6 June round
Asia
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 vs Japan (Japan has first dibs on the rights to qualify first. Despite recent matches in the group suggesting otherwise, clashes between these two have often been rich in goals; Japan won 8-1 at the Asian Cup in 2000, despite a missed penalty.)
16.00, Doha, grp 1: Qatar vs Australia (Australia have three wins and a 10-1 goal difference against Qatar; only a truly foolish man to predict that the full-strength Socceroos would miss qualification from here.)
16.15, Dubai, grp 2: UAE vs South Korea (these sides had highly underwhelming warm-ups; UAE were demolished 7-2 by a rampant Mario Gomez of Germany, who netted four times, while South Korea drew 0-0 with Oman. They should be pretty used to the conditions, having played plenty of qualifiers on the Arabian peninsula, and are undefeated in their last eighteen competitive matches, excluding penalty shoot-outs. UAE are already out, so South Korea should take three points and almost guarantee a top-three finish.)
Code:
6 games unless stated
Group 1 Group 2
Australia(5)8-0 13 South Kor(5)9-3 11
Japan (5) 8-3 11 North Kor(7)7-5 11
------------------- -------------------
Bahrain 5-6 7 Saudi Arabia8-8 10
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Qatar 5-8 4 Iran 6-6 7
Uzb'stan 4-13 4 UAE 6-14 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 vs Rwanda (both nations secured points in the opening game, but Zambia got their points away from home; Zambia are now in a good position to threaten for first place, while Rwanda are still hoping to make the African Cup of Nations.)
12.30, Blantyre, grp E: Malawi vs Burkina Faso (Malawi currently propping up the group behind three African nations, and need a kickstart after the tragic opening to the qualification, overshadowed by the stadium stampede in Abidjan.)
14.30, Libreville, grp A: Gabon vs Togo (the two teams opened qualifying with surprising victories over the group's more fancied teams, leaving qualifying wide open. Togo are aiming to repeat their 2006 upset, when they were drawn in a friendly group, while Gabon haven't been among the top fifteen African nations for the past eight years - but have never lost to Togo.)
16.00, Rades, grp B: Tunisia vs Mozambique (Tunisia started best in this group, while Mozambique could be out of the running for the World Cup if they get the expected loss in it.)
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:
Group A Group B Group C
Gabon 2-1 3 Tunisia 2-1 3 Egypt 1-1 1
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
Togo 1-0 3 Nigeria 0-0 1 Zambia 1-1 1
Morocco 1-2 0 Mozambique 0-0 1 Algeria 0-0 1
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Cameroon 0-1 0 Kenya 1-2 0 Rwanda 0-0 1
Group D Group E
Ghana 1-0 3 Ivory Coast 5-0 3
------------------- -------------------
Mali 1-1 1 Burkina Faso4-2 3
Sudan 1-1 1 Guinea 2-4 0
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Benin 0-1 0 Malawi 0-5 0
Top team to World Cup, top three teams to Africa Cup of Nations
CONCACAF
22.05, Bacolet, Tobago: Trinidad and Tobago vs Costa Rica (T&T need to exploit possibly overconfident Costa Ricans, but haven't won in the last six clashes between the sides. The match has been taken to the Dwight Yorke Stadium, named for the island's greatest son.)
00.27, Chicago: USA vs Honduras (The US are there for the picking, having barely come off the plane after their thrashing in Costa Rica, but I don't think Honduras are capable of becoming the first side to knock the US out of qualifying since 1986.)
02.00, San Salvador: El Salvador vs Mexico (New coach Javier Aguirre, formerly of Atlético Madrid, needs to get Mexico back to the races; two away defeats in the Hexagonal so far.)
Code:
Costa Rica 4 3 0 1 6-3 9
USA 4 2 1 1 8-5 7
Honduras 3 1 1 1 4-4 4
-------------------------------------------
Mexico 3 1 0 2 3-5 3
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
El Salvador 3 0 2 1 4-5 2
Trinidad and Tobago 3 0 2 1 3-6 2
CONMEBOL
19.00, Montevideo: Uruguay vs Brazil (Dunga might actually get the sack if they lose here - a clutch game for both teams, with four points between them and three points from Uruguay down to the non-qualifying spots. But Uruguay is somewhat of a bogey nation for Brazil - they haven't won there since 1976!)
20.50, La Paz: Bolivia vs Venezuela (last chance for both sides, somewhat minnows of South American football.)
21.00, Buenos Aires: Argentina vs Colombia (Colombia won the return leg, but haven't had much to celebrate since then; Argentina's defence was okay until they crashed to 1-6 in Bolivia. The presence of Maradona on the bench makes this even.)
22.50, Asunción: Paraguay vs Chile (a top tussle; Paraguay would almost secure qualification with a win here, while Chile would be drawn right back into the battle for fifth with an expected loss.)
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:
Paraguay 12 7 3 2 19-9 24
Brazil 12 5 6 1 19-5 21
Chile 12 6 2 4 17-14 20
Argentina 12 5 4 3 18-13 19
-------------------------------------------
Uruguay 12 4 5 3 21-10 17
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Colombia 12 3 5 4 6-10 14
Ecuador 12 3 5 4 14-19 14
Venezuela 12 4 1 7 14-22 13
Bolivia 12 3 3 6 19-25 12
Peru 12 1 4 7 6-26 7
UEFA
15.00, Baku, grp 4: Azerbaijan vs Wales (both sides are pretty much out of the running, with seven points from ten games between them. Wales in a rebuilding phase that has lasted since about 1958.)
15.00, Almaty, grp 6: Kazakhstan vs England (will laugh so hard if the Kazakhs win 1-0. Unfortunately, the time to laugh at England at footy has passed.)
15.30, Bratislava, grp 3: Slovakia vs San Marino (Slovaks to take over the top of the group, which NI has borrowed.)
15.45, Skopje, grp 9: FYR Macedonia vs Norway (The saviour of Norwegian football, Egil Olsen, to come crashing to earth as the hosts grind out a 1-0 draw at the most historically inaccurate stadium name in the history of the Balkans: "Philip the Second Arena". Someone stop these Slavs.)
16.00, Helsinki, grp 4: Finland vs Liechtenstein (Finland have some credible results in this qualifying,
16.00, Grodno, grp 6: Belarus vs Andorra (another beat-up of minnows.)
17.30, Sofia, grp 8: Bulgaria vs Republic of Ireland (the Republic have so far vindicated headhunter's bold predictions at the start of the thread, but they could come crashing down with a loss here; they'd then be two points ahead of Bulgaria with the latter having a game in hand.)
18.00, Solna, grp 1: Sweden vs Denmark (almost exactly two years ago, the clash between these sides was abandoned after a man ran onto the pitch and attacked the referee; bit of a bolt, really, as it tends not to be the done thing in these welfare states...anyway, Sweden desperately need three points and some goals. 2-1 in goal difference from five matches!)
18.00, Marijampolė, grp 8: Lithuania vs Romania (Lithuania bizarrely nicked points in the return leg, starting Romania's horribly slide, but due to France's poor form there's still something in it...ah, who am I kidding. Even if Romania win 2-0 here they're still way out of it.)
18.15, Zagreb, grp 6: Croatia vs Ukraine (This group hasn't really started yet, but if England do the expected job in Kazakhstan, these two sides will have serious catch-up work to do to drop points.)
18.30, Beograd, grp 7: Serbia vs Austria (Austria coach Karel Brückner showed little interest in the job, according to German football magazine kicker, and left in April. After a good home win over Romania, they still have a chance, but the gap up to France and Serbia are becming threateningly large.)
18.30, Larnaka, grp 8: Cyprus vs Montenegro (bottom fight. Montenegro to nick an away point in a dull draw.)
18.45, Reykjavík, grp 9: Iceland vs Netherlands (Netherlands to secure qualification.)
19.45, Tirana, grp 1: Albania vs Portugal (Portugal to finally get something underway. I'd laugh even harder if this match is a 1-0 home win though.)
Code:
5 games played unless stated
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3
Denmark 12-2 13 Greece (6) 12-4 13 NornIron(7)12-6 13
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
Hungary (6) 8-2 13 Swiss (6) 11-6 13 Slovakia 10-6 12
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Portugal (5)6-3 6 Latvia (6) 10-6 10 Poland (6) 18-7 10
Sweden 2-1 6 Israel (6) 10-8 9 Czech Rep(6)6-4 8
Albania (7) 3-6 6 Lux'bourg(6)3-13 4 Slovenia(6) 5-4 8
Malta (7) 0-17 1 E Moldova (5) 2-11 1 S Marino(6) 1-25 0 E
Group 4 Group 5 Group 6
Germany (6)18-4 16 Spain (6) 13-2 18 England 14-3 12
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
Russia 9-3 12 Bos-Herc(6)18-6 12 Croatia 10-4 10
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Finland (4) 6-6 7 Turkey (6) 6-5 8 Ukraine (3) 4-1 7
Wales (6) 4-7 6 Belgium (6) 9-11 7 Belarus (4) 9-6 6
Azerb'n (4) 0-4 1 Estonia (6) 5-15 5 Kazakhstan 6-16 3
Liec'st 0-13 1 Armenia (6) 3-14 1 Andorra 1-14 0
Group 7 Group 8 Group 9
Serbia (5) 12-5 12 Italy (6) 9-3 14 Netherlands12-1 15
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
France 7-6 10 Rep Irel (6)7-4 12 Iceland 4-6 4
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Lithuania(6)6-5 9 Bulgaria 5-3 7 Scotland 2-5 4
Austria 7-8 7 Cyprus 4-7 4 FYR Macd (4)2-7 3
Romania 6-10 4 Montenegro 3-6 3 Norway (3) 2-3 2
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