chance to qualify directly today, with Benin wanting to keep Sudan off their back in the chase for Africa Cup of Nations.)
15.30, Lomé, grp A: Togo 1-1 Morocco (Togo retook second place from Cameroon, while Morocco now need several miracles to qualify. Theoretically it's possible to win a four-team group with nine points, but any decent chance would involve a fair bucketload of goals in Gabon. Guess it's time to realise Morocco are no longer sole beneficiary of the French production line.)
16.00, Abuja, grp B: Nigeria 2-2 Tunisia (Nigeria twice went ahead, only surren initiative and opportunity towards the end of each half. Nigeria look set to miss their second successive World Cup unless they get some help from the smaller nations. Tunisia also confirm their ninth successive appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations.)
17.00, Accra, grp D: Ghana 2-0 Sudan (goals from Essien and the much-derided Muntari ensured that Ghana qualify for the 2010 World Cup without conceding a goal so far in the final stages.)
21.00, Blida, grp C: Algeria 1-0 Zambia (a second-half goal from veteran Saïfi kept Algeria up top, but they're currently in a position where any loss in Cairo would knock them out. A big win over Rwanda would be useful. Weren't entirely convincing here either, Zambia had a couple of big chances towards the end.)
Qualified for Africa Cup of Nations: Angola (hosts), Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast
13.00, Maputo, grp B: Mozambique 1-0 Kenya (naturalised South African and captain, the wonderfully named Tico-Tico, scored a goal for the hosts to put them into third place, but still well behind the group giants.)
15.00, Cotonou, grp D: Benin 1-1 Mali (a late equaliser allowed Ghana the chance to qualify directly today, with Benin wanting to keep Sudan off their back in the chase for Africa Cup of Nations.)
15.30, Lomé, grp A: Togo 1-1 Morocco (Togo retook second place from Cameroon, while Morocco now need several miracles to qualify. Theoretically it's possible to win a four-team group with nine points, but any decent chance would involve a fair bucketload of goals in Gabon. Guess it's time to realise Morocco are no longer sole beneficiary of the French production line.)
16.00, Abuja, grp B: Nigeria 2-2 Tunisia (Nigeria twice went ahead, only surren initiative and opportunity towards the end of each half. Nigeria look set to miss their second successive World Cup unless they get some help from the smaller nations. Tunisia also confirm their ninth successive appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations.)
17.00, Accra, grp D: Ghana 2-0 Sudan (goals from Essien and the much-derided Muntari ensured that Ghana qualify for the 2010 World Cup without conceding a goal so far in the final stages.)
21.00, Blida, grp C: Algeria 1-0 Zambia (a second-half goal from veteran Saïfi kept Algeria up top, but they're currently in a position where any loss in Cairo would knock them out. A big win over Rwanda would be useful. Weren't entirely convincing here either, Zambia had a couple of big chances towards the end.)
Code:
4 matches unless stated
Group A Group B Group C
Gabon (3) 5-3 6 Tunisia 6-3 8 Algeria 6-1 10
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
Togo 2-4 5 Nigeria 5-2 6 Egypt 7-4 7
Cameroon (3)2-1 4 Mozambique 3-4 4 Zambia 2-4 4
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Morocco 2-3 3 Kenya 3-7 3 Rwanda 0-6 1 E
9/9: CMR vs GAB 10/10: NG-MQ, TU-KN 10/10: AL-RW, EG-ZM
10/10: GA-MO, CM-TG 11/14: KN-NG, MQ-TU 11/14: EG-AL, RW-ZM
11/14: MO-CM, TG-GA
Group D Group E
Ghana 7-0 12 Q Ivory Coast13-3 12
------------------- -------------------
Mali 5-5 5 E Burkina Faso7-8 6
Benin 3-5 4 E Guinea 7-8 3 E
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sudan 1-6 1 E Malawi 2-10 3 E
10/10: BE-GH, ML-SU 10/10: GU-BF, MW-IC
11/14: GH-ML, SU-BE 11/14: BF-MW, IC-GU
Group winners to World Cup, top three to Africa Cup of Nations
Last edited:
- Status