World Cup 2010 Qualifying Updates

[allanlee]

Argentina is a team that has always believed in its own hype. It's tragic.

In these modern times..... the real winners are the organised crime syndicates :( ........... during the previous 2006 World Cup where Argentina were among the favourites...... a close relative of their manager Pecckerman was kidnapped just before a crucial match in the KO stage...... needless to say Argentina lost that match with their own players "gifting" the opposition with the winning goal ...... and then Peckerman quitted for good.

No sport is worth winning at the cost of a life....... the real losers is the sport of soccer.

 

[Ramseth]

World Cup European zone qualifiers resume this Saturday. The crunch game should be Denmark v. Portugal. If Portugal lose, they're out of the running for the auto-qualifying topspot, with less than an even chance for the 2nd playoff spot. At the same time, Portugal must also hope that Hungary lose to Sweden. If Hungary beat Sweden, it's practically gameover and bye-bye World Cup for Portugal.

 

[Robert Half]

World Cup European zone qualifiers resume this Saturday. The crunch game should be Denmark v. Portugal. If Portugal lose, they're out of the running for the auto-qualifying topspot, with less than an even chance for the 2nd playoff spot. At the same time, Portugal must also hope that Hungary lose to Sweden. If Hungary beat Sweden, it's practically gameover and bye-bye World Cup for Portugal.

Hope this times underdogs prevail.. Denmark qualify & Hungary go into playoff :p

 

[Ramseth]

Big game in the South America group - Argentina v. Brazil.

Brazil is at the top of the table now, whereas Argentina is at 4th. Maradona, Messi & co. must win to stay in the safety zone of top 4.

 

[BlueCat]

i am going for Spain to win 2-0/3-0

 

[Ramseth]

i am going for Spain to win 2-0/3-0

This is not the Belgium of the 80s. Spain should wrap it up comprehensively.

 

[Himerus]

tough luck bro BC.
Spain beat Belgium 5-0

 

[Ramseth]

Asia Playoff 1st Leg
Bahrain 0 Saudi Arabia 0


Europe Group One
Denmark 1 Portugal 1

Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal are looking increasingly worried and desparate. 7 points behind Denmark for the top place qualifying spot with 3 more games to go. Mathematically possible but highly improbable. Fortunately for them, Sweden beat Hungary 2:1 and the 2nd place playoff spot becomes open again with just 3 points in between the 3 countries (Hungary, Sweden and Portugal) now.


South America
Argentina 1 Brazil 3

Brazil qualify. Chile and Paraguay need 3 more points each to qualify, leaving Argentina hanging precariously onto the 4th qualifying spot. Failing that, there's still the safety net of a 5th playoff spot, with Colombia and Ecuador both 2 points adrift.

 

[Ramseth]

Oceania

New Zealand will playoff either Bahrain or Saudi Arabia from Asia.


Africa

The 5 groups in the African zone are perhaps the toughest of all. The country must win the group to qualify, no second chance of playoff. Current leaders are:

Group A: Gabon (6 points), Cameroon (4 points)
Group B: Tunisia (7 points), Nigeria (5 points)
Group C: Algeria (7 points), Egypt (7 points)
Group D: Ghana (9 points), Mali (4 points)
Group E: Ivory Coast (12 points), Burkina Faso (6 points)


North America

Very open group now with just 1 point in between the top 4 countries, USA, Honduras, Mexico and Costa Rica for the top 3 qualifying spots and 1 playoff spot against the 5th placed country from South America.

 

[Wayne Piew]

Europe Group One
Denmark 1 Portugal 1

Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal are looking increasingly worried and desparate. 7 points behind Denmark for the top place qualifying spot with 3 more games to go. Mathematically possible but highly improbable. Fortunately for them, Sweden beat Hungary 2:1 and the 2nd place playoff spot becomes open again with just 3 points in between the 3 countries (Hungary, Sweden and Portugal) now.

Carlos Queiroz is a great assistant coach,
but a lousy manager.
Without Sir Alex, Carlos is nothing.
Next season will see him back at Old Trafford.
Some people are cut out to be No 2, not No 1, like Loserpool.

 

[Ramseth]

The fixtures this Wednesday are heating up:

Asia
Saudi Arabia v. Bahrain
The winners get another playoff chance against New Zealand. The losers, goodbye.

Europe Group 1
Hungary v. Portugal / Malta v. Sweden / Albania v. Denmark
If Hungary win, it's surely goodbye to Portugal, as Sweden losing to Malta or Denmark losing to Albania is unimaginable.

Europe Group 5 / Group 6
Spain v. Estonia / England v. Croatia
Simple mathematics. If Spain win, they qualify; almost a foregone conclusion. If England win, they also qualify, but it'd be a much more combative game here.

South America
Paraguay v. Argentina
If Paraguay win, they qualify and Argentina are in deep trouble.

 

[Baimi]

@$16 for 5-0 win for Spain a bit low.

 

[Ramseth]

@$16 for 5-0 win for Spain a bit low.

Wow! :p

 

[Ramseth]

Latest from Africa. Ghana has qualified.

Group A: Gabon (6 points), Togo (5 points)
Group B: Tunisia (8 points), Nigeria (6 points)
Group C: Algeria (7 points), Egypt (7 points)
Group D: Ghana (12 points) Qualify
Group E: Ivory Coast (12 points), Burkina Faso (6 points)

 

[Ramseth]

Asia Play0ff 2nd Leg
Saudi Arabia 2 Bahrain 2 (Aggregate 2:2, Bahrain win on away goals)

Europe Group 5
Spain 3 Estonia 0 (Spain qualify)

Europe Group 6
England 5 Croatia 1 (England qualify)

South America
Paraguay 1 Argentina 0 (Paraguay qualify)

All Qualifiers
Africa: South Africa (hosts), Ghana
Europe: Holland, England, Spain
North America: -
South America: Brazil, Paraguay
Asia: Australia, South Korea, Japan, North Korea
Oceania: -

 

[Ramseth]

3 countries in Europe simply bulldozed their way through, making qualifying look so easy.

Holland - 8 wins out of 8 games, scored 17 & conceded 2 goals (no more games to play)
England - 8 wins out of 8 games, scored 31 & conceded 5 goals (2 more games to spare)
Spain - 8 wins out of 8 games, scored 21 & conceded 2 goals (2 more games to spare)

They'll surely be rank favourites in South Africa 2010.

The last berth for Asia-Oceania will be down to a 2-legged playoff between New Zealand and Bahrain.

 

[Ramseth]

Beside Holland, England and Spain who have already qualified, the other European groups are also winding up. Barring major slip-ups, these should be the qualifiers:

Group 1: Denmark
Group 2: Switzerland
Group 3: Slovakia
Group 4: ? (Germany / Russia)
Group 5: settled (Spain)
Group 6: settled (England)
Group 7: Serbia
Group 8: Italy
Group 9: settled (Holland)

Of the 9 group runners-up, the 8 best still have a chance at the playoffs. In Group 4, the match Russia v. Germany next month will be deciding.

 

[Ramseth]

International weekend for World Cup qualifiers again. The notable games are:

Europe Group 1: Portugal v. Hungary (C. Ronaldo is injured, Portugal is praying for miracle)
Europe Group 1: Denmark v. Sweden (Denmark almost there but Sweden must win)
Europe Group 4: Russia v. Germany (the closest top-of-the-group fight of all groups)
Europe Group 6: Ukraine v. England (England can sabo Croatia bigtime by losing)

 

[Robert Half]

Can New Zealand qualify by beating Bahrain over the 2 legs play-off

 

[Ramseth]

Can New Zealand qualify by beating Bahrain over the 2 legs play-off

Yes, last spot for Asia-Oceania...even draw-draw (over 2 legs) on away goals also can qualify. Of course, clear aggregrate winner sure qualifies. If everything ends up all even after 2 legs, penalty shoot-out winner qualifies.