Africa
12.00, Chililabombwe, grp C: Zambia 0-1 Egypt (Egypt unconvincing, but ultimately enough to keep their hopes alive. Almost regardless what happens, they'll have a chance to qualify with a big enough win over Algeria. Zambia are out, and travel north to Rwanda to face off for the Africa Cup of Nations spot next month.)
12.30, Blantyre, grp E: Malawi 1-1 Ivory Coast (after a brief four-minute period where Malawi took the lead, Drogba restored sanity, making sure of the qualification that in practicality was secured a month ago. Malawi go ahead of Guinea, but still have a tricky task to make the Africa Cup of Natons)
14.30, Yaoundé, grp A: Cameroon 3-0 Togo (Cameroon still in the box seat, but have what used to be a tricky away trip to Morocco left.)
14.30, Libreville, grp A: Gabon 3-1 Morocco (Gabon eliminated the Atlas Lions in a strong showing at home, taking the lead twice, with Morocco's only goal in injury time. Qualifying still seems unlikely as they need Cameroon to drop points and to win in Morocco.)
Sunday
15.00, Cotonou: Benin vs Ghana
16.00, Abuja: Nigeria vs Mozambique
16.00, Rades: Tunisia vs Kenya
17.00, Accra: Guinea vs Burkina Faso
18.00, Bamako: Mali vs Sudan
18.15, Blida: Algeria vs Rwanda
Code:
Group A Group B Group C
Cameroon 7-2 10 Tunisia 6-3 8 Algeria 6-1 10
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
Gabon 9-6 9 Nigeria 5-2 6 Egypt (5) 8-4 10
Togo 2-7 5 E Mozambique 2-4 4 Zambia (5) 2-5 4 E
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Morocco 3-6 3 E Kenya 3-7 3 Rwanda 0-6 1 E
CMR: MOR A TUN: KEN H, MOZ A ALG: RWA H, EGY A
GAB: TOG A NGA: MOZ H, KEN A EGY: , ALG H
MOR: CMR H MOZ: NIG A, TUN H ZAM: , RWA A
TOG: GAB H KEN: TUN A, NGA H RWA: ALG A, ZAM H
Group D Group E
Ghana 7-0 12 Q Ivory C (5)16-4 13 Q
------------------- -------------------
Mali 5-5 5 E Burkina F 7-10 6
Benin 3-5 4 E Malawi (5) 4-10 4 E
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sudan 1-6 1 E Guinea 6-9 3 E
MLI: SUD H, GHA A CIV: MWI A, GUI H
BEN: GHA H, SUD A BFA: GUI A, MWI H
SUD: MLI A, BEN H GUI: BFA H, CIV A
MWI: CIV H, BFA A
No team eliminated from Africa Cup of Nations.
Asia-Oceania play-off
15.30, Manama: Bahrain 0-0 New Zealand (will not change what I wrote before knowing the result: Bahrain slender favourites, though last time they came up against a cricket-playing nation with one well-renowned striker - 2006, Dwight Yorke, 2010, Shane Smeltz - they fell on the banana-skin. Expect the All Whites to park in front of goal, then take a 0-0 draw home.)
Europe
14.00, Helsinki, grp 7: Finland 2-1 Wales (second half winner from Alkmaar's Niklas Moisander, who's had a breakthrough this season with regular starts and even a Champions League match, ensures a better seeding for the Finns.)
15.00, Brest, grp 6: Belarus 4-0 Kazakhstan (Kazakhs going backwards at a rate of knots)
15.00, Moskva, grp 7: Russia 0-1 Germany (Germany qualify and keep their undefeated away record in World Cup qualifying alive. Russia most likely seeded in play-offs.)
15.45, Luxembourg, grp 2: Luxembourg 0-3 Switzerland (Switzerland only need one more point to make the World Cup after reversing the embarrassment in Zûrich last year)
16.00, Tallinn, grp 5: Estonia 0-2 Bosnia-Hercegovina (not quite as much of a rout as last year, but with 2-0 the visitors completed this qualifying group, eliminating Euro semi-finalists Turkey. Goals by Dzeko and Ibisevic, who seem to be the only Bundesliga players in form. well, them and Didier Ya Konan.)
16.00, Yerevan, grp 5: Armenia 1-2 Spain (hardly impressive stuff by the Euro champions, for once giving credence to Scaly's words, and Armenia even equalised through Arzumanyan. The level pegging only lasted six minutes though.)
16.15, Dnepropetrovsk, grp 6: Ukraine 1-0 England (a first-half goal by Serhiy Nazarenko - a veteran and one-club-man at the rather mediocre club Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk - gave the Ukrainians a no doubt completely undeserved victory against the all-conquering England side that will no doubt win the 2010 World Cup by outclassing Brazil 4-0 in the final, etc.)
17.00, Podgorica, grp 8: Montenegro 2-1 Georgia (first qualifying win for the Montenegrins after five draws. For a bottom seed, not shabby at all.)
17.00, Larnaka, grp 8: Cyprus 4-1 Bulgaria (Bulgaria's feeble chase for South Africa ended in a horror performance to Cyprus, rather like group members Ireland a couple of years ago. Cypriot football must surely be finding some consistency at some point.)
18.00, København, grp 1: Denmark 1-0 Sweden (Denmark got revenge for a crowd-trouble-induced defeat two years ago, winning 1-0 thanks to a goal from 26-year-old Jakob Poulsen. Sweden need help to make the play-offs.)
18.00, Vaduz, grp 4: Liechtenstein 0-2 Azerbaijan (two goals in the second half gave Azerbaijan the win
18.30, Athina, grp 2: Greece 5-2 Latvia (in a mildly intriguing match, Greece took the lead, then went down 1-2, only to pour in four goals and save embarrassment in their hunt for a play-off spot. This also levelled up the goal difference sufficiently to still have a realistic chance at first - while Latvia's goal difference is so ruined that their chances are effectively nil.)
18.30, Praha, grp 3: Czech Republic 2-0 Poland (the Czech Republic downed Poles in chaos - finally sacking their coach before this match...)
18.30, Bratislava, grp 3: Slovakia 0-2 Slovenia (but as their eastern neighbours refused to help, Slovenia look likely to make the play-offs as their last match is against San Marino. As Slovakia have already made the play-offs, this was like a "first play-off". The Czechs thus require San Marino to draw to have a chance, Northern Ireland require San Marino to win by five goals or something...)
18.30, Beograd, grp 7: Serbia 5-0 Romania (what a way to make the World Cup - 5-0 at home against a side that qualified for Euro 08 and had, at least, a decent defence there. Let's hope Serbia and Bosnia/Hercegovina aren't drawn together...)
18.30, Innsbruck, grp 7: Austria 2-1 Lithuania (late penalty ending Lithuania's tiny, tiny speck of hope.)
18.45, Brussel, grp 5: Belgium 2-0 Turkey (Turkey, hopes already killed, offered a meagre performance against Belgians who have been mediocre for ages.)
19.00, Ramat Gan, grp 2: Israel 3-1 Moldova (given that Israel require a Greece loss, and Greece are up against Luxembourg, they're effectively out.)
19.00, Dublin, grp 8: Republic of Ireland 2-2 Italy (another more than decent effort by Ireland under Trapattoni, and though there's now no chance of qualifying directly, both teams got essentially what they wanted. Ireland assured of the play-offs and Italy qualified.)
19.00, Guingamp, grp 7: France 5-0 Faroe Islands (play-off secured. Faroe Islands' solid defence finaly broken a bit.)
19.45, Lisbon, grp 1: Portugal 3-0 Hungary (no trouble for Portugal, who are decidedly back in the box seat for the play-offs.)
Code:
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3
Denmark 16-4 21 Q Switzerland18-8 20 Slovakia 21-10 19
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
Portugal 13-5 16 Greece 18-9 17 Slovenia 15-4 17
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sweden 9-4 15 Israel 20-10 15 Czech Rep 17-6 15
Hungary 9-8 13 Latvia 15-13 14 Norn Iron 13-9 14
Albania 5-9 7 E Luxembourg 3-23 5 E Poland 19-13 11 E
Malta 0-22 1 E Moldova 4-15 3 E San Marino 1-44 0 E
DAN: HUN H SUI: ISR H SVK: POL A
SWE: ALB H GRE: LUX H SVN: SMR A
POR: MLT H LAT: MDA H NIR: CZE A
HUN: DAN A ISR: SUI A CZE: NIR H
Group 4 Group 5 Group 6
Germany 25-4 25 Q Spain 22-3 27 Q England 30-6 24 Q
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
Russia 18-5 21 POBos i Herc 23-7 19 POUkraine 15-6 18
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Finland 13-13 17 E Turkey 11-10 12 E Croatia 17-11 17
Wales 7-12 9 E Belgium 12-18 10 E Belarus 19-11 13 E
Azerbaijan 3-13 4 E Estonia 7-23 5 E Kazakhstan 10-27 6 E
Liec'stein 2-21 2 E Armenia 6-20 4 E Andorra 3-33 0 E
UKR: AND A
CRO: KAZ A
Group 7 Group 8 Group 9
Serbia 21-6 22 Q Italy 14-5 21 Q Netherlands17-2 24 Q
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
France 15-8 18 PORoIreland 12-8 17 PONorway 9-7 10
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Austria 13-12 14 E Bulgaria 11-10 11 E Scotland 5-10 10 E
Lithuania 8-10 9 E Cyprus 12-13 9 E FYR Mac'ia 5-11 7 E
Romania 9-17 9 E Montenegro 9-14 8 E Iceland 6-12 5 E
Faroe Is. 4-17 4 E Georgia 5-13 3 E
SRB: LTU A ITA: IRL A, CYP H
FRA: FI H, AUT A IRL: ITA H, MCG H
AUT: LTU H, FRA A
LTU: AUT A, SRB A
Code:
Play-off table:
Russia 7 5 0 2 14-5 15
Ukraine 8 4 3 1 10-6 15
Slovenia 8 4 2 2 10-4 14
Bosnia and Hercegovina 7 4 1 2 17-6 13
Greece 7 4 1 2 14-8 13
Portugal 8 3 4 1 9-5 13
France 7 3 3 1 9-8 12
Republic of Ireland 7 2 5 0 8-6 11
--------------------------------------------
Norway 8 2 4 2 9-7 10
Code:
Play-off table with likely runners-up:
Russia 7 5 0 2 14-5 15
Ukraine 8 4 3 1 10-6 15
Slovakia 7 4 1 2 11-9 13
Bosnia and Hercegovina 7 4 1 2 17-6 13
Greece 7 4 1 2 14-8 13
Portugal 8 3 4 1 9-5 13
France 7 3 3 1 9-8 12
Republic of Ireland 7 2 5 0 8-6 11
--------------------------------------------
Norway 8 2 4 2 9-7 10
From some FIFA rankings magic - Portugal, Russia and France are guaranteed (or almost guaranteed, given that Portugal are playing Malta) play-offs, and have a high enough ranking to be seeded. Similarly, Greece have a final match against Luxembourg, and will be the fourth and final seed if they win that. However, if Switzerland end up in the play-off from that group, Ukraine and Bosnia have a chance to seize the final seeding spot.
Norway's hopes are now reduced to Portugal losing by four goals against Malta while Sweden draws with Albania. I think an earthquake shattering the stadiums in South Africa are more likely.
Can only reach play-offs: Portugal, Sweden, Hungary, Israel, Latvia, Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Poland, Ukraine, Croatia, Norway
Assured at least play-offs, but not qualified: Switzerland, Slovakia, Serbia, Italy
South America
22.00, Medellin: Colombia 2-4 Chile (Chile qualified in impressive fashion, scoring four goals on a previously impenetrable defence - 14 goals conceded in 16 matches. As things expired, this doomed Colombia, as you'd expect when you score twelve goals.)
22.00, Quito: Ecuador 1-2 Uruguay (finally Uruguay took a last chance. After giving away points on their last away trips to venezuela and Peru, and losing heavily at home to Brazil, the team had slipped to sixth, but at altitude, they did an excellent job and now have all the chances to overtake Argentina for fourth.)
22.00, Puerto Ordaz: Venezuela 1-2 Paraguay (despite being qualified already, Paraguay won away, their jitters finally shaken as they pretty much doomed Venezuela, who are yet to qualify for the World Cup.)
22.00, Buenos Aires: Argentina 2-1 Peru (hardly impressive against the group's bottom dwellers, but it puts Argentina into fourth...and tensions between them and tiny south-western neighbours Uruguay are sure to rise.)
13.00 Sunday, La Paz: Bolivia vs Brazil
Code:
Brazil 16 9 6 1 32-9 33 Q
Paraguay 17 10 3 4 24-14 33 Q
Chile 17 9 3 5 31-22 30 Q
Argentina 17 7 4 6 22-20 25
-------------------------------------------
Uruguay 17 6 6 5 28-19 24
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ecuador 17 6 5 6 22-25 23
Venezuela 17 6 3 8 23-29 21
Colombia 17 5 5 7 12-18 20 E
Bolivia 16 3 3 10 20-34 12 E
Peru 17 2 4 11 10-34 10 E
Argentina: Uruguay A
Uruguay: Argentina H
Ecuador: Chile A
Venezuela: Brazil A
Can only make play-offs: Venezuela (with a 15-goal-swing over Uruguay...nah.).
Ecuador can qualify directly, but only with a seven-goal-win away in Chile, so realistically, Argentina qualify with a draw, but Uruguay qualify with a win, and should Argentina lose, they may even miss the play-offs.
CONCACAF
22.00, Ciudad de Mexíco: Mexico 4-1 El Salvador (oh right. Mexico through. Who'd have guessed. Key was, apparently, to avoid draws.)
02.00, San José: Costa Rica 4-0 Trinidad and Tobago (after a midsummer dip in form, Costa Rica are back in contention for the third direct qualifying spot, though a draw in United States in the final match might not be enough - Honduras have a better goal difference and have an easier task at already eliminated El Salvador - though matches between Honduras and El Salvador are never meaningless.)
02.00, San Pedro Sula: Honduras 2-3 United States (the US don't often win in Centroamerica, so a big result which qualifies them for the World Cup in some style. As per usual, US and Mexico through.)
Code:
United States 9 6 1 2 17-11 19 Q
Mexico 9 6 0 3 16-10 18 Q
Costa Rica 9 5 0 4 13-13 15
-------------------------------------------
Honduras 9 4 1 4 16-11 13
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
El Salvador 9 2 2 5 9-14 8 E
Trinidad and Tobago 9 1 2 6 8-20 5 E
Costa Rica: USA A
Honduras: El Salvador A
