The road to FIFA World Cup 2010

[Galactus]

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Oceanian Zone

10 teams, 0.5 places
The OFC will get the global qualification race underway with a preliminary tournament at the Pacific Games in Samoa. American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Fiji, New Caledonia, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu will face off at Faleata's J.S. Blatter Playing Fields Complex between 25 August and 7 September 2007.



The first of the qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ produced 33 goals on the opening day of the South Pacific Games in Samoa, with hard-fought wins for New Caledonia and Vanuatu while Fiji and the Solomon Islands went on veritable goal sprees.

Eight of the 10 teams competing in the games' football tournament, which serving as the first stage of Oceania's qualifying competition for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa, made their bow on the first day of a competition which runs through to 7 September. New Caledonia, playing in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers for the first time, had the distinction of winning the first match on the long road to South Africa, just edging Tahiti 1-0 in a Francophone derby at the Toleafoa JS Blatter Complex on the outskirts of the Samoan capital Apia.

The match started just five before the meeting between American Samoa and favourites the Solomon Islands and on the second of the two fields at the well-kept complex, built by FIFA as part of the GOAL project. Later, Fiji clobbered Tuvalu 16-0 with a double hat-trick for Osea Vakatalesau while hosts Samoa were beaten 3-0 by Vanuatu.

New Caledonia captain Pierre Wajoka netted the first goal of the qualifiers, this after just nine minutes, slotting home a penalty after Tahiti defence had been caught out by the pace of the speedy Iamel Kabeu, who was brought down inside the area. After 40 minutes, New Caledonian midfielder Jose Hmae was handed his marching orders by New Zealand referee Michael Hester for pushing an opponent in the face, but his side were able to hold on to their slender lead.

"There is a great satisfaction for us with this result," was the verdict of New Caledonian coach Didier Chambaron afterwards. We were very serious and we put in a lot of hard work before, which really paid off."

Solomons cruise, Ott makes history
The Solomon Islands ran in 12 goals against American Samoa, but the vanquished side were delighted with their first-ever FIFA World Cup goal. Commins Menapi scored four, claiming the first hat-trick on the road to South Africa 2010, as the Solomon Islanders enjoyed a routine start to their campaign.

Benjamin Totori and Stanley Waita each scored two more in the rout, which saw the Solomon Islanders lead 5-0 at half-time before going on to register a 12-1 win. "We have a team that can win the goal and that is what we are aiming for," said Airon Andrioli, the Brazilian coach of the Solomon Islands, afterwards.

American Samoa's first-ever FIFA World Cup qualifying goal, meanwhile, came from a second half penalty from Ramin Ott. "I am thrilled with our first ever goal but as a coach to lose so heavily is hard," lamented David Brand, the Englishman in charge of the unfancied outsiders.

American Samoa lost 31-0 in FIFA World Cup record defeat in the 2002 qualifiers to Australia but feel they have made a great deal of improvement, even if their 17-year-old goalkeeper Jordan Penitusi was playing his first-ever game in senior football.

Cahill Snr on target for Samoa
Tuvalu, who are only associate members of FIFA, must have realised that they would be up against it when their own keeper was forced to make his first save after just 12 seconds against Fiji, gold medalists at the last South Pacific Games, which they hosted four years ago. Sure enough, it did not long before the goals came raining in, almost on cue with a brief shower on an otherwise perfect, steamy day in the tropics.

Fiji's highly rated-striker Roy Krishna got the first after six minutes and 18 minutes later had already completed his hat trick. Before half-time, his team-mate Pita Rabo had gone one better and scored four, leaving Fiji 10 goals to the good by half-time, threatening the possibility of bettering Australia's record. Vakatalesau scored five after the break to add the goal he sneaked in just before the half-time whistle but Fiji faded as the game progressed, and missed a myriad of other chances to the relief of Jay Timo, Tuvalu's beleaguered goalkeeper.

Vanuatu, meanwhile, had a tough assignment against the hosts but scored at key junctures of a game in which the 4-0 scoreline flattered them a little. Richard Iwai, Jean Nako Naprapol, Moise Poida and Seule Soromon were their goalscorers.

As for Samoa, they were captained by Chris Cahill, elder brother of the Everton midfielder Tim Cahill, who starred for Australia at last year's FIFA World Cup finals in Germany. The tournament's other participants, the Cook Islands and Tonga, play their first games on Monday.

African Zone

53 teams, 5 places
A two-leg preliminary round comprising five ties will be held in October 2007 to reduce the field to 48 entrants. These matches will be played by the ten African teams ranked lowest in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking of July 2007, with the first leg matches taking place on the weekend of 13 October 2007 and the return legs on the weekend of 17 November 2007. The teams will then be drawn into qualifying groups at a ceremony to be held in Durban on 25 November.

Asian Zone

43 teams, 4.5 places
A first preliminary round encompassing all AFC nations save for Australia, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Iran will start in October 2007. On 6 August 2007, AFC held the draw for the first preliminary round's 19 matches as well as for the matches of the subsequent round, taking into account the teams' respective rankings. As Guam have withdrawn from the competition, Indonesia have received a bye.

The draw for the opening two rounds of Asian Zone qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ took place on Monday at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur. Despite being without the continent's top five teams, who are waiting at the third round stage with a bye, the line-up for the preliminary stages, running from 8 October to 18 November 2007, promise excitement and enthralling football for the 38 teams and fans across Asia.

The draw for the opening two rounds threw up some intriguing pairings. While the newly crowned Asian champions Iraq have been pitted against Pakistan, central Asian power Uzbekistan will cross swords with Chinese Taipei, a team that are 100 places lower in FIFA/Coca Cola World Ranking.

Bahrain, who went within a whisker of qualifying for Germany 2006 will open their qualifying campaign against Malaysia. China, determined to make up for their failure to reach the previous FIFA World Cup, square up with neighbours Myanmar in the opening round.

The most enticing pairing is Vietnam against the United Arab Emirates. The UAE, hoping to emulate their feat of 17 years ago when they qualified for world football's showpiece event in Italy, will field a formidable side spearheaded by Ismail Marta. However, Vietnam have recently defeated the west Asians 2-0 at the AFC Asian Cup.

A different format
This preliminary campaign sees Asia employ a different format from the previous editions with its teams battling it out for the 4.5 berths in a four-round qualifying process which takes place between 8 November 2007 and 9 September 2009.

The seeding for all the 43 countries in the Asian Zone is based on the results from the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ and earlier qualifying rounds. As a result, Australia lead a top five that also features Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Iran.

While the top five teams have a bye until the third round, the remaining 38 teams ranked from 6th to 43rd have to go through a tough knockout opening round, with teams ranked from 6-24 doing battles against those ranked from 25-43.

From the 19 teams that emerge as winners from the opening round, the lowest eight based on the ranking have to lock horns against each other in the second round while the other eleven join the five highest ranked nations in the third round.

The third round sees 20 teams, including the four winners from the previous round, divided into five groups of four with the top two finishers advancing.

Then comes the decisive final round, which sees the last ten split into two groups of five. The top two teams of each group will automatically qualify for South Africa 2010.

The two third placed finishers from each group play in a two-legged home and away play-off. The winners will play the OFC winners in a two legged playoff for a FIFA World Cup berth.

Asian Zone Qualifying
2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa
First Round
1. Pakistan - Iraq
2. Uzbekistan - Chinese Taipei
3. Thailand - Macau
4. Sri Lanka - Qatar
5. China - Myanmar
6. Bhutan - Kuwait
7. Kyrgyzstan - Jordan
8. Vietnam - UAE
9. Bahrain - Malaysia
10. Timor Leste - Hong Kong
11. Syria - Afghanistan
12. Yemen - Maldives
13. Bangladesh - Tajikistan
14. Mongolia - DPR Korea
15. Oman - Nepal
16. Palestine - Singapore
17. Lebanon - India
18. Cambodia - Turkmenistan
19. Guam - Indonesia

Matches will be played on 8 October 2007 and 28 October 2007.

Second Round
1. Seed 17 - Seed 14
2. Seed 16 - Seed 12
3. Seed 19 - Seed 15
4. Seed 18 - Seed 13

Matches will be played on 9 and 18 November 2007.

Third Round
Matches will be played between 6 February 2008 and 10 September 2008.

Fourth Round
Matches will be played between 15 October 2008 and 9 September 2009.

Seeding
1. Australia, 2. Korea Republic, 3. Saudi Arabia, 4. Japan, 5. Iran, 6. Bahrain, 7. Uzbekistan, 8. Kuwait, 9. DPR Korea, 10. China, 11. Jordan, 12. Iraq, 13. Lebanon, 14. Oman, 15. UAE, 16. Qatar, 17. Syria, 18. Palestine, 19. Thailand, 20. Turkmenistan, 21. Tajikistan, 22. Indonesia, 23. Hong Kong, 24. Yemen , 25. Vietnam, 26. Kyrgyzstan, 27. Maldives, 28. India, 29. Singapore, 30. Sri Lanka, 31. Malaysia, 32. Chinese Taipei, 33. Bangladesh, 34. Macau, 35. Pakistan, 36. Afghanistan, 37. Mongolia, 38. Guam, 39. Nepal, 40. Cambodia, 41. Bhutan, 42. Myanmar, 43. Timor Leste

European Zone

53 teams, 13 places
The European qualifiers get underway in August 2008, after UEFA EURO 2008, with teams playing each other home and away in groups to be drawn at the November ceremony in Durban.

North, Central American and Caribbean Zone

35 teams, 3.5 places
All CONCACAF's member associations have entered the qualifying competition, which starts in February 2008. Three sides will qualify by right for South Africa 2010, with a fourth team going into a play-off with the fifth-place finisher in the CONMEBOL zone.

South American Zone

10 teams, 4.5 places
The qualification format involves a league system with teams playing each other home and away, which will kick off in October 2007. The top four go through by right, with the side finishing fifth going into a play-off with the fourth-placed side from the CONCACAF zone.

[Galactus]

Oceanian Zone

Hosts' derby joy on day two(FIFA.com) Tuesday 28 August 2007
Goals were not in such plentiful supply on a more competitive day two of 2010 FIFA World Cup™ qualifiers in Apia, but there was still plenty for the small crowd in Samoa to enthuse about.

After the net bulged 34 times on the opening day of the South Pacific Games, the eight teams competing in four matches on the second day of competition managed just under half that tally on Monday. Nevertheless, Fiji, New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands all won a second game to keep up their hopes of finishing in one of the three medal places at the games, which are being used by the Oceania Football Confederation as the first stage of their South Africa 2010 preliminary competition.

For the locals, however, the best was saved for last as Samoa bounced back from an opening day 4-0 defeat to Vanuatu to secure their first points of the tournament, hammering American Samoa in their derby match-up in the final game of the day. The Samoans won 7-0 against their neighbours, who have now conceded 19 goals in their opening two matches. Among the goalscorers was their captain, Chris Cahill, brother of the Australian international Tim Cahill, who played for the Socceroos at the FIFA World Cup finals in Germany last year.

Australia-born Cahill, who chose to play for the country of his mother's birth, scored twice in what was just his second full international. "It's an honour for me and my family to be able to captain the national team," he said. "We showed a great improvement from Saturday, when we were outplayed. We need to have more games like this to gain experience at international level."

Chambaron furious
New Caledonia had a scare in their game against Tuvalu, who put their 16-0 opening day drubbing by Fiji firmly behind them to deliver a feisty showing against the French territory. In the end, it was only a silly mistake from goalkeeper Jay Timo that cost the tiny island nation, whose population is just 7,000-strong.

In an attempt to clear upfield, Timo kicked the ball against the chest of Iamel Kabeu, who watched in delight as it rebounded into the net. Nevertheless, New Caledonia's coach Didier Chambaron was furious with the performance afterwards, describing it as "lamentable".

Though key players had been rested for what was presumed to be a routine clash, Chambaron said: "That should be no excuse. We played with a new team but it was bad. We did not have any respect for our opponents."

Despite their slack showing, New Caledonia moved joint-top of the standings with Fiji, who beat youthful side from the Cook Islands 4-0. Some poor errors cost the Cook Islands as they gave away an early penalty and then saw defender Daniel Shepherd sent off for two bookable offences inside the first 40 minutes.

That allowed Fiji to dictate the game, although they were restricted to just four goals by a physically strong Cook Island side who showed admirable commitment. "They put up a disciplined and spirited performance and that made me very, very pleased," said Cook Islands coach Tim Jerks. Osea Vakatalesau scored Fiji's first goal to take his tournament tally to seven after a double hat-trick on Saturday.

Tournament favourites the Solomon Islands also chalked up a less convincing win than their 12-1 opening day victory over American Samoa, but did enough to cruise past Tonga 4-0. The Solomons' goals came from George Suri, Commins Menapi, Henry Fa'arodo and Alick Maemae. "We had a lot of chances to finish them off but 4-0 was not really satisfactory," captain Menapi told FIFA.com afterwards. "But in the end, it is a win. We have the players to win the gold and if we continue to play the way we want to, we can do it."

Group A
Fiji 2 2 0 0 20 0 6
New Caledonia 2 2 0 0 2 0 6
Tahiti 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
Cook Islands 1 0 0 1 0 4 0
Tuvalu 2 0 0 2 0 17 0



Group B
Solomon Islands 2 2 0 0 16 1 6
Vanuatu 1 1 0 0 4 0 3
Samoa 2 1 0 1 7 4 3
Tonga 1 0 0 1 0 4 0
American Samoa 2 0 0 2 1 19 0

[Mee]

USA! USA! USA!



If we have another meltdown like last time...:cmad::csad:

[Galactus]

Oceanian Zone

Semi-final line-up takes shape(FIFA.com) Thursday 30 August 2007
New Caledonia became the first side to book their place in the last four as the third round of matches at the South Pacific Games in Samoa ended with five teams left vying for the three available spots alongside New Zealand at the OFC Nations Cup.

The situation appears particularly clear-cut in Group A, where Fiji's grip on second place behind New Caledonia was strengthened further today when Tahiti fell victim to the tournament's biggest shock thus far. Few, certainly, had expected the Tahitians, edged out 1-0 by New Caledonia in their group opener, to encounter any significant problems in inflicting defeat on a Tuvalu side thumped 16-0 by Fiji in the first round of matches.

Yet despite dominating the day's opening encounter, Gerard Kautai's side saw their bid to reach the semi-finals falter thanks to a dramatic late equaliser from Viliamu Sekifu as Tuvalu snatched a 1-1 draw. The result represented a remarkable achievement for the tiny island nation, who showed the same resilience they had displayed in restricting New Caledonia to a 1-0 win just a couple of days after that Fijian humiliation.

Tahiti were virtually encamped in Tuvalu's half for much of the match, but some resolute defending and agile goalkeeping kept the favourites at bay until the stroke of half-time. Even then, it was widely expected that Axel Williams' powerful headed opener in first half injury time would signal the opening of the floodgates after the break, but Tuvalu continued to hold out and, with just two minutes remaining, received their reward when substitute Viliamu Sekifu fired home to spark wild scenes of celebration.

A share of the spoils left both sides five points behind Fiji and eight adrift of New Caledonia, who continued their unspectacular progress with another routine victory over the Cook Islands. The Fijians could yet snatch pole position in Group A, however, as they hold a game in hand over the leaders and also boast a vastly superior goal difference to a side who have made the net bulge on just five occasions compared to their closest rivals' 20.

Nevertheless, New Caledonia, who are competing in FIFA World Cup ™ qualifiers for the first time, comfortably followed up their single-goal wins over Tahiti and Tuvalu by cruising to a 3-0 win over Tim Jerks' Cook Islands, clinching a place in the last four with a game to spare. There was again much for Jerks to be encouraged by in his side's spirited performance, but a double from the impressive Iamel Kabeu and a 50th-minute penalty from Pierre Wajoka quickly put paid to their hopes of pulling off an upset.

Jerks' New Caledonian counterpart, Didier Chamberon, meanwhile, was pleased to see an improvement in his side's attitude. "There was a lot of satisfaction tonight because we played a good match," he said. "This was a very important result because our last match against Tuvalu was very disappointing."

Hosts stay in the running
While Fiji look odds-on to join New Caledonia in advancing from Group A, the battle for semi-final places in Group B is still too close to call with three sides locked on the six-point mark.

Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands remain the favourites, but despite having played a game more than their two rivals, Samoa will simply be delighted to have stayed in the hunt after eking out a tense 2-1 win over Tonga. The picture had appeared bleak for the host nation after a 4-0 opening day defeat to Vanuatu, but after bouncing back in the second round of matches with a 7-0 win over neighbouring American Samoa, they did just enough to see off a tough Tongan outfit today.

The visitors, who performed an impressive 'haka' ahead of the match, certainly gave as good as they got in a keenly-contested first half that remained goalless until the first minute of added time, when Desmond Faaiuaso pounced to spark cheers from the noisy home support.

However, it took just seven minutes of the second period for those same fans to be silenced when Unaloto Feao capitalised on some slack Samoan defending to restore parity. The hosts' woes deepened 10 minutes later when influential captain Chris Cahill picked up a booking that rules him out of their crucial match against the Solomon Islands, leaving coach Falevi Umutaua to wonder if this wasn't to be his side's day.

With seven minutes left, however, and the game ticking down to what would have been a costly draw, Lionel Taylor popped up with a superb turn and shot to win the match for Samoa and send the supporters home happy. "I felt great," said the goal hero. "It was a tough match but I gave the best I could like all the team for Samoa. Tonight, it was very important that the home crowd helped us."

The hosts must be congratulated on keeping the race alive, but there can be no doubt that they remain outsiders to split the Solomon Islands and a Vanuatu side who, in the group's earlier match, dished out an emphatic 15-0 defeat to American Samoa. The basement boys actually succeeded in holding their opponents for the opening 19 minutes, but with half-time approaching and the score at 3-0, a needless red card for captain Terence Sinapati prompted a spectacular collapse.

The main beneficiaries were Francois Sakama, who bagged a hat-trick, Etienne Mermer, who bettered that with four, and half-time substitute Seule Soromon, four of whose five goals came in a frantic final nine minutes. Captain Moise Poida, Anrew Chicirua and Tom Philip Tomake also found the target.

Vanuatu's top-of-the-table duel with the Solomon Islands is now sure to be the highlight of Saturday's fourth round of matches that also sees Tonga face American Samoa, Tuvalu tangle with the Cook Islands, and Fiji attempt to secure a semi-final place against Tahiti.

Group A
New Caledonia 3 3 0 0 5 0 9
Fiji 2 2 0 0 20 0 6
Tahiti 2 0 1 1 1 2 1
Tuvalu * 3 0 1 2 1 18 1
Cook Islands 2 0 0 2 0 7 0



Group B
Vanuatu 2 2 0 0 19 0 6
Solomon Islands 2 2 0 0 16 1 6
Samoa 3 2 0 1 9 5 6
Tonga 2 0 0 2 1 6 0
American Samoa 3 0 0 3 1 34 0

[04nbod]

USA! USA! USA!



If we have another meltdown like last time...:cmad::csad:

yes,the USA has less of a chance than england and we have no chance:woot:

[Kaleb]

Im hoping to make some sweet cash off this, as Im going to be renting out my beach house here in South Africa during the world cup,plus my mom is concidering buying a couple of apartments and renting them out as well for Tourists during the 2010 world cup.

[Galactus]

Oceanian Zone

Day four of the South Pacific Games in Samoa brought opening wins for Tonga and the Cook Islands, but the biggest winners were Fiji and the Solomon Islands, both of whom advanced to the semi-finals.

For the former, a 4-0 win over Tahiti was enough to see them join group rivals New Caledonia in the draw for the last four, while a 2-0 win over Vanuatu tournament favourites the Solomons leapfrog their opponents, who will now battle it out with hosts Samoa for the one remaining spot.

The erstwhile impressive Ni-Vanuatu had scored 19 goals without reply in their opening two matches, and the confidence gleaned from those performances was evident during an opening half which saw them comfortably contain their rivals with some neat, composed football at the back.

However, the Solomons remained patient and, within a deadly four-minute period just after the hour-mark, effectively put the outcome beyond doubt. First, Godwin Bebeu popped up to break the deadlock in outrageous style, extravagantly back-heeling the ball beyond Maki Haitong, then Henry Fa'arodo was afforded time and space to clinically seal the win.

Any hopes of a comeback were dashed by a couple of excellent saves from the formidable Fred Hale, although Vanuatu will be consoled by the fact that victory over Tonga in their final match will assure them of advancing ahead of a Samoan side beaten 4-0 in the sides' opening fixture.

The Tongans will certainly hope to put up a better show than they managed yesterday in a drab 4-0 win over American Samoa that represented the basement boys' best result at this year's competition. Despite monopolising possession, Tonga all too often proved toothless in front of goal and it took until the 37th minute for the deadlock to be broken. Even then, it was from the penalty spot that Lafaele Moala fired his side into a lead that was later increased by a Pio Palu brace and a stunning late strike from Kaisani Utatahi.

Cooks' delight as Fiji finish the job
In Group A, Fiji made sure of matching New Caledonia's achievement of qualifying for the semi-finals with a game to spare. Tahiti made a game of it, but they were always likely to be up against it when Taniela Waqa's superb 17th-minute opener was followed 18 minutes later by the dismissal of Stephane Gelima for preventing a Fijian goalscoring opportunity.

Within three minutes of being reduced to 10 men, Tahiti's fate was sealed when Pita Baleitoga side-footed home Fiji's second, and a 4-0 win was later completed by a well-taken double from Osea Vakatalesau.

There was joy, meanwhile, for Tim Jerks' Cook Islands, who won their first points of the 2007 South Pacific Games with a comprehensive 4-1 win over fellow minnows Tuvalu. Jerks, himself a former coach of Tuvalu, had predicted an open and entertaining match, and the fans certainly did not go home disappointed.

In a keenly-contested encounter, the Cook Islands just had the edge over their determined opponents, and moved in front after 28 minutes through a looping header from Teariki Mateariki. The outcome appeared to have been all but settled with 21 minutes remaining when Mateariki double his and his team's tally, but an 83rd-minute own goal from Steve Willis reduced arrears and prompted a frantic finish.

Fortunately for Jerks, his side proved that they had both the fitness and mental strength to flourish, and after Thomas Le Mouton had restored their two-goal advantage with two minutes remaining, Kunda Tom served up arguably the goal of the tournament so far with a wonderful volleyed strike.

Tuvalu and American Samoa now head for home with heads held high, while tomorrow's final round of group matches will see New Caledonia and Fiji face off in Group A, the Cook Islands face Tahiti, and both Samoa and Vanuatu scrap for that final semi-final place against the Solomons and Tonga respectively.

Group A
Fiji 3 3 0 0 24 0 9
New Caledonia 3 3 0 0 5 0 9
Cook Islands 3 1 0 2 4 8 3
Tahiti 3 0 1 2 1 6 1
Tuvalu 4 0 1 3 2 22 1



Group B
Solomon Islands 3 3 0 0 18 1 9
Vanuatu 3 2 0 1 19 2 6
Samoa 3 2 0 1 9 5 6
Tonga 3 1 0 2 5 6 3
American Samoa 4 0 0 4 1 38 0

[Galactus]

There was a lot riding on three of the day's four games on matchday of the South Pacific Games in Samoa. In Group A, Fiji and New Caledonia were battling for top spot, while in Group B, there was all to play for as both Samoa and Vanuatu harboured hopes of a place in the semi-finals.

The first games to get underway at the Toleafoa J.S. Blatter Football Fields in Apia were the Group B matches between Tonga and Vanuatu and Samoa's against the Solomon Islands. Although Vanuatu were favourites to qualify for the final four, Samoa were hoping that they could upset the odds and pull off a famous victory.

Their bid got off to the worst possible start at the Group B winners scored inside the opening 60 seconds. Benjamin Totori created space for himself and unleashed a shot which rippled the back of the net. His second came 36 minutes later, when he was left with the easiest of tap-ins following good work down the left hand side. Despite pushing forward for an equaliser in the second half, it was the Solomons who extended their advantage when substitute Alick Maemae's shot was deflected past Pasi Schwalger.

On the neighbouring pitch, meanwhile, Vanuatu were making light work of Tonga. A first-half hat trick from Seule Soromon, scored within 17 minutes of each other, took his tally to nine in the tournament so far and helped his side to a 4-1 victory. Tonga gave their opponents a brief scare four minutes after the restart when Malakai Savieti pulled one back, but Victor Maleb scored within a minute of his introduction into the game in the 75th minute to make sure there were no last-minute nerves. Samoa, who had enjoyed wins over Tonga and American Samoa, now exit the competition.

Nailbiting draw enough for Fiji
If Tonga's match with Vanuatu produced the most goals today, it was New Caledonia's fixture with Fiji which caused the most interest. With both teams enjoying 100 per cent records going into the match, something had to give. The opening exchanges were played at a fairly sedate pace and although it was Fiji who created the better chances, it was New Caledonia who went into the interval ahead. Pierre Wajoka's tame free-kick 43rd minute was allowed to trickle past a posse of Fiji defenders and found its way into the corner of the net.

After some harsh words from coach Juan Carlos Buzzetti at the break, the Fijians attacked with all guns blazing at the start of the second half, with Malakai Kainihewe's 57th minute header earning them a deserved equaliser. Chances were at a premium for the remainder of the match and with the game ending 1-1, it is Fiji who will meet Vanuatu with the Solomon Islands facing New Caledonia in the semi-finals.

Two teams who had no chance of progressing, namely Cook Islands and Tahiti met in the day's other game. Although only pride and third place was up for grabs, the match was played with a real passion which boiled over on several occasions. Referee Fiti Aimaasu was forced to show three red cards in 13 second half minutes. Amid the sendings off, Temarii Tinorua netted the only goal to grab victory for Tahiti.

Group A
Fiji 4 3 1 0 25 1 10
New Caledonia 4 3 1 0 6 1 10
Tahiti 4 1 1 2 2 6 4
Cook Islands 4 1 0 3 4 9 3
Tuvalu 4 0 1 3 2 22 1



Group B
Solomon Islands 4 4 0 0 21 1 12
Vanuatu 4 3 0 1 23 3 9
Samoa 4 2 0 2 9 8 6
Tonga 4 1 0 3 6 10 3
American Samoa 4 0 0 4 1 38 0

[Galactus]

Oceanian Zone

It was a tale of contrasting fortunes at the South Pacific Games Samoa 2007 on Wednesday. Fiji and New Caledonia earned a place at the Gold Medal match and in doing so secured a place at the next stage of Oceanian Zone qualification for South Africa 2010. For Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, however, a winner-takes-all match on Friday will determine whether they win bronze and the right to face New Zealand and the gold and silver winners in the 2008 OFC Nations Cup.

The first game of the day brought a bigger goals tally and more drama than the second. Favourites to go through were the Solomon Islands, who had won all of their four matches in the tournament so far, but they were up against New Caledonia, who shocked the Fijians on Monday by holding them to a 1-1 draw. In a see-saw encounter at the Toleafoa J.S. Blatter Complex in Apia, it was the underdogs who eventually had their day, much to the chagrin of the Solomons.

New Caledonia enjoyed the better of the opening stages, with Poulidor Toto rattling the crossbar and forcing a spectacular save from Fred Hale inside the opening ten minutes. It was no surprise, therefore, to see the No18 play a significant role in the game's opening goal, he squared the ball to Iamel Kabeu who thundered a shot into the back of the net.

Six minutes later, the Solomon Islands drew level. Judd Molea's free-kick was met by Henry Fa'arodo whose downward header bounced over Ounemoa. One all was how it stayed until the interval, but the game's third goal - and the Solomons' second - was not long in coming. Two minutes after the restart another Molea free-kick brought another headed goal, this time from Commins Menapi.

New Caledonia grabbed an equaliser in the 54th minute. In a reversal of the first goal, Kabeu fed Toto who fires the ball past Hale's outstretched right arm.

Referee Job Ponis Minan was a busy man in the final stages as he sent off two Solomon Island players for two bookable offences. Alick Maemae was the first to be given his marching orders in the 68th minute, while ten minutes later Gideon Omokirio joined him for an early bath, giving Didier Chambaron's side a significant advantage.

They made it count with the last kick of the game when Yohann Mercier put his side 3-2 ahead, giving them a chance to grab the gold on Friday.

Fiji ease through
It took Fiji 44 minutes to open their account against Vanuatu in the day's other game, but once they had their noses in front, they recorded a comfortable 3-0 victory.

However, with Vanuatu looking the more likely to score in the first half, there was a definite touch of fortune about the Fijians opening goal. It came when Pita Baleitoga's strike from 40-yards deflected off Fedy Vava and spun into the net.

Fiji's advantage was doubled in the 66th minute when Osea Vakatalesau scored his tenth of the tournament from the penalty spot. Three minutes later Roy Krishna took his tally to four when his left-foot finish rocketed past Chikau Mansale.

On Friday, Fiji and New Caledonia will meet in a reprise of the match from two days ago when nothing could separate the sides. Both teams have now made it through to the next stage of FIFA World Cup ™ qualification, but there is still a nervous game ahead of the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu in order to claim progression and a coveted bronze medal.

African Zone

São Tomé e Príncipe and the Central African Republic will not be taking part in the African qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, after their respective national associations announced on 31 August 2007 that they would not be entering the preliminary competition.

The first round of qualifying was scheduled to feature two-legged ties between the ten African member associations currently lowest in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, a number which includes São Tomé e Príncipe and the Central African Republic. In an effort to maintain the same format for the second round of African Zone qualifiers, and after discussions with the African Football Confederation, FIFA decided to award a first-round bye to the two highest-placed countries in the July 2007 edition of the rankings. Swaziland and Seychelles, who share 147 th spot, are the two beneficiaries.

As a consequence of this reshuffle, the opponents of the two teams to be given a bye will face now each other for a second-round berth. Somalia and Djibouti, who were set to play Swaziland and Seychelles over two legs, will instead play a one-off qualifying match on 17 November.

After the withdrawals of São Tomé e Príncipe and the Central African Republic, there will now be only three first-round ties rather than the five initially scheduled.

First round of African Zone qualification matches
Madagascar - Comoros (first leg - 13 October 2007, Second leg - 17 November 2007)
Sierra Leone - Guinea Bissau (first leg - 14 October 2007, second leg - 17 November 2007)
Djibouti - Somalia (single match play-off in Djibouti, 17 November 2007)

[Galactus]

To Vanuatu the valuable prize of a place in the next round of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, to New Caledonia the glory of being crowned champions at the South Pacific Games. But for the Solomon Islands, favourites to emerge winners when eight teams started out at the Samoa event 12 days ago, only a deep depression today after their defeat in the third place play-off denied them the chance to take part along with the gold, silver and bronze medal winners in the next round of the Oceanian Zone qualifying campaign.

New Caledonia were already assured of their participation in the October event, in which New Zealand will also take part, having reached today's final. These are exciting times for the country who have only been FIFA members for three years and who were making their FIFA World Cup debut. Now, following a dramatic victory over the Solomon Islands in Wednesday's semi-final, it reached a new high with the 1-0 defeat of a Fijian side who had finished ahead of them in Group A by virtue of scoring far more goals (25 compared to six).

The encounter at the Toleafoa J.S. Blatter Complex in Apia, hinged on the 61st minute when Fiji failed to clear a free-kick allowing Jose Hmae, one of only two overseas-based players in New Caledonia's squad, to fire home to the delight of his team-mates and coach Didier Chambaron.

In teeming rain, Chambaron's team had started well and Adolphe Boaoutho forced Simione Tamanisau to make a stretching save to his right early on from 30 yards, the goalkeeper trapping the ball against the upright. When Tamanisau failed to hold a cross from Yohann Mercier, the player who gave his team that thrilling 3-2 victory over Solomon Islands with the last touch of the semi-final, Iamel Kabeu, was handed his first opportunity to score but lashed wide.

Osea Vakatalesau was allowed to run through as Fiji hit back but Marc Ounemoa saved well to his right. New Caledonia always looked the most likely team, however, with Adolphe Boaoutho beating four players and shooting just too high while Pierre Wajoka also came close.

Fiji gave it their all having gone behind and only an acrobatic clearance off the line by George Wadenges kept the lead intact. In added time New Caledonia's goal was put under sustained pressure, but they held on to celebrate a fifth gold medal at the South Pacific Games and take revenge for their 2-0 defeat against hosts Fiji in the last tournament four years ago.

Chambaron said: "This is a great feeling, we were very strong in defence and played the game in the right way, I am very pleased."

Bronze medal, coveted passage
In the earlier game it was a goal in first-half injury time from Seule Soromon that put Vanuatu on their way to the valuable bronze medal. It became 2-0 early in the second half when Francois Sakama scored with a superb volley.

A clear route back into the contest then opened up for the Islanders when Benjamin Totori blasted a drive into the defensive ranks and won a penalty for hand-ball. However, Chikau Mansale guessed correctly and denied Commins Menapi a reply.

It nearly got worse for Solomon Islands as David Taro was forced to clear off the line. They were then denied in the same fashion as Godwin Bebeu headed sharply following a Judd Molea corner, only for Derek Malas to come up with the rescue on the line.

[Arkady Rossovich]

America needs to take Soccer more seriously,they were brushed asside like nothing in the last Cup.

[Argyle of Sock]

The US Women's team is quite good, though. Look at this record:

World Cup
1991 - Champions
1995 - 3rd place
1999 - Champions
2003 - 3rd place

Olympics
1996 - Gold
2000 - Silver
2004 - Gold

Actually I'm inclined to believe that if there were a match between the US Men's and US Women's teams, the women would wail all over the men. :woot: :cwink:

[Galactus]

Asian Zone

Bhutan have decided to withdraw from the Asian qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, as they cannot fulfill their fixture with Kuwait in October.

Their decision comes just less than two weeks after São Tomé e Príncipe and the Central African Republic pulled out of the African Zone preliminaries.

Bhutan, who were seeded 41st in the Asian Zone, were due to their opponents in a two legged clash, but now Kuwait will receive a bye for the next round.

Guam are the other team who have withdrawn from continent's qualification series, with Indonesia progressing to Round 2 by default.

[Addendum]

http://www.galenfrysinger.com/europe/germany01.jpg

Go Deutschland!! :woot:

[Mr. Thing]

Here's hoping Scotland can qualify, we have the ability, after all, we beat France last night and we're top of our table for Euro. :D

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/2176/44113051scot4ax5.jpg

http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/8600/sp3220070913185350ai5.png

[Arkady Rossovich]

Will the United States enter?Some of that information made me reconsider,but they still have plenty against them.

[Addendum]

If the U.S. does qualify, they won't go past the second round in the world cup

[DBella]

Here's hoping Scotland can qualify, we have the ability, after all, we beat France last night and we're top of our table for Euro. :D

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/2176/44113051scot4ax5.jpg

http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/8600/sp3220070913185350ai5.png
Congrats to Scotland for defeating France! I was hoping that'd happen. :up:

Btw, shouldn't this be in the other football thread since it's not World Cup related?

Also... Forza Azzurri!!! :D (Just had to do it. :O)

[DBella]

The US Women's team is quite good, though. Look at this record:

World Cup
1991 - Champions
1995 - 3rd place
1999 - Champions
2003 - 3rd place

Olympics
1996 - Gold
2000 - Silver
2004 - Gold

Actually I'm inclined to believe that if there were a match between the US Men's and US Women's teams, the women would wail all over the men. :woot: :cwink:
That's what I've been saying for the longest time. I'd totally pay to see that match. :up:

[Mr. Thing]

Congrats to Scotland for defeating France! I was hoping that'd happen. :up:

Btw, shouldn't this be in the other football thread since it's not World Cup related?

Also... Forza Azzurri!!! :D (Just had to do it. :O)

:D

Yeah it probably should be...we should ressurect it! It must be miles back.

I just had to put it somewhere. I'm so happy...this could potentially be the greatest Scotland win of all time.

And oh yeah, last game, Scotland v. Italy...we'll give you a good run for your money at home. We're pretty much the best team in the world when we're at home. ;)

[Galactus]

Upcoming games in October and November:

08/10/07 Vietnam United Arab Emirates
08/10/07 Yemen Maldives
08/10/07 Timor-Leste Hong Kong
08/10/07 Bangladesh Tajikistan
08/10/07 Thailand Macau
08/10/07 Syria Afghanistan
08/10/07 Palestine Singapore
08/10/07 Lebanon India
08/10/07 Oman Nepal
11/10/07 Cambodia Turkmenistan
13/10/07 Uzbekistan Chinese Taipei
13/10/07 16:00 Colombia Brazil
13/10/07 16:30 Uruguay Bolivia
13/10/07 17:40 Argentina Chile
13/10/07 17:50 Ecuador Venezuela
13/10/07 20:00 Peru Paraguay
14/10/07 14:30 Madagascar Comoros
14/10/07 16:30 Sierra Leone Guinea-Bissau
15/10/07 Macau Thailand
16/10/07 20:40 Venezuela Argentina
17/10/07 16:00 Bolivia Colombia
17/10/07 18:10 Paraguay Uruguay
17/10/07 19:10 Chile Peru
17/10/07 21:45 Brazil Ecuador
18/10/07 Kyrgyzstan Jordan
21/10/07 China PR Myanmar
21/10/07 Mongolia Korea DPR
21/10/07 Bahrain Malaysia
21/10/07 Sri Lanka Qatar
22/10/07 Pakistan Iraq
26/10/07 Afghanistan Syria
28/10/07 Iraq Pakistan
28/10/07 Maldives Yemen
28/10/07 Jordan Kyrgyzstan
28/10/07 Hong Kong Timor-Leste
28/10/07 Turkmenistan Cambodia
28/10/07 Chinese Taipei Uzbekistan
28/10/07 Korea DPR Mongolia
28/10/07 Myanmar China PR
28/10/07 India Lebanon
28/10/07 Malaysia Bahrain
28/10/07 United Arab Emirates Vietnam
28/10/07 Singapore Palestine
28/10/07 Tajikistan Bangladesh
28/10/07 Qatar Sri Lanka
28/10/07 Nepal Oman
16/11/07 16:00 Djibouti Somalia
17/11/07 Paraguay Ecuador
17/11/07 Argentina Bolivia
17/11/07 Peru Brazil
17/11/07 Colombia Venezuela
17/11/07 Uruguay Chile
17/11/07 15:00 Comoros Madagascar
17/11/07 16:30 Guinea-Bissau Sierra Leone
20/11/07 Chile Paraguay
20/11/07 Ecuador Peru
20/11/07 Venezuela Bolivia
20/11/07 Brazil Uruguay
20/11/07 Colombia Argentina

[Iceman]

Actually I'm inclined to believe that if there were a match between the US Men's and US Women's teams, the women would wail all over the men. :woot: :cwink:Haha :up:

[Mee]

The men would win, easy. :o:cmad:

[kane9321]

the american women's team would crush the mens team..uncle sam's army baby

[Galactus]

Goals galore in Asian qualifiers(FIFA.com)
Tuesday 9 October 2007
Traditionally, Asia's FIFA World Cup preliminaries could always be relied upon to serve up some big victories and so it was in the first round of qualifying for South Africa 2010, with five of Monday's eight first leg ties ending in emphatic wins.

Thailand were the biggest victors, beating Macau 6-1, however it was their regional neighbours Singapore who stole the show with a surprisingly convincing 4-0 victory away to Palestine. Having lost to the same side by a solitary goal in a 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualifying match last year, Singapore were by no means favourites at Doha's Al Rayyan Sports Club Stadium, but the Lions moved in front a minute before the break through Shi Jiayi, who went on to double the lead only eight minutes into the second half. John Wilkinson then made it 3-0 on 73 minutes before Noh Alam Shah scored four minutes from time to seal the shock win.

The resounding win puts Singapore in a strong position to progress to the second round, while the qualifying task for Palestine, despite being known for their resilience and never-say-die spirit, now looks to be mission improbable. The west Asians will, after all, need to better Singapore's margin of victory when they are entertained in the return leg on 28 October.

Aside from the result, Singapore coach Radojko Avramovic was happy that his side were able to avoid serious injury during the match, although the experienced Serbian warned his players to "take good care of themselves" when they returned to their clubs ahead of the return meeting.

Vietnam tumble as west Asians celebrate
While Thailand and Singapore cruised to big wins, the team widely considered to be Asia's emerging force, Vietnam, suffered a 1-0 home defeat to United Arab Emirates. This came as a massive disappointment to the Vietnamese, particularly coming with the memory still fresh of their memorable 2-0 win over UAE en route the Asian Cup quarter-finals as co-hosts.

Playing in front of their adoring fans, the home side attacked from the off but their visitors, under Frenchman Bruno Metsu, soaked up the first pressure and hit back in the second half, their efforts paying off with 12 minutes remaining when Basheer Saeed silenced the 33,000-strong home crowd with the game's only goal.

Joining UAE in celebrating opening victories were fellow west Asian nations Syria and Yemen, who registered identical 3-0 wins over Maldives and Afghanistan respectively.

There was also a three-goal winning margin for Lebanon as their eagerly-anticipated match against India turned into a surprisingly lop-sided affair. Having lifted the Nehru Cup with an historic 1-0 final win over Syria in August, India's English coach Bob Houghton had expressed confidence that his team would not return from Beirut empty-handed as they faced up to a Lebanon team he believed to be no better than Syria.

Initially, Houghton's bullish attitude appeared justified when Sunil Chetri put India in front on the half-hour mark, but the visiting side's joy lasted for only five minutes, with Lebanon's German-based Roda Antar quick to level matters. Cheered on by their passionate home support, Lebanon subsequently gained a stranglehold on the match after the break, sealing victory with a three-goal burst inside the space of 14 minutes.

Elsewhere, Oman secured a 2-0 home win against Nepal in which Fauzi Basheer opened the scoring after only five minutes and victory was assured by a Hassan Mudaffar penalty 17 minutes later. The only draw came in Dhaka's Bangabandhu National Stadium, where Bangladesh held Tajikistan 1-1.

The remainder of the first leg matches will now be played from 11 to 22 October, with the decisive second legs scheduled for 28 October.

2010 FIFA World Cup™ qualifiers, Asian Zone, first round first leg
October 8
Syria 3 - 0 Afghanistan
Bangladesh 1 - 1 Tajikistan
Lebanon 4 - 1 India
Oman 2 - 0 Nepal
Palestine 0 - 4 Singapore
Thailand 6 - 1 Macau
Vietnam 0 - 1 United Arab Emirates
Yemen 3 - 0 Maldives Republic

Forthcoming first leg fixtures:
11 October
Cambodia-Turkmenistan

13 October
Uzbekistan-Chinese Taipei

18 October
Kyrgyzstan-Jordan

21 October
Bahrain-Malaysia
China PR-Myanmar
Mongolia-Korea DPR
Sri Lanka-Qatar
Timor Leste-Hong Kong

22 October
Pakistan-Iraq

[Galactus]

THE DAY REPLAYED - Argentina and Uruguay, the two finalists at the inaugural FIFA World Cup™ in 1930, showed their pedigree by seeing off Chile and Bolivia respectively in a brace of comfortable wins as the scramble for places at South Africa 2010 got underway on Saturday.

The neighbours on the banks of the River Plate were not the only ones smiling as the curtain came up on the continental qualifying competition. Traditional makeweights Venezuela made a little bit of history when they won away to Ecuador, while Peru and Paraguay fought out a goalless draw in the day's other game.

Read on as FIFA.com rounds up all the action from the opening round of games, which comes to a close on Sunday when Colombia take on Brazil.

Match of the day
Uruguay 5 - 0 Bolivia
Goals: Luis Suarez 4, Diego Forlan 38, Sebastian Abreu 47, Vicente Sanchez 67, Carlos Bueno 83.

Uruguay boss Oscar Tabarez was a happy man as he made his return to the FIFA World Cup qualifying tournament. The man they call ElMaestro saw his charges sweep aside Bolivia at the Estadio Centenario with a masterful display of attacking football.

The Celeste were irresistible from the off, carving out three chances in as many minutes before Luis Suarez put them on the road to a victory that could have been even more comprehensive. Powerless to prevent the sky blue avalanche, the task facing Erwin Sanchez's side became virtually impossible when Ronald Garcia was sent off just before half-time, and after the restart it was merely question of how many the goal-hungry Uruguayan frontline could rack up.

Surprise of the day
Ecuador 0-1 Venezuela
Goal: Jose Manuel Rey, 67.

After a promising performance at the recent Copa America, where they reached the last eight for the very first time, the Vinotinto had high expectations going into the qualifying tournament. And not even a daunting opening day trip to Ecuador's Atahualpa fortress in Quito could dampen the enthusiasm of the Venezuelans, who rode their luck before grabbing three priceless points when Jose Manuel Rey arrowed home a superb free-kick midway through the second half.

The visitors were grateful for the profligacy of Ecuadorian strike duo Cristian Benitez and Carlos Tenorio, who spurned a string of chances and hit the bar twice before Rey stole the show and the points with his trademark strike.

Player of the day
Juan Roman Riquelme (ARG)

There was plenty of speculation about the Argentinian playmaker's form and fitness after he had spent a frustrating three months on the sidelines. Despite being surplus to requirements at Villarreal, the elegant Riquelme showed class is permanent when he inspired the Albiceleste to victory over Chile with two typically spectacular free-kicks. After taking an early lead in the goalscoring charts, the ever-modest midfielder spoke of his satisfaction at being back in the thick of things. "I'm delighted with the goals but even happier we won. This teams knows what it's doing and that's much more important than anything I do."

Goals of the day
Argentina 2- 0 Chile

Not for the first time Juan Roman Riquelme reached the pinnacle of free-kick perfection with his two textbook strikes on Saturday. With 27 minutes on the clock, the Argentinian wrapped his right foot around the ball and sent it curling round the Chilean wall and past the helpless Claudio Bravo. And just to prove it was no fluke, the dead-ball specialist did it again 18 minutes later, leaving Bravo rooted to the spot once more in a carbon-copy display of pure poise and technique.

Conclusions
Although the Uruguayans got off to a flier with a comprehensive win, history shows they should be taking nothing for granted. They kicked off with the same result in the race for Germany 2006 only to miss out on qualification. Argentina and Venezuela reproduced the good form they showed in the recent Copa America, while Ecuador and Chile will need to raise their game and their morale if they are to bounce back in next week's games.

In Lima, Jose del Solar and Gerardo Martino opened their qualifying accounts with a point following a match that was high on passion but low on goalmouth incident. Disappointed not to come away with more, the Albirroja fashioned some useful openings but were left to rue their lack of finishing power.

The numbers game
Thanks to Jose Manuel Rey's thunderbolt, Venezuela recorded their maiden win in Quito and inflicted a first defeat on the Tricolor in their virtually impregnable citadel in six years and two months. The last side to leave the Ecuadorian capital with maximum points were Argentina, who won 2-0 back on 15 August 2001 en route to Korea/Japan 2002.

Coming up
The final match in the opening round pits Colombia against Brazil on Sunday. The ten teams will all be in action again in midweek, however, with Argentina facing Venezuela in Maracaibo on Tuesday evening, and the four remaining games taking place the following day: Bolivia-Colombia, Chile-Peru, Paraguay-Uruguay and Brazil-Ecuador.

Results
Saturday 13 October
Uruguay 5-0 Bolivia
Argentina 2-0 Chile
Ecuador 0-1 Venezuela
Peru 0-0 Paraguay

Sunday 14 October
Colombia - Brazil

Uruguay 1 1 0 0 5 0 3
Argentina 1 1 0 0 2 0 3
Venezuela 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
Paraguay 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Peru 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Brazil 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Colombia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ecuador 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
Chile 1 0 0 1 0 2 0
Bolivia 1 0 0 1 0 5 0

[Galactus]

Colombia and Brazil kicked off their 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ qualifying campaigns with a 0-0 draw in Bogota on Sunday.

The only team to have played at all 18 editions of the FIFA World Cup, Brazil are likely to be happier with the point given that they failed to play the free-flowing football for which they have become renowned.

Despite making wholesale changes from their Copa America Venezuela 2007 squad and fielding an inexperienced team, Colombia had most of the pressure and Brazil became less adventurous as the game went on

The match kicked off 45 minutes late after a torrential downpour left puddles on the pitch but the water drained away quickly.

Backed by a passionate crowd at the El Campin stadium, Colombia took the game to Brazil and Radamel Falcao went close after a well-worked move from a free-kick in the third minute.

Colombia striker Wason Renteria twice forced Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar to make difficult saves from headers before the break.

Brazil's best first-half effort came when Ronaldinho had a shot from a narrow angle turned around the post by Agustin Julio.

Colombia continued to press forward after half-time and Julio Cesar was forced to parry a long-range shot from substitute Freddy Grisales.

Aldo Ramirez also tested the goalkeeper with a low drive, but Colombia were unable to find their way past a packed Brazil defence.

Midfielder Mineiro had Brazil's only second half scoring chance when his 25-metre drive was turned away by Julio

[Galactus]

A goal deluge marked the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ qualifying section in the host continent as Madagascar hit six past the nearby Comoros Islands over the weekend.

It was a stark introduction to the rigours of the competition for Comoros Islands, who have only been FIFA members for the last two years and were making their first appearance in the FIFA World Cup preliminaries.

Faneva Andriatsima marked his return home from a recent move to Nantes in France with four goals as the Malagasy won 6-2 to establish a four-goal cushion ahead of the return leg of the tie in Moroni on 17 November.

Nevertheless, it was Comoros Islands who gave themselves hope of a fairy tale debut by taking the lead at the Stade Municipal Mahamasina in only the eighth minute.

This dream was extinguished by Andriatsima, however, with the striker taking just 47 minutes to complete his hat-trick before adding one more for good measure.

"It was thanks to the effort and the cohesion of the team that I got the goals," he said after the match.

"I think the team is showing some progress and we have made a great start to the campaign," Andriatsima said after his match-winning performance in Antananarivo.

Andriatsima believes his form owes much to a move to Ligue 2 outfit Nantes, where he is part of the reserves but is hoping for promotion to the first team squad soon.

There were two more goals on Sunday for Madagascar from Rija Juvence Rakotomandimby and Jean de l'Or Tsaralaza, who completed the scoring ten minutes from time.

Africa's 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign resumes in Freetown on Wednesday when Sierra Leone host Guinea Bissau in their first leg tie.

[Galactus]

Lionel Messi added another superb goal to his collection to help Argentina beat Venezuela 2-0 away in a 2010 FIFA World Cup™ qualifier on Tuesday.

Messi struck two minutes before half-time after his Barcelona team mate Gabriel Milito had given Argentina the lead with his first goal for his country on his 30th appearance.

The win gave Argentina, who have won all 15 meetings with Venezuela, maximum points from their first two games in the qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.

Venezuela, the only South American team never to have played at the FIFA World Cup, have three points from two games after winning in Ecuador on Saturday.

Venezuela striker Giancarlo Maldonado wasted an early chance for the hosts when he fired over the crossbar after Juan Arango's incisive pass split the Argentina defence.

Argentina went ahead three minutes when defender Milito rose to head home Juan Roman Riquelme's free-kick.

Riquelme had scored both goals direct from free-kicks in Argentina's 2-0 win over Chile on Saturday.

Venezuela enjoyed plenty of possession but could not find the final pass and fell further behind two minutes before halftime.

Carlos Tevez broke down the right and pulled the ball back to the edge of the area where Messi breezed by one defender with his first touch, then unleashed an unstoppable shot past Renny Vega.

Venezuela enjoyed a flourish after the break as Juan Arango broke clear but shot straight at Roberto Abbondanzieri and Maldonado headed over from a corner.

Messi had the ball in the net again in the 65th minute but his effort was ruled out for offside.

As the Venezuelan defence opened up, Esteban Cambiasso hit the post for Argentina 10 minutes from time and debutant striker German Denis, who came on in the 81st minute, missed an easy chance in injury time.

Argentina 2 2 0 0 4 0 6
Uruguay 1 1 0 0 5 0 3
Venezuela 2 1 0 1 1 2 3
Brazil 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Colombia 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Paraguay 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Peru 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Ecuador 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
Chile 1 0 0 1 0 2 0
Bolivia 1 0 0 1 0 5 0

[Galactus]

After 1192 days of absence, New Zealand got their FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign on track with an important 2-0 away victory over Fiji in Lautoka.

A Ivan Vicelich goal gave the All Whites a slender one-nil lead at the interval, while Shane Smeltz strike in the 86th minute helped to settle any lingering nerves Ricki Herbert's side may have had.

In the 32nd minute, Vicelich latched on to a Jeremy Christie ball played over an advancing Fijian defence, and took advantage of some confusion, and claims of offside, caused by a retreating Chris Killen before lobbing the ball over Simone Tamanisau.

New Zealand keeper Mark Paston was not tested during the first half, although Fiji did cause some trouble for the All Whites back four either side of the half-hour mark through Roy Krishna, but the young striker saw both of his efforts blocked by New Zealand defenders.

Fiji started much brighter than New Zealand after the break and could have equalised in the 52nd minute through Osea Vakatalesau, but he saw his looping close range rebound off the crossbar. The loose ball fell dangerously into the six yard box, but Paston reacted quickly to claw it away from the feet of two Fijian players.

The All Whites quickly got back into their stride and once again threatened the New Zealand goal. Indeed, they saw two headers from Smeltz find the back of net, only for the assistant's flag to rule both out for offside.

However, with four minutes remaining, Smeltz had reason to celebrate. As Fiji were pressing for an equaliser, the Wellington Phoenix striker found space on the left before cutting inside and firing the ball into the top right-hand corner of the net.

After the game, New Zealand coach Herbert was satisfied with his side's display. "The pleasing thing for me was that showed some real character," he said. "I'm happy with how we ground it out. We talked extensively at the hotel beforehand about how it didn't matter what the performance looked like, we just wanted to get a result.

"We stuttered along at times and probably didn't get players forward like we wanted to but at the end of the day I'm delighted for the players because it's three points. That'll give everybody a bit of confidence and it's given us some momentum going into next month's home and away fixtures against Vanuatu."

On 17 November Herbert's squad travel to Port Vila for their second successive away fixture, before entertaining the same opposition four days later in Wellington.

Fiji will be looking to bounce back from the loss against New Zealand and gain revenge for their defeat in the final of the South Pacific Games when they face New Caledonia home and away on the same dates.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of the Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup are meeting before the end of this month to decide when and where last Saturday's cancelled fixture between New Zealand and Fiji will take place.

[Galactus]

Colombia played out their second goalless draw in as many FIFA World Cup qualifiers when they were held away to Bolivia at high altitude on Wednesday.

Bolivia, who are also yet to score a goal, picked up their first point after losing 5-0 to Uruguay in their opening match last Saturday.

The hosts had midfielder Leonel Reyes sent off for a second bookable offence in the 69th minute.

Both teams created plenty of openings, although Colombia, held 0-0 by Brazil on Sunday, had the clearer chances.

Colombia goalkeeper Agustin Julio was tested by a flurry of long-range shots in the first half, turning away two from Limberg Gutierrez and another from Juan Carlos Arce.

Bolivia's best effort came from defender Santos Amador who headed against the crossbar from a corner.

At the other end, Colombia midfielder David Ferreira squandered a clear chance when he was sent clean through, but hesitated and shot weakly at Sergio Galarza.

Colombia, apparently unaffected by the altitude, got stronger in the second half.

Substitute Jaime Castrillon broke clear down the right but had his shot saved by Galarza, and Wason Renteria forced his way past two defenders and rounded Galarza, only to have his shot cleared off the line.

Carlos Sanchez then fired wildly over when he had a clear shot on goal from a narrow angle.


Germany-based striker Nelson Haedo Valdez scored an early goal to give Paraguay a 1-0 win over Uruguay in a hard-fought FIFA World Cup™ qualifier on Wednesday.

The result left Paraguay with four points from their opening two games in the South American qualifying group. Uruguay, who beat Bolivia 5-0 on Saturday, remain on three.

Paraguay dominated the game against the Uruguayans, who fielded four defenders and three defensive midfielders in a cautious line-up, leaving Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez isolated in attack.

Paraguay, attempting to qualify for their fourth successive world finals, quickly took control and Cristian Riveros forced a good save from goalkeeper Fabian Carini in the tenth minute.

The hosts went ahead in the 15th minute when Salvador Cabanas picked up a loose ball, flicked it past Diego Godin, broke down the left and played a short pass to Haedo Valdez, who scored from close range.

Riveros went close again from the edge of the penalty area before Uruguay produced their first real chance. Forlan pulled the ball back from the byline and Cristian Rodriguez met it with a fierce, low drive which was superbly saved by Justo Villar.

Forlan was involved in Uruguay's only significant attack in the second half when he forced another good save from Villar in the 76th minute with a dipping effort from the edge of the penalty area.

Substitutes Oscar Cardozo and Jorge Achucarro wasted good chances to increase Paraguay's lead in the last ten minutes.


Chile beat arch-rivals Peru 2-0 in a 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ qualifier on Wednesday for their first win in a competitive game under new coach Marcelo Bielsa.

Striker Humberto Suazo and midfielder Matias Fernandez scored early in each half to secure Chile's first points of their campaign.

Chile, whose coach Bielsa led his native Argentina at Korea/Japan 2002, have three points from two games, while Peru, who have yet to score a goal, have one.

Suazo headed Chile ahead in the 11th minute from a corner, but the goal prompted the previously defensive Peruvians to come out of their shell.

In the 24th minute, Peru forward Jefferson Farfan sped past Waldo Ponce and produced a powerful shot which was superbly turned away by Claudio Bravo.

Nolberto Solano and Juan Vargas also missed chances to equalise before half-time and, early in the second half, Farfan just failed to connect with Vargas's low cross with the goal at his mercy.

Chile increased their lead in the 51st minute when Arturo Vidal cleverly flicked the ball over the Peru defence to Fernandez, who slipped it past Leao Butron.

Mark Gonzalez, Hugo Droguett and Suazo were all close to adding a third with long-range shots as the hosts took control towards the end


Brazil thumped Ecuador 5-0 in a FIFA World Cup qualifier on Wednesday, celebrating their first home match for two years and first at the Maracana stadium since 2000 in style.

Vagner Love gave Brazil a 19th-minute lead just as the 70,000 crowd was getting impatient and the five-times world champions added four goals in a 12-minute spell late in the game.

Kaka struck twice, once with an exquisite curling shot and another with the help of a goalkeeping blunder by Daniel Viteri, and Ronaldinho and Elano also found the net.

The result was rough justice on Ecuador, who controlled the game for nearly one hour and threatened to snatch a point until Brazil's late flourish.


Argentina 2 2 0 0 4 0 6
Brazil 2 1 1 0 5 0 4
Paraguay 2 1 1 0 1 0 4
Uruguay 2 1 0 1 5 1 3
Chile 2 1 0 1 2 2 3
Venezuela 2 1 0 1 1 2 3
Colombia 2 0 2 0 0 0 2
Peru 2 0 1 1 0 2 1
Bolivia 2 0 1 1 0 5 1
Ecuador 2 0 0 2 0 6 0

[Galactus]

There were no big surprises on Sunday as the favourites got their 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ qualification campaigns underway with opening leg victories in Asia. Continental power China PR, under new coach Vladimir Petrovic, eased aside neighbouring Myanmar 7-0 to put the two-legged tie almost beyond doubt, while Bahrain and Korea DPR proved too strong for their opponents and ran out 4-1 winners over Malaysia and Mongolia respectively.

Sri Lanka came closest to an upset, holding Qatar to a goalless draw until a 69th-minute strike from Sebastian Quintana earned the visitors a slender win. Timor Leste, who only became a FIFA member in 2005, also battled courageously on their FIFA World Cup qualifying debut in a 3-2 defeat by Hong Kong.

Petrovic passes opening test
The 7-0 triumph came as a timely boost for China, who disappointed during July's AFC Asian Cup where they failed to progress beyond the group stage. It was also a dream start for Serbian coach Petrovic, who took over only a month ago.

Despite playing without their European-based stars, Petrovic's new-look team lived up to expectations and treated their adoring fans to an entertaining performance. Pacy forward Qu Bo put the home side in front on 17 minutes, unleashing a powerful drive past Myanmar goalkeeper Aung Oo Aung from Sun Xiang's left-wing cross. Only seven minutes later, Du Zhenyu doubled their lead to send the in at the break with a two-goal cushion.

China upped the tempo after restart with the attacking midfielder Zheng Bin on in place of Xiao Zhanbo and it did not take them long to score the third goal, Yang Lin dispatching Qu Bo's pinpoint centre from close range. After second half substitutes Liu Jian and Li Jinyu each scored to make it 5-0, China captain Li Weifeng netted the goal of the game, acrobatically flicking a clearance into his stride before finishing with a spectacular half-volley. The impressive Qu Bo completed his brace eleven minutes from time to complete the scoring.

After leading China to victory, the team's biggest ever win under a foreign coach, Petrovic acknowledged the result could be no better. "Our players did much better even than I had expected," admitted the former Yugoslav international. "What made me even happier was that the team played a very good passing game according to our plan."

The return leg between China and Myanmar will be played on neutral ground in Yangon, Malaysia on 28 October.

Sri Lanka look to return leg
While the big victories put China, Korea DPR and Bahrain in strong positions to advance, Sri Lanka are still in with a chance of progressing having suffered a narrow loss to Qatar. Playing in front of their own supporters in the Sugathadasa Stadium of Colombo, Sri Lanka's defended resolutely. Despite being pinned into their own third for the majority of match, the hosts also created a couple of good chances with striker Kasun Jayasuriya nearly opening scoring in the 20th minute.

Sri Lankan coach Jang Jung told the media afterwards that his team put up brilliant performance against the strongly-fancied Qatar, indication that they are not there to make up the numbers. The two sides will meet again in Doha in one week's time and with just a single goal separating them, an intense battle is in store.

South Africa 2010 qualifying, Asian Zone, first round, first leg results;
21 October
Bahrain 4-1 Malaysia
China PR 7-0 Myanmar
Mongolia 1-4 Korea DPR
Sri Lanka 0-1 Qatar
Timor Leste 2-3 Hong Kong

[Galactus]

Mahdi Karim scored four goals to help Asian champions Iraq to a 7-0 victory over Pakistan in their opening 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Lahore on Monday.

Hoping to reach the finals for the first time in 24 years, Iraq took control from the start, with striker Karim's performance making up for the absence of injured captain Younis Mahmoud.

Despite being at full-strength with six European-based players in their starting line-up, Pakistan were powerless to stop the war-ravaged country from taking an unassailable lead going into Sunday's second leg.

Playmaker Nashat Akram opened the floodgates on 18 minutes before Karim netted his first six minutes later.

He added Iraq's third four minutes after the break and found the net twice more in the 88th and 90th minute after Jasim Mohammed and Emad Mohammed had found the target in the 71st and 83rd minutes.

The victory was the first for new coach Egil Olsen, who took Norway to the 1994 and 1998 world finals and to second place in the FIFA/Coca-Cola world ranking.

Despite their fairytale Asian Cup victory in July, Iraq's ranking of 65th meant they had to begin their campaign in the first round along with the region's minnows, several of whom have never won an international match.

Asia's top-ranked teams - Japan, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia, Iran and newcomers Australia - start their qualification in the third round.

Asia has been allotted four-and-a-half berths at the 32-team finals in South Africa.

Iraq will play their first-round home leg in Aleppo, Syria because of security concerns at home.

[Galactus]

Football fans across Asia will be treated to an intriguing night of football on Sunday when the decisive return legs of the continent's first round of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ take place. With Thailand already through to the second stage following an emphatic 13-2 aggregate win over Macau, the remaining 32 teams will have to battle it out to join them.

Central Asian power Uzbekistan, who beat Chinese Taipei 6-2 on aggregate in their preliminary qualifier for the previous FIFA World Cup, emulated their feat by firing nine unanswered goals past the visiting islanders in Tashkent for the biggest win of the opening matchday. With pride at stake, Chinese Taipei will unquestionably give it their all in the return fixture, which will take place in front of their own fans, but few will bet against the former Soviet Republic easing through.

In recording 7-0 wins over Pakistan and Myanmar respectively, the newly-crowned Asian champions Iraq and China PR also put the two-legged ties effectively beyond doubt. China's new coach Vladimir Petrovic, who got his tenure off to a dream start, may even afford a couple of his younger charges a place in the starting line-up for the second leg, which will be staged on neutral ground in Malaysia: "We are thinking of fielding some young players to give them more international exposure and experience," he revealed.

Bahrain and Korea DPR, who both reached Asia's last eight in the qualifying campaign for Germany 2006, should have few problems in their return meetings with Malaysia and Mongolia, against whom they cruised to the same 4-1 victories earlier this month.

All to play for
Perhaps the most evenly balanced tie could be the clash between Vietnam and United Arab Emirates. The two sides have developed a strong rivalry since July's AFC Asian Cup, when the South-east Asians pulled off a 2-0 reverse of UAE, a result that helped the co-hosts storm into the quarter-finals for the first time in their history. It was the West Asians, however, who stole the show in the first leg, Basheer Al Hammadi scoring the only goal eleven minutes from time.

To compliment his young charges with more experience, Vietnam's Austrian coach Alfred Riedl called up veteran midfielder Tran Truong Giang, who helped his country to bronze in the South-east Asian Football Championship in 2002. Truong Giang will likely form a partnership alongside emerging talent Nguyen Vu Phong, who scored five of Vietnam's nine goals in their qualifying campaign for the Men's Olympic Football Tournament Beijing 2008..

Neighbouring Cambodia will be hoping to pull off an upset against Turkmenistan. Having long been regarded as underdogs, even in the regional competition, the minnows defended gallantly in the first leg meeting at the National Olympic Stadium of Phnom Penh, only allowing their formidable rivals to claim a slender win. With nothing to lose, Cambodia will be all out to swing the balance in their favour on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Bangladesh, following a goalless draw at home to Tajikistan, will enter their second leg seeking a score-draw, which will be enough to see them through on away goals, or better.

Asian qualifying zone, first round, second leg fixtures:
October 26
Afghanistan - Syria

October 28
Malaysia v Bahrain
Tajikistan v Bangladesh
Turkmenistan v Cambodia
Myanmar v China PR
Jordan v Kyrgyzstan
India v Lebanon
DPR Korea v Mongolia
Nepal v Oman
Iraq v Pakistan
Singapore v Palestine
Qatar v Sri Lanka
Hong Kong v Timor Leste
Chinese Taipei v Uzbekistan
United Arab Emirates v Vietnam
Maldives Republic v Yemen

[Galactus]

The heavyweights all cleared the first hurdle in Asia's 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ qualifying section as brave challenges from a number of underdogs fell short at the weekend. The favourites showed no mercy as they cruised to one-sided victories, with China PR leading the way by putting four unanswered goals past Myanmar to complete an 11-0 aggregate success.

Joining China in qualifying for the next stage were Uzbekistan, who built on their 9-0 first leg win over Chinese Taipei with a 2-0 away win, and Hong Kong, who followed up a slender 3-2 defeat of Timor Leste with a convincing 8-1 triumph in front of their own fans.

Morale-boost for Petrovic
Having won 7-0 on home soil, China were all but assured of progressing ahead of Sunday's return leg. As a result, coach Vladimir Petrovic took the opportunity to test a selection of youngsters as he changed almost the entire starting line-up, with only Zhuang Shuai retaining his place in the side that swept to victory in Foshan.

The Serbian tactician would certainly have been pleased with the start made by his new-look team, who took the lead after only 12 minutes, Wu Weian heading home Hao Junmin's inch-perfect cross from close range. Only two minutes later, the advantage was doubled when Liu Jian fired a low drive into Myanmar's goal. Midfielder Zheng Bin made it 3-0 after 34 minutes before Zhang Yaokun sealed a 4-0 win with a spot-kick four minutes before the break.

Despite the outcome, the fact that his team failed to breach their opponent's rearguard for the entire second half left Petrovic worried about his task, which is guiding the Chinese through to just their second FIFA World Cup finals. "We played good football for only 20 minutes in this game," he said afterwards. "Such an attitude will cost us dear when we play against a stronger side because a football game will not be decided until after 90 minutes."

Dark horses disappoint
Most potential dark horses failed to produce an upset, including Vietnam, who saw their qualifying dreams shattered by a 5-0 loss at the hands of nemesis United Arab Emirates.

UAE managed only a 1-0 win in their first leg meeting but, cheered on by their home supporters in Abu Dhabi, Ismail Matar opened scoring after only 13 minutes for Bruno Metsu's side and Ahmad Al Mahri doubled their lead five minutes before the break. The west Asians continued to dominate in the second half and goals from Mohamed Al Shehhi, Nawaf Al Darmaki and Saeed Al Kass sealed an emphatic victory and a place in the next stage.

With the set of matches absent of an upset, it was two South Asia outsiders that gave the most impressive accounts of themselves. Despite playing with little hope of advancing following a 7-0 defeat by Iraq in their first leg, Pakistan claimed a 0-0 draw to earn the respect of their rivals.

For their part, Maldives, who lost their first leg 3-0 to Yemen, came close to pulling off a shock by beating Yemen 2-0 at home, although ultimately the result proved sufficient for the west Asians to advance.

Asian Zone, first round, second leg results;
October 26
Afghanistan 1-2 Syria

October 28
Malaysia 0-0 Bahrain
Tajikistan 5-0 Bangladesh
Turkmenistan 4-1 Cambodia
Myanmar 0-4 China PR
Jordan 8-5 Kyrgyzstan
Nepal 0-0 Oman
Iraq 0-0 Pakistan
Qatar 5-0 Sri Lanka
Hong Kong 8-1 Timor Leste
Chinese Taipei 0-2 Uzbekistan
United Arab Emirates 5-0 Vietnam
Maldives Republic 2-0 Yemen

[Galactus]

A 2-2 draw in India helped Lebanon to a 6-3 aggregate win and a place in the third stage of Asian qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.

Having pulled off a 4-1 home victory in the first leg three weeks ago, the Lebanese entered the return leg as the strongly favored side against hosts India, who had a mountain to climb needing at least a win of four clear goals to advance.

The all-important match, originally scheduled to be staged in Chennai on Sunday, was forced to be relocated to Goa on Tuesday due to torrential rain, something which made life difficult for both sides.

While the visiting side looked happy to sit on their three-goal advantage, India went on the attack and they opened scoring through Sunil Chetri on the half hour. However, after the interval, Lebanon substitute Mohamad Ghaddar scored to leave India's hopes hanging by a thread.

Cheered on by the home crowd, the hosts threw everything forward but their woes increased when Ghaddar scored again three minutes from time, leaving captain Baichung Bhutia's last-minute equaliser nothing more than a consolation.

Thanks to the victory, Lebanon join the other ten highest ranked Round 1 winners and the 'big five' of Australia, Iran, Korea Republic, Japan and Saudi Arabia who receive a bye, into the third stage of the competition, which features 20 teams.

The eight lowest ranked Round 1 winners have been paired and will play each other on a home and away basis on 9 and 18 November to complete the 20 team line-up for Round 3.

Meanwhile, Singapore were awarded by FIFA a 3-0 victory against Palestine, who failed to be present for the second leg of their time. The result, coupled with their 4-0 away win in the first leg, saw Singapore through to complete the ties for the second round of Asian qualification.

2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa
Asian Qualification Round 2

Hong Kong-Turkmenistan
Indonesia-Syria
Singapore-Tajikistan
Yemen-Thailand

*The two-legged ties will be played on Saturday 9 and Saturday 18 November.

[Galactus]

Syria and Singapore put one foot in the third round of Asian Zone qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ following first leg victories over Indonesia and Tajikistan, while the two other ties remain evenly poised with Thailand and Turkmenistan playing out goalless draws with Yemen and Hong Kong respectively.

Syria put the two-legged contest almost out of their opponents reach by winning 4-1 in Indonesia. Al Karama midfielder Firas Issmael put the visiting West Asians in front after 17 minutes, before Mohamed Al Zeno doubled the lead on 34th minute. Budi Sudarsono pulled on back for Indonesia three minutes later only for Zyad Chaabo to restore the two-goal lead for Syria a minute before. Syria went on to dominate the second half with Raja Rafe sealing an emphatic success for coach Fajer Iprahim with a last-minute strike.

Syria may have registered the biggest win but it was the unfancied Singapore who created the biggest surprise with their 2-0 home defeat of Tajikistan, Aleksandar Duric scoring both goals on his debut. At the age of 37, Duric's inclusion in the starting line-up came as a surprise. However, coach Radojko Avramovic's decision paid dividends as Duric underlined why he is the leading marksman in the domestic league with two first half goals.

It was a dream bow for the powerful forward, whose first international goal came after only 24 minutes when he unleashed a low drive outside the box into the Tajikistan goal. He once again sent the 6,600 home supporters into raptures before the interval by nodding home a header pass from Alam Shah from close range.

Having seen his game plan come off, Avramovic was quick to praise Duric: "I played him in a position that suited him most and he has done an excellent job," said the Serb. "He was in a key position to receive and hold the ball for us."

Despite the victory, the experienced coach encouraged the team to keep up the current form in the next game. "Even if we had a big lead today, I would still want the team to score goals when we play away from home next week."

Wide open
In San'aa, visiting Thailand took a 32nd-minute lead through Sarayoot Chaikamdee but Yemen soon grabbed the equalizer through Ali Al-Nono three minutes from the interval. Both sides squandered a couple of chances in the second half and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

For Thailand coach Chanvit Phalajivin, though, the outcome was positive for his team, who will have home advantage in the return leg.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong failed to breach the rearguard of their guests Turkmenistan and their stalemate has left the tie wide open.


Asian Zone qualifying, second round, first leg results;
9 November 2007
Indonesia 1-4 Syria
Singapore 2-0 Tajikistan
Yemen 1-1 Thailand

10, November
Hong Kong 0-0 Turkmenistan

[Galactus]

Argentina, helped by a majestic Juan Roman Riquelme performance, maintained their perfect record in the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ qualifiers on Saturday, while Ecuador coach Luis Suarez quit after a 5-1 loss to Paraguay.

Riquelme scored two second-half goals, including an exquisite free-kick, in a 3-0 win over Bolivia which left Argentina with nine points from three games in the South American Zone.

Ecuador's chances of a third successive appearance at the finals already look slim after they followed up last month's 5-0 loss in Brazil with another heavy defeat. The result, which left them pointless at the bottom of the ten-team group, prompted Suarez to resign and become the first coaching victim of the competition.

In Saturday's other game, Colombia escaped their third successive scoreless draw when Ruben Dario Bustos scored from a 30-metre free-kick to give them a 1-0 win over Venezuela. The third round of matches in the two-year campaign will be completed on Sunday when Peru host Brazil and Uruguay entertain Chile.

Riquelme shines
Argentina, who will be top of the group regardless of results on Sunday struggled to break down their stubborn opponents for 40 minutes, before the two-times world champions went ahead when Sergio Aguero, 19, headed home his first international goal.

That opened the way for another Riquelme master class. The playmaker signalled his intentions with a 25-metre free-kick, which was tipped away by Carlos Arias in the 51st minute.

Six minutes later, Riquelme took another free-kick from a similar position and this time left Arias helpless as he found the top left-hand corner from 30 metres. He followed that up with a stylish, side-footed goal from Lionel Messi's run in the 74th minute.

Ecuador were quickly in trouble in Paraguay as Nelson Haedo Valdez and Cristian Riveros scored from corners to put the hosts 2-0 ahead within half an hour. Roque Santa Cruz added a superb third early in the second half and, although Ivan Kaviedes pulled one back, Nelson Ayala and Riveros scored twice more for the rampant hosts, who now have seven points.

"My decision has been taken exclusively for the good of the Ecuador team, which will surely have a better campaign without me," said Suarez, who led his side to the Round of 16 at Germany 2006.


Bustos makes the difference
Colombia scored their first goal of the campaign when Ruben Dario Bustos fired in a 30-metre free-kick with eight minutes remaining to sink Venezuela.

The goal unleashed frenzied celebrations at El Campin in Bogota, where the crowd had been getting increasingly exasperated as Colombia pressed forward but struggled to find a way past Leonardo Morales.

Colombia, who last qualified for the finals in 1998, have five points while Venezuela, who have never played at a FIFA World Cup, have three.

Argentina 3 3 0 0 7 0 9
Paraguay 3 2 1 0 6 1 7
Colombia 3 1 2 0 1 0 5
Brazil 2 1 1 0 5 0 4
Uruguay 2 1 0 1 5 1 3
Chile 2 1 0 1 2 2 3
Venezuela 3 1 0 2 1 3 3
Peru 2 0 1 1 0 2 1
Bolivia 3 0 1 2 0 8 1
Ecuador 3 0 0 3 1 11 0


Fiji's chances of reaching the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa ™ took a severe dent as Juan Carlos Buzzetti's side surrendered a 2-0 lead to draw 3-3 with South Pacific Games football gold medalists New Caledonia in the OFC Nations Cup at Govind Park today.

Valerio Nawatu gave the home side the perfect start after just two minutes and Youngheart Manawatu striker Osea Vakatalesau extended their lead on 27 minutes, leaving Didier Chambaron's team with a mountain to climb. Climb they did, however, as goals from Ramon Gjamaci and substitute Mael Kaudre put the visitors level on 83 minutes. Vakatalesau restored Fiji's advantage on 86 minutes only for AS Magenta striker Michel Hmae to make it 3-3 straight from the kick-off.

The result damaged Fiji's hopes of progressing to South Africa 2010, with Buzzetti's team winless after two home matches. Vanuatu's loss to New Zealand at Port Vila Municipal Stadium means that New Caledonia have emerged as the Kiwis' most likely obstacle in their pursuit of a FIFA World Cup play-off against the fifth-placed side in the Asian preliminaries.

The fixtures for the next round of matches will be reversed, with New Zealand playing host to Vanuatu at Westpac Trust Stadium in Wellington on Wednesday 21 November and New Caledonia hosting Fiji in Noumea on the same day. New Caledonia and New Zealand both remain unbeaten and while the former have a game in hand, the Kiwis have now taken six points from two away matches to hold a commanding position in the group.

It took a winner from substitute David Mulligan deep in injury time to ensure New Zealand escaped Vanuatu with three vital FIFA World Cup qualifying points. Mulligan's header in the fourth minute of injury time completed a Kiwi comeback started by a 53rd-minute Shane Smeltz goal, which had cancelled out Jean Nako Naprapol's 27th-minute opener.

Trailing 1-0 at half-time, Smeltz's fourth goal in his last three internationals put New Zealand back on level terms, before Mulligan denied the hosts a share of the spoils in the closing moments.

Both sides carved out a multitude of opportunities with both goalkeepers in superb form, in particular Chikau Mansale, who pulled of a triple save from Smeltz, Tim Brown and Leo Bertos. New Zealand's Mark Paston responded in kind just a few minutes into the second half when he stopped a vicious Fenedy Masauvakalo shot from just inside the penalty area and then parried a Seule Soromon header away with a one-handed save.

Paston may have halted those attacks, but the Wellington Phoenix goalie knew little about substitute Moise Poida's rasping, 18-yard drive which smacked the face of the New Zealand crossbar before flying to safety. The action was unrelenting and Mansale distinguished himself yet again when a near-post cross from Leo Bertos saw the Tapuji FC goalkeeper fling himself headlong at Duncan Oughton to pluck the ball off the Columbus Crew midfielder's head.

It was a sensational save but in executing one of match's most acrobatic plays, Mansale injured himself, rising only to throw the ball into the crowd before crumpling to the deck in agony. Vanuatu coach Robert Calvo had no choice but to send on Mansale's uncle, David Chilia, who kissed his fallen nephew on the cheek as he raced on to help his country.

Mansale's injury accounted for much of the five added minutes and it proved long enough for New Zealand to steal the points. A deep cross to the far post from James Pritchett prompted Chilia to race off his line, only for the ball to evade his grasp and fall kindly to the unmarked Mulligan, who nodded into an unguarded net to silence the home crowd.

New Zealand 2 2 0 0 4 1 6
New Caledonia 1 0 1 0 3 3 1
Fiji 2 0 1 1 3 5 1
Vanuatu 1 0 0 1 1 2 0


The tiny Red Sea state of Djibouti won a first-ever international match to progress from the preliminary phase in the African region of 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ qualifiers.

In only their 23rd game since becoming a FIFA member in 1994, Djibouti finally broke their duck in arguably their most important outing to date. The 1-0 win over Somalia is new ground for a country playing in only its second ever FIFA World Cup qualifying tournament.

A four-goal romp for Madagascar took their goal tally in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers to ten and, more importantly, ensured them a place in the Preliminary Draw in Durban next weekend. While their progress was expected, what was not was the outcome of the game between Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone.

Guinea Bissau had a 1-0 deficit to overturn from the first leg of their tie last month in Freetown but found it impossible to break down the visors defence. The goalless draw in Saturday's second leg match in Bissau, the first international played there in four years, condemned the former Portuguese colony to a disappointingly early exit, despite the extensive import of their players from clubs across Europe.

Madagascar had a 6-2 lead from the first leg of their tie and on Saturday won 4-0 in the return in the first ever full international played in the Comoros Islands. There were two goals for Lalaina Nomenjanahary as the side coached by the German Fritz Gerber had little trouble in qualifying for the group phase. The stadium at Moroni, with a new artificial field installed as part of FIFA's 'Win in Africa with Africa' programme, was hoping to for a better debut.

On Friday, Djibouti and Somalia were playing the only match in their tie and, despite being in 200th place on the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, now find themselves in among the 48 other African countries who will go into next Sunday's draw in Durban

[tzarinna]

I might try and pay atteniton to what's been going on.

[Mr. Thing]

I believe we'll qualify for the World Cup. Having moved from 88 to 13 in the world rankings in the past 2 years, we're guaranteed second seeds. It can only get better for Scotland. :up:

[Galactus]

Singapore, Syria, Thailand and Turkmenistan completed two-legged victories over Tajikistan, Indonesia, Yemen and Hong Kong respectively to finalise the 20-team line-up for the Asian Zone's third round of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ on Sunday. They will now join 16 continental rivals in the tournament's forthcoming Preliminary Draw in Durban.

Having returned from Sana'a with a 1-1 draw, Chanvit Phalajivin's Thailand side did enough to see off Yemen on home soil, Sarayoot Chaikamdee netting the only goal in the 15th minute.

Singapore, meantime, sealed their progression from the second round on away ground. Noh Alam Shah was their hero, rising to the occasion to cancel out Jamshed Ismailov's first-minute header for Tajikistan. The 1-1 stalemate sent the Lions through 3-1 on aggregate.

Syrian goal-feast
With Thailand and Singapore sailing through, fellow South East Asian team Indonesia disappointed against a rampant Syria, eventually going down 7-0. The Indonesians may have impressed in the recent AFC Asian Cup but a lack of competitive games in run-up to the South Africa 2010 qualifying campaign proved to their detriment, with their latest loss following a 4-1 first leg defeat.

Syria, playing in front of their vibrant supporters, ran out comfortable winners courtesy of a Ziad Chabo hat-trick, a Raja Rafe double, and further goals from Ali Dyab and Jehad Al Hussein.

Elsewhere, following a goalless draw after the first 90 minutes of their tie, Turkmenistan benefited from home advantage to beat Hong Kong 3-0. The visitors defended well for the majority of the first half, but Turkmenistan broke the deadlock through Mekan Nasyrov three minutes before the break, and Vladimir Bayramov and substitute Arif Mirzoev sealed a comfortable win.


Asian Zone qualifying, second round, second leg results:
18 November 2007

Syria 7-0 Indonesia
Tajikistan 1-1 Singapore
Thailand 1-0 Yemen
Turkmenistan 3-0 Hong Kong

[El ASESINO]

I saw today's game of Brazil vs Peru it eneded 1-1

[Galactus]

Kaka produced another superb strike to help Brazil draw 1-1 away to Peru in Sunday's FIFA World Cup qualifiers while Marcelo Salas scored his first international goals for more than two years in Chile's 2-2 away draw to Uruguay.

Kaka scored with a 30-metre shot which dipped and swerved away from Peru goalkeeper Diego Penny to give the five-times world champions a halftime lead in Lima before Juan Vargas equalised in the second half.

Salas, Chile's all-time leading scorer who was recalled to the squad in August, took his international tally to 37 goals after scoring twice in 11 minutes in Montevideo.

The former Lazio and Juventus striker stopped playing altogether for the first half of the year after failing to negotiate a new contract with Universidad de Chile but rejoined the Santiago club in July to resume his career.

Uruguay, who had taken the lead through Luis Suarez, snatched a point thanks to a late equaliser from Sebastian Abreu.

Argentina, 3-0 winners over Bolivia on Saturday, are the only team with maximum points after three of the 18 rounds of games in the single South American group.

They are followed by Paraguay (7 points), Brazil and Colombia (5), Uruguay and Chile (4), Venezuela (3), Bolivia and Peru (2) and Ecuador (0).

The top four teams qualify directly for the 2010 finals in South Africa and the fifth plays off against the fourth-placed team from the CONCACAF region.

Brazil could have secured all three points with the last move of the game but Juan's header from a Ronaldinho free-kick crashed against the crossbar.

Peru mounted an early barrage on Julio Cesar's goal but Brazil weathered the storm and went ahead with Kaka's third goal of the qualifiers five minutes before half-time. The AC Milan player nearly scored again with a clever chip two minutes later but Peru goalkeeper Diego Penny tipped the ball over.

Peru came back into the game and Vargas equalised with a deflected 25-metre shot in the 71st minute, the first scored by his team and conceded by Brazil in the group.

"Our performance was very good in the first half but we dropped off in the second, when we lost a lot of balls in the midfield and they were able to hit us on the break," said Brazil coach Dunga.

Suarez gave Uruguay a 41st minute lead after they had dominated the first half in Montevideo before Salas, who scored his last international goal in June 2005, sprang into action.

He equalised by meeting Carlos Villanueva's cross with a diving header in the 59th minute and converted a 70th minute penalty after Matias Fernandez was bundled over by Uruguay captain Diego Lugano.

Abreu salvaged a point for Uruguay with nine minutes left.

Chile coach Marcelo Bielsa conceded his team did not deserve to win.

"If we had won the match, it would not have coincided with what happened on the field of play, for which reason the point which we obtained was valuable to us," said the former Argentina coach.

Argentina 3 3 0 0 7 0 9
Paraguay 3 2 1 0 6 1 7
Brazil 3 1 2 0 6 1 5
Colombia 3 1 2 0 1 0 5
Uruguay 3 1 1 1 7 3 4
Chile 3 1 1 1 4 4 4
Venezuela 3 1 0 2 1 3 3
Peru 3 0 2 1 1 3 2
Bolivia 3 0 1 2 0 8 1
Ecuador 3 0 0 3 1 11 0

[Albiceleste]

To hell with Brazil and the rest. Argentina Is going to win it all in 2010



Voz te amo Argentina

[Galactus]

Venezuela scored three times in the last 10 minutes to beat Bolivia 5-3 in a FIFA World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, their last two goals coming after an injury to Bolivia goalkeeper Carlos Arias.

Arias, barely able to move and with Bolivia already having made their three substitutions, was slow coming off his line as Giancarlo Maldonado headed Venezuela 4-3 ahead in the 89th minute of an extraordinary game.

Arias then went off and was replaced by left back Luis Gutierrez, who was caught off his line by a Maldonado lob in injury time.

The result left Venezuela, who have never played at a FIFA World Cup, with six points from four games in the South American group and Bolivia with one.

Bolivia, who failed to score in their first three games in the group, led three times and appeared set for their first away win in a FIFA World Cup qualifier for 14 years before coming undone late in the game.

Marcelo Martins put Bolivia ahead for the first time in the 19th minute with an individual goal after Venezuela had lost possession trying to play their way out of defence.

Daniel Arismendi levelled one minute later after Jorge Rojas's cross found him at the far post but Bolivia needed only seven minutes to regain the lead when Juan Carlos Arce turned in Joselito Vaca's low cross at the near post.

Venezuela equalised just before halftime when Juan Arango's lobbed pass forward inadvertently hit Maldonado on the back of the head and fell perfectly for Arismendi to score.

Martins headed Bolivia back ahead in the 78th minute with his second only for Alejandro Guerra to pull the hosts level again in the 83rd minute.

Bolivia keeper Arias then appeared to pull a muscle in his right leg but opted to continue.

In the 89th minute, Edder Perez chipped the ball forward, Bolivia defender Limberg Mendez hesitated and, as a limping Arias tried to reach it, Maldonado nipped in to head the ball home.

He then finished the job two minutes later with a 30-metre chip over stand-in goalkeeper Gutierrez.


Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez were the hero and villain respectively during Argentina's 2-1 loss to Colombia in Tuesday night's FIFA World Cup™ qualifier in Bogota.

Messi slipped past three Colombia defenders to put Argentina ahead before half-time but Manchester United forward Tevez was sent off after 25 minutes and Colombia rallied in the second half to win the high-altitude match.

"They are the two young symbols of the national team," said the Buenos Aires daily El Clarin. "Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez both had key roles in the night of the defeat. One made us laugh. The other made us cry. Messi, once more, was Argentina's high point and scored a Maradona-inspired goal. Tevez, going the other direction, was irresponsible."

Tevez was dismissed for petulantly kicking Colombia full back Ruben Dario Bustos in an off-the-ball incident. His team seemed less than impressed and he was ignored by coach Alfio Basile and the bench as he trudged back to the dressing-room.

With Hernan Crespo and Sergio Aguero also breathing down his neck, Tevez's temper could have cost him his place in the side.

Tevez, who has completed ten matches without scoring since his goal in the Copa America match against United States in June, will automatically miss Argentina's next qualifier, at home to Ecuador in June. If he gets a two-match suspension, he will be ruled out of the visit to Brazil the same month.

"Carlos is suffering a goal drought and doesn't appear comfortable with this system," said Clarin.

Tevez's dismissal didn't seem to matter as 12 minutes later, Messi stunned El Campin stadium with his eighth goal in 26 internationals. The player known as 'The Flea' nearly added a second five minutes after halftime, but his shot went narrowly wide and Colombia took full advantage.

Basile accepted the defeat which ended Argentina's 100 per cent record in the tournament.

"We played a very good first half," he said. "But the only place where you can't afford to be left with ten players is at altitude. We felt it in the second half. With 10 men, we played the way I like, playing the ball around, with triangulations. But we felt the difference of being a man short."


Argentina 4 3 0 1 8 2 9
Colombia 4 2 2 0 3 1 8
Paraguay 3 2 1 0 6 1 7
Venezuela 4 2 0 2 6 6 6
Brazil 3 1 2 0 6 1 5
Uruguay 3 1 1 1 7 3 4
Chile 3 1 1 1 4 4 4
Peru 3 0 2 1 1 3 2
Bolivia 4 0 1 3 3 13 1
Ecuador 3 0 0 3 1 11 0


The winners of the OFC Nations Cup and consequently the team to qualify for the next preliminary stage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ has effectively been whittled down to a two horse race after New Caledonia and New Zealand recorded big victories over Fiji and Vanuatu respectively on Wednesday.

Ricki Herbert's New Zealand team were too powerful for Vanuatu defeating the visitors 4-1 at Westpac Trust Stadium thanks to braces from David Mulligan and Shane Smeltz.

Vanuatu earned a consolation goal when substitute Francois Sakama pulled one back in the 50th minute but the New Zealanders were in control from start to finish striking the woodwork on two occasions.

The victory puts New Zealand in first place with three wins from three matches in the competition and odds-on favourites to lift the OFC Nations Cup and secure the Stage 3 qualification berth for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.

"We've certainly put ourselves in a good position," said Herbert. "In terms of qualifiers, we're three from three in 2007 and firmly in the driving seat now. The result and performance was just what we needed. We looked after the ball well and all round the pitch I think it was pretty comprehensive."

Meanwhile, New Caledonia has all but ended Fiji's hopes in the competition with a 4-0 demolition of Juan Carlos Buzzetti's team.

Influential midfielder Pierre Wajoka opened the scoring after 29 minutes before Michel Hmae scored his first goal just two minutes later to give Didier Chambaron's team a 2-0 advantage at the interval.

The New Caledonians put the result beyond doubt with two similarly quick strikes again from Hmae after 60 minutes and then through Marius Mapou in the 63rd minute

New Zealand 3 3 0 0 8 2 9
New Caledonia 2 1 1 0 7 3 4
Fiji 3 0 1 2 3 9 1
Vanuatu 2 0 0 2 2 6 0

[Galactus]

Paraguay produced a ruthless performance to beat Chile 3-0 on Wednesday and go top of South America's South Africa 2010 qualifying group.

Striker Salvador Cabanas pounced on poor defending to put Paraguay ahead midway through the first half before defender Paulo da Silva scored with two headers, both from corners, either side of halftime.

Paraguay lead the 10-team group with 10 points from four games. Chile are stuck on four points.

Chile, backed by a 60,000 crowd and inspired by Matias Fernandez in midfield, made a promising start as they pushed Paraguay into their own half.

The hosts created several good chances and looked more likely to score until Paraguay hit them on the break in the 24th minute.

Goalkeeper Justo Villar hoofed a long clearance upfield, the ball bounced once, was headed on by Nelson Haedo Valdez and, as the Chile defence hesitated, Cabanas pounced to open the scoring.

Chile continued to enjoy more possession but Paraguay produced the sucker punch when Da Silva headed in from a corner in the third minute of first-half stoppage-time.

The Mexican-based defender struck again in the 57th minute, rising above the defence to score with a header which Claudio Bravo got a hand to but could not stop.

Cristian Riveros had a potential fourth Paraguay goal harshly disallowed for offside.


Luis Fabiano scored twice to give Brazil a fortuitous 2-1 win over Uruguay in their South Africa 2010 qualifier on Wednesday after the vistors had taken an early lead and dominated much of the game.

Goalkeeper Julio Cesar came to Brazil's rescue several times as they beat their smaller neighbours for the first time since 1999, a run stretching over six games.

Sebastian Abreu gave Uruguay an eighth minute lead before Luis Fabiano equalised in the 44th minute and snatched the winner midway through the second half.

An impatient Morumbi crowd jeered Brazil, insulted coach Dunga and booed Ronaldinho and Robinho when they were substituted in the second half. Brazil have eight points from four games in the South American group while Uruguay have four.


Paraguay 4 3 1 0 9 1 10
Argentina 4 3 0 1 8 2 9
Brazil 4 2 2 0 8 2 8
Colombia 4 2 2 0 3 1 8
Venezuela 4 2 0 2 6 6 6
Uruguay 4 1 1 2 8 5 4
Chile 4 1 1 2 4 7 4
Ecuador 4 1 0 3 6 12 3
Peru 4 0 2 2 2 8 2
Bolivia 4 0 1 3 3 13 1

[Ahura Mazda]

This is really early days. In Europe, we are more worried about the Euro which thanks to Italy we qualified for last night.

[Super_Child]

And we did not.

If you see this man, throw heavy objects at his head.
http://www.footballconference.co.uk/Images/39088.jpg

[Ahura Mazda]

My commiserations. I have been there thinking back to 88, 90 and 94.

[M.E.H.Z.E.B]

My England Squad for WC 2010:

GK: Robinson, Kirkland, Hart
RB: Young, Richards, Brown
CB: Taylor, Lescott, Davies, Knight
LB: Baines, Shorey, Warnock

RM: Milner, Lennon, Walcott, Routledge
CM: Huddlestone, Barton, Johnson, Reo-Coker
LM: Young, Bentley, Barnes, Noble

ST: Agbonlahor, Derbyshire, Owen, Rooney

---

:-)

[Brick]

Who do you see as the next Manager M.E.H.Z.E.B ?

[M.E.H.Z.E.B]

Who do you see as the next Manager M.E.H.Z.E.B ?

Appreciate if you called me Mehzeb... :)

Well, as far as the manager goes... after McClaren was sacked earlier today, the FA has already started looking into managerial possibilities. Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce, who was offered the position 18 months back declined a second time, and former-Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has ruled himself out as well. The FA may opt to approach former-Brazil coach Scholari yet again, but it may not pan out well. A lot of names have been thrown about recently. The top contenders seem to be: Martin O'Neill, Jurgen Klinsmann, Fabio Capello, Steve Coppell, Glenn Hoddle.

The FA has been absolutely shameful in their selections in the past, and who knows what the squad will get this time. Personally, Capello may be a feasible choice. He's willing to take the job, and he may just bring something fresh to England.

[Masamune]

Mexico and Brazil FTW

[Brick]

Appreciate if you called me Mehzeb... :)

Well, as far as the manager goes... after McClaren was sacked earlier today, the FA has already started looking into managerial possibilities. Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce, who was offered the position 18 months back declined a second time, and former-Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has ruled himself out as well. The FA may opt to approach former-Brazil coach Scholari yet again, but it may not pan out well. A lot of names have been thrown about recently. The top contenders seem to be: Martin O'Neill, Jurgen Klinsmann, Fabio Capello, Steve Coppell, Glenn Hoddle.

The FA has been absolutely shameful in their selections in the past, and who knows what the squad will get this time. Personally, Capello may be a feasible choice. He's willing to take the job, and he may just bring something fresh to England.

Yes i believe somone new and fresh is needed and it should be someone not connected to Sven like McClaren was. Not liking the idea of Glenn Hoddle coming back, England i feel needs to sever all ties to its footballing past and come up with something new. José Mourinho is the only one i can see doing such a thing and i just hope he's playing hard to get.

[Galactus]

On Sunday at 16:00 CET (15:00 GMT, 17:00 local time), the eyes of the footballing world will turn to Durban for the Preliminary Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.

FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke is the Master of Ceremonies for the event, which begins with the Stage Three draw for the Asian Zone. The North, Central America and Caribbean Zone is the next confederation to come under the spotlight, with the first three stages of their preliminary campaign decided upon in Durban.

Approximately an hour into proceedings, Europe will be buzzing with anticipation when its 53 teams are divided into nine qualifying groups, before the evening rounds off with the draw for the African Zone, where 48 teams will be placed into 12 groups of four teams.

For more information on the Draw Format for the Continental Zones, please click on the links

Asia:
http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/preldraw/2010%5ffwc%5fpreliminary%5fdraw%5finformation%5fas ia%5fe%5f28440.pdf

North America:
http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/preldraw/2010%5ffwc%5fpreliminary%5fdrawinformation%5fnorth %5fcentral%5famerica%5fcaribbean%5fe%5f28448.pdf

Europe:
http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/preldraw/2010%5ffwc%5fpreliminary%5fdraw%5finformation%5feu rope%5fe%5f28419.pdf

Africa:
http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/preldraw/2010%5ffwc%5fpreliminary%5fdraw%5finformation%5faf rica%5fe%5f28444.pdf

[Galactus]

One-hundred-and-seventy teams discovered the hurdles they must overcome to reach the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ today when the Preliminary Draw took place in Durban. It proved a thrilling ceremony, decorated by the presence of iconic figures from within the sport and performances that attested to the magical tournament that South Africa promises to deliver.

FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke conducted proceedings as former players, association presidents, celebrities from across the globe and the press looked on in earnest to see which teams draw assistants George Weah, Ali Daei, Marcel Desailly, Kasey Keller, Kaizer Motaung, Abedi Pele, Doreen Nabwire, Jomo Sono, Lucas Radebe and Christian Karembeu guided into respective qualifying pools.

Excitement permeated the International Convention Centre and while all present enjoyed the wonderful atmosphere, some know their nation must negotiate testing groups in order to progress to the 19th edition of the FIFA World Cup. Among them are Croatia, England and Ukraine, who must compete against one another in the European Zone's Group 6, and Group 1 rivals Portugal, Sweden and Denmark. Interestingly, the Swedes and the Danes have locked horns 99 times in senior internationals but never in a FIFA World Cup qualifier.

Bulgaria and Republic of Ireland will be expected to provide reigning world champions Italy with a challenge, while Germany 2006 runners-up France will take on the likes of Romania and Serbia in their section.

There were gasps from the audience when the AFC Zone pitted Australia, who narrowly missed out on a quarter-final place at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, against reigning Asian champions Iraq and China PR, who reached the finals in 2002. Qatar, who have played Iraq five times in FIFA World Cup qualifiers (with two wins apiece and one draw), completed the pool, from which two teams will advance to the concluding stage of Asian qualifying.

The most prominent exclamations were saved for when the host continent's groups were drawn. South Africa, whose place at the tournament is already assured, will nonetheless compete in the preliminaries, which will also serve as qualifiers to the CAF Africa Cup of Nations in 2010. There they will meet no less a power than Nigeria, while Senegal and Nigeria will also engage in an interesting Group 6.

Of the heavyweights in the CONCACAF region, Canada were handed the stiffest Stage 2 challenge in the form of St Kitts and Nevis, whom they have never played but who impressed during qualifying for the 2002 finals. Perhaps the most intriguing development was how the Stage 4 groups will appear if the favourites avoid upsets. Indeed, Mexico, Canada, Jamaica and Honduras could do battle for two places in the deciding phase, while USA, Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba and Guatemala may have to do the same.

Perfect prelude
The meetings between the aforementioned sides are just some of the many fascinating duels thrown up by the Preliminary Draw. In the Asian Zone, Korea Republic and Korea DPR will clash, with the latter looking to reverse two unanswered losses to their neighbours in FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Kuwait will also be out to upset a trend: in six FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Iran they have failed to win.

Over in Europe, Czech Republic and Slovakia, the two sides that formerly made up two-time FIFA World Cup semi-finalists Czechoslovakia, will face off, and memories are bound to resurface when Scotland take on Netherlands, whom they beat 3-2 in a memorable match at Argentina 1978.

The Preliminary Draw proved a beautiful prelude to the festival of football ahead. In their inimitable style, South Africa vindicated its election as the FIFA World Cup host nation for 2010.

[Watson]

Football World Cup 2010 South Africa Draw
Europe:
Group 1: Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Albania, Malta.
Group 2: Greece, Israel, Switzerland, Moldova, Latvia, Luxembourg.
Group 3: Czech Republic, Poland, NORTHERN IRELAND, Slovakia, Slovenia, San Marino.
Group 4: Germany, Russia, Finland, WALES, Azerbijain, Leichtenstein.
Group 5: Spain, Turkey, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Armenia, Estonia.
Group 6: Croatia, ENGLAND, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Andorra.
Group 7: France, Romania, Serbia, Lithuania, Austria, Faroe Islands.
Group 8: Italy, Bulgaria, REPUBLIC OF IRELAND, Cyprus, Georgia, Montenegro.
Group 9: Holland, SCOTLAND, Norway, FYR Macedonia, Iceland.

Asia:
Group 1: Australia, Iraq, Qatar and China
Group 2: Oman, Thailand, Bahrain, Japan
Group 3: North Korea, Jordan, Turkmenistan, South Korea
Group 4: Lebanon, Singapore, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia
Group 5: Syria, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iran

North America:

The Concacaf qualification process is a complete dog's dinner: The teams that come out of this lot will advance to three groups of four. The top two sides from each of those groups will then enter one final group, from which the top three teams qualify. The fourth team in the group will play off against the fifth place South American side. Does it really have to be like this? now don't ask me what this means...

1A: USA play Dominica or Barbados
1B: Guatemala play Turks and Caicos Islands or St Lucia
1C: Trinidad and Tobago play Bermuda or Caymen Islands
1D: Cuba play Aruba or Antigua and Barbuda
2A: Mexico play Belize or St Kitts and St Nevis
2B: Jamaica play Bahamas or British Virgin Islands
2C: Honduras play Dominican Republic or Puerto Rica
2D: The winner of Canada v St Vincent and the Grenadines gets a bye
3A: Costa Rica play US Virgin Islands or Grenada
3B: Guyana play Suriname or Montserrat
3C: Panama play El Salvador or Anguilla
3D: Haiti play Nicaragua or Netherlands Antilles.

Africa:

So this is what's going on here: 12 groups of four, from which winners and the best eight runners-up will advance to five final groups of four. The winners - plus any team second to South Africa (this goes towards the 2010 African Nations Cup as well) - will make it to the first World Cup to be held on African soil.

Group 1: Cameroon, Cape Verde Islands, Tanzania, Mauritius
Group 2: Guinea, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Kenya
Group 3: Angola, Benin, Uganda, Niger
Group 4: Nigeria, South Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone
Group 5: Ghana, Libya, Gabon, Lesotho
Group 6: Senegal, Algeria, Liberia, Gambia
Group 7: Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Botswana, Madagascar
Group 8: Morocco, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Mauritania
Group 9: Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Brundi, Seychelles
Group 10: Mali, Congo, Sudan, Chad
Group 11: Togo, Zambia, Eritrea, Swaziland
Group 12: Egypt, Congo DR, Malawi, Djibouti


LOL England and Croatia AGAIN

[Mr. Thing]

I think we've got an okay group It's certainly winnable.

[Pirateking]

Joyous, we've drawn Croatia again.

[Watson]

I'm sure the Canadian Men's side will yet again be spectacularly defeated by some middling team from a nation who's population is not much more then that of thier soccer team.

:(

[Albiceleste]

I can not believe that Argentina lost to Colombia.

[Galactus]

The gulf in class between Asia's top teams and the hopeful underdogs was best illustrated in Wednesday's FIFA World Cup™ qualifying round. No major upsets were recorded on the opening day of the third stage.

Four of the so-called Big Five, who represented Asia at the last finals in Germany, cruised to resounding victories with only Iran being held to a goalless draw by unfancied Syria in Tehran.

Pim Verbeek's reign as Australia coach could not have got off to a better start as the Socceroos trounced Qatar 3-0 at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne. The result lent credence to the Dutchman's decision to count primarily on overseas-based players. Defender Craig Moore and John Aloisi were the only home-based players in the side.

Playing in front of a 51,000-strong crowd, Verbeek's charges started brightly as Karlsruhe striker Joshua Kennedy headed them into the lead after only ten minutes. Seven minutes later Everton midfielder Tim Cahill doubled the edge, guiding a Luke Wilkshire corner into an empty net. Palermo forward Mark Bresciano then latched on to Scott McDonald's pass on 33 minutes to seal a memorable win for the home side.

Verbeek, who took the Aussie reins in November, was quick to acknowledge his team's dominance, claiming: "We had a fantastic first half and we didn't give them a chance to play."

The game also marked a fitting send-off for veteran defender Moore, who announced his retirement from international football after the final whistle. "It was a great way to finish it off," said the 32-year-old whose 11-year international career was highlighted by a goal against Croatia in the group stages of Germany 2006.

The emphatic win not only put the Australians at the top of what is widely considered the continent's toughest group, but also comes as a massive morale-booster after their disappointing campaign in July's AFC Asian Cup.

Australia play next on 26 March away to China, where a win will have them marked out as clear favourites to take Group One.

Double delight for East Asians
On their traditional Lunar New Year's Eve, three of the four East Asian combatants added to the festivities with victories. Korea Republic, under newly appointed coach Huh Jung-Moo, ran out 4-0 winners against visiting Turkmenistan, while their Japanese neighbours had few problems against Thailand in a 4-1 rout in Tokyo.

The much-anticipated contest between Jordan and Korea DPR, the two potential surprise packages, ended 1-0 in favour of the East Asians, Hong Yong-Jo scoring the only goal before the break. Coach Jo Tong-Sop's team will next cross swords with their peninsular neighbours, Korea Republic, and a draw would see the blood brothers joint-top of their section.

Despite being the only team from the Far East to miss out on a full three points, the opening game was not a total disappointment for China PR, whose captain Zheng Zhi cancelled out Hawar Taher's 50th-minute spot kick to force a 1-1 draw with Asian champions Iraq. China's Serbian coach Vladimir Petrovic, however, thinks the single point will make their next game against Australia a crucial one.

"Australia have three points while we have only one. Thus the pressure is on us to do our best to win the match," he said.

Elsewhere, cheered on by their raucous supporters, United Arab Emirates pulled a comfortable 2-0 win over Kuwait in Abu Dhabi. Conversely, home advantage proved not much help for Oman and Lebanon, who lost by the slightest margin to Bahrain and Uzbekistan respectively.

In the day's final game hosts Saudi Arabia defeated Singapore 2-0. Reigning AFC Player of the Year Yasser Al Kahtani opened the scoring on 38 minutes before striker Malek Al Hawsawi sealed victory four minutes from time.

Matchday One Results:

Group 1
Australia 3-0 Qatar
Iraq 1-1 China

Group 2
Japan 4-1 Thailand
Oman 0-1 Bahrain

Group 3
Korea Republic 4-0 Turkmenistan
Jordan 0-1 Korea DPR

Group 4
Saudi Arabia 2-0 Singapore
Lebanon 0-1 Uzbekistan

Group 5
Iran 0-0 Syria
United Arab Emirates 2-0 Kuwait

[Galactus]

CONCACAF qualifying for South Africa 2010 began at the weekend with the Caymans' shock draw on the road in Bermuda, and the six fixtures on Wednesday kept the excitement levels going in the New World.

The two early games saw a hopeful St. Kitts and Nevis get a lesson in efficiency from Belize, while the Netherlands Antilles pulled off an upset on the road.

St. Kitts, led by full-blooded Chivas USA striker Atiba Harris, dominated possession early on in Guatemala City against Belize. The practical-minded Central Americans, though, scored three goals from four shots as the first half wore on to put the contest beyond doubt. Dean McCauley grabbed a brace for the Belizeans in the straight-forward 3-1 win in which a scrambled goal from Gerard Williams proved the lone bright spot for the islanders.

The Netherlands Antilles flew the Caribbean flag with considerably more pride on the evening when, led by a clutch of players with experience in professional Dutch football, they hung on to a 15th-minute goal from Anton Jongsma of FC Zwolle to win out 1-0. The Nicaraguans, playing at home and with the benefit of a recent training trip to Brazil, now have their backs against the wall ahead of the return leg in Willemstad.

Tiny Dominica earned themselves an important point as they drew 1-1 at home against a heavily favoured Barbados side who were unable, finally, to secure the services of English Premiership stars Marlon Harewood and Emerson Boyce. Richard Pacquette began the scoring for the hosts after 20 minutes and Rashida Williams drew level for the Bajan Braves three minutes before the half.

Perhaps even more impressive was Turks and Caicos' win over St. Lucia. With goals from talismanic MLS striker Gavin Glinton and David Lawrie, the 2-1 win was the first ever victory for TCI on home soil. In fact, it was their first-ever game on home soil and the 2000-plus fans who turned out for the big night celebrated long and hard.

Antigua and Barbuda made light work of Aruba 3-0 on the road in Oranjestad. George Dublin and Gayson Gregory, two of only three professionals in the side, claimed a goal each with the third coming by way of an unfortunate Daryl Siera own goal.

Major mismatch
In the night's one true hiding, former CONCACAF giants El Salvador took a step toward renewing their past glories with a 12-0 whipping of outgunned Anguilla. Rudi Coralles scored five goals to move to the top of the region's scoring charts while aging ace Ronald Cerritos grabbed a hat-trick in what should effectively put an end to Anguilla's dream of reaching the next stage.

The one remaining first leg will pit the Bahamas against British Virgin Islands on 26 March, with the second leg just four days later.

The remainder of the second legs will also be played in late March, along with three one-off contests. Dominican Republic-Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands-Grenada and Surinam-Montserrat will all be played near the end of March with everything on the line.

The eleven winners from North, Central America and the Caribbean's first round will join St. Vincent and the Grenadines in another batch of home-away series against the twelve top-ranked teams in the region including the USA, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago and Costa Rica.

[Galactus]

Bahrain claimed a shock 1-0 win over Japan in their FIFA World Cup™ qualifier, while China held Australia and the two Koreas also fought to a goalless draw.

In Manama, midfielder Alaa Hubail was the hero for the hosts, scoring in the 77th minute to move Bahrain to the top of Group 2, unbeaten after two matches.

Hubail headed home from close range from a cross by Ismail Abdullateer which Japanese goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi failed to gather. In the pool's other game, Thailand were beaten 1-0 by Oman.

Earlier in the day, China's Shao Jiayi had a last-gasp penalty saved and Korea Republic were frustrated by the Korea DPR's stubborn defence as some of Asia's top teams failed to find the net.

Group 1 favourites Australia remain provisionally top the section with Asian champions Iraq playing Qatar later in the second round of matches Wednesday.

Korea Republic stay ahead of the North in Group 3 on goal difference, with both one point ahead of Jordan who beat Turkmenistan 2-0.

Uzbekistan went top of Group Four after an impressive 3-0 win over Saudi Arabia in Tashkent. The home side took the lead on the stroke of half-time through Timur Kapadze's header before Maksim Shatskikh doubled the lead midway through the second half and a Server Djeparov penalty shortly afterwards sealed victory.

In the same group, goals from Aleksandar Duric and Fazrul Nawaz gave Singapore a much needed boost to their qualifying campaign as they dominated Lebanon with a 2-0 win.

Iran take their bid for a fourth FIFA World Cup appearance to Kuwait in Group 5, which also saw Gulf champions United Arab Emirates snag a 1-1 away draw with Syria.

Chinese midfielder Shao was distraught after scuffing his penalty in the dying minutes against Australia in front of 32,500 baying home fans in Kunming.

Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer dived low to his left in the 88th minute to block Shao's shot as Australia escaped the tricky tie with a point.

"I must apologise to the team and the fans for that penalty kick," Shao said. "Because of me we did not win the game. We should have won the game but we didn't because I missed the penalty kick. I really feel bad about this."

Australia should have been firm favourites but they had only two days to acclimatise to Kunming's 1,900-metre (6,233-foot) altitude and a long injury list including Everton's Tim Cahill and Celtic striker Scott McDonald.

Given the difficulties, coach Pim Verbeek was happy with the result, which maintained his unbeaten record and kept Australia on course for South Africa 2010.

"The boys played very hard to get this result. Of course we came here to win because everyone likes to win games. But I have to admit, I can live with this result," said the Dutchman.

Meanwhile, Korea Republic were kept out by stout North Korean defending as their much-anticipated showdown also ended in a goalless stalemate.

The South, despite fielding top stars such as Manchester United's Park Ji-Sung, failed to convert a series of chances in the Cold War clash, which was moved from Pyongyang to Shanghai in a row over flags and anthems.

"We should have won this match," said Park, who joined up with the squad on Tuesday. "We couldn't finish around the net."

Fulham's Seol Ki-Hyeon, Cho Won-Hee and Park Chu-Young all went close for South Korea, while the North's Jong Tae-Se had a close-range shot deflected wide.

The top two teams from each of five groups will reach the fourth and final Asian qualifying round for the 2010 tournament.


Group 1 Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Australia 2 1 1 0 3 0 4
Qatar 2 1 0 1 2 3 3
China PR 2 0 2 0 1 1 2
Iraq 2 0 1 1 1 3 1

Group 2 Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Bahrain 2 2 0 0 2 0 6
Japan 2 1 0 1 4 2 3
Oman 2 1 0 1 1 1 3
Thailand 2 0 0 2 1 5 0

Group 3 Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Korea Republic 2 1 1 0 4 0 4
Korea DPR 2 1 1 0 1 0 4
Jordan 2 1 0 1 2 1 3
Turkmenistan 2 0 0 2 0 6 0

Group 4 Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Uzbekistan 2 2 0 0 4 0 6
Singapore 2 1 0 1 2 2 3
Saudi Arabia 2 1 0 1 2 3 3
Lebanon 2 0 0 2 0 3 0

Group 5 Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
United Arab Emirates 2 1 1 0 3 1 4
Iran 2 0 2 0 2 2 2
Syria 2 0 2 0 1 1 2
Kuwait 2 0 1 1 2 4 1

[Galactus]

Nine teams booked passage to the second round of CONCACAF qualifying for the FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010™ and, sadly, nine others are heading for home. Grenada's 10-0 win over the US Virgin Islands was the biggest scorline of the night as Puerto Rico needed extra-time to get past the Dominican Republic. Join FIFA.com for a look back at all of Wednesday's action in the New World.

Grenada left little to chance in their one-off qualifier with the massively overwhelmed US Virgin Islands, the Spice Boyz winning out by a bloated 10-0 scoreline.

Brooklyn-Based striker Ricky Charles was the star of the show, grabbing no less than four goals in the unadulterated rout. Blackburn Rovers hit man Jason Roberts had opened the scoring with two early strikes at home in St. George's and Shane Rennie, Dorset Langiagne and England-based Byron Bubb all scored. Dwight Ferguson completed the visitors' humiliation with an own goal three minutes from time.

One of three of CONCACAF's first-round qualifiers taking place over only one leg, it is job-done for Grenada who will now meet up with Costa Rica over two legs in June.

Over in Bridgetown ten-man hosts Barbados left it late to put brave Dominica out of the running. After Rashida Williams earned two yellows in two minutes (62nd and 64th), Dwayne Stanford popped up with just six minutes left on the clock to break the 1-1 deadlock from the first leg and send the heavily favoured Barbadians - with Wigan Athletic's Emerson Boyce in the squad - through to a second round meeting with CONCACAF champions USA.

St. Lucia needed late drama as well to book their place in the second round. After losing 1-0 in their first leg at Turks & Caicos, Kenwin McPhee's strike on the half-hour in Vieux Fort looked like sending the series to extra-time. But Titus Elva, who missed the first leg, had other ideas and popped up with a goal in the 83rd minute to make it 2-1 for St. Lucia on the aggregate. The islanders will now move on to play Guatemala in June.

Antigua & Barbuda had a tougher time at home against Aruba than they did on the road last month. Even so, a late goal from substitute Akeem Challenger sealed a 1-0 win on the night and a 4-0 aggregate victory. The Antiguans will now take on Cuba over two legs.

Volcano-ravaged Montserrat saw their dream of a place in South Africa come to an end, losing out 7-1 in Trinidad and Tobago to Suriname in their one-off series. Wensley Cristoph and Kenzo Huur each scored twice for the Surinamese while Cleon Wondel, Melvin Valies and Raydell Schuurman added tallies of their own to render Vladimir Farrell's goal little more than consolation for the islanders. Suriname will now face near neighbours Guyana in the next round.

Fresh Belize
Once-lowly Belize kept up their impressive revival of form with a 1-1 draw at Warner Park in St. Kitts. Added to the 3-1 result they pulled off last month in Guatemala City, the 4-2 aggregate is enough to see the Central Americans through to a second round contest with none other than mighty Mexico.

The Bahamas finished in a 1-1 stalemate in their first leg against the British Virgin Islands in Nassau. Lesly St. Fleur opened the scoring for the hosts just after the interval, but underdogs BVI hit back in the 76th minute through Rohan Lennon. They will play the second leg, again in Nassau, on Sunday.

In the later games, El Salvador did what was expected by picking up a 4-0 win over Anguilla. The result brings the aggregate in the series to a whopping 16-0 and now sets up a date against Panama for the Salvadorans, who might well be the favourites. Rudis Corrales added another goal the five he picked up last month to move in as top scorer in the region's qualifying. In Willemstad, the Netherlands Antilles knocked out Nicaragua 2-0 on the night and 3-0 on aggregate thanks to goals from Tyronne Loran and Angelo Zimmerman. They now meet Caribbean champions Haiti.

A revamped Puerto Rico were widely tipped to make easy meat of neighbours Dominican Republic, but they needed extra-time to win 1-0 in their one-off qualifier in Bayamon to book a date with Honduras.

Two more first round games remain and will be played on Sunday. The Bahamas and the British Virgin Islands will meet up in their second leg and the Cayman Islands, who earned a credible draw with Bermuda at home last month, will head to Georgetown to see if they can keep the dream alive.

CONCACAF second-round series (to be played in June)
As of Wednesday 26 March
Grenada-Costa Rica
Barbados-USA
St. Lucia-Guatemala
Antigua & Barbuda-Cuba
Suriname-Guyana
Belize-Mexico
El Salvador-Panama
Netherlands Antilles- Haiti
Puerto Rico-Honduras

[Galactus]

The Bahamas slipped past the British Virgin Islands on Sunday to reach the second round of CONCACAF qualifying, where they will be joined by Bermuda who comfortably beat the Cayman Islands.

The Nature Boyz of BVI put up a brave fight on Sunday, but fell in the end to the Bahamas by the slimmest of margins. The 2-2 draw on the night saw the series finish 3-3 on aggregate, but the Bahamas won out by virtue of the away goals rule.

Now the victorious islanders will meet Caribbean royalty Jamaica over two legs (the first in early June). BVI, despite drawing both legs and pushing the favourites mightily in both contests, head out of contention for the FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010™.

Michael Bethel opened the scoring for the Bahamians in the 40th minute on Sunday. Seven minutes into the second period, Demont Mitchell looked to have finished the job with a well-taken goal of his own.

However, the Virgin Islanders - led by two-goal captain Anadale Williams - roared back and drew level in the 78th and 90th minutes. In a cruel twist, though, the game which was played in Nassau, Bahamas was technically a road match for the hosts as BVI forfeited the right to play at home due to a lack of proper facilities. As a result, the two goals on Sunday counted as away goals for the Bahamas, sending them through on the road-goal rule.

Bermuda rule
Sunday's second contest saw Bermuda make easy meat of an improved, but still outgunned, Cayman Island side. After the first leg last month finished in a 1-1 draw, a fortified Bermudan outfit, complete with USA-based Khano Smith, made the trip to Grand Cayman looking to leave nothing to doubt.

Devaun DeGraff, one of eight Bermuda Hogges club players in the side, scored a brace in the first half. Kwame Steed, scorer of Bermuda's goal in the first leg, added another in the 52nd minute, rendering Marshall Forbes strike from the spot mere consolation for the Caymanians.

The 3-1 result on the night (4-2 on aggregate) sees Bermuda move on to the second round of CONCACAF qualifying where they will meet Germany 2006 finalists Trinidad and Tobago over two legs.

Nine other Caribbean and Central American sides booked passage to the second round last week, and they will join up with the Bahamas and Bermuda this summer as qualifying action in the region heats up.

CONCACAF second-round series
Grenada-Costa Rica
Barbados-USA
St. Lucia-Guatemala
Antigua & Barbuda-Cuba
Suriname-Guyana
Belize-Mexico
El Salvador-Panama
Netherlands Antilles- Haiti
Puerto Rico-Honduras
Bahamas-Jamaica
Bermuda-Trinidad and Tobago

[Albiceleste]

I'm shocked that Puerto Rico has a soccer team.

[Galactus]

31/05/08 20:00 SEOUL Korea Republic 2:2 (1:0) Jordan
31/05/08 19:30 DAKAR Senegal 1:0 (0:0) Algeria
31/05/08 16:00 DAR ES SALAAM Tanzania 1:1 (0:1) Mauritius
31/05/08 16:00 KAMPALA Uganda 1:0 (0:0) Niger
31/05/08 15:30 YAOUNDE Cameroon 2:0 (1:0) Cape Verde Islands
31/05/08 15:30 KIGALI Rwanda 3:0 (1:0) Mauritania
31/05/08 15:30 ACCRA Togo 1:0 0:0 PSO Zambia
31/05/08 15:00 WINDHOEK Namibia 2:1 (1:1) Kenya
31/05/08 15:00 GABORONE Botswana 0:0 Madagascar
31/05/08 14:30 BLANTYRE Malawi 8:1 (2:1) Djibouti

[Galactus]

02/06/08 19:30 SINGAPORE Singapore 3:7 (2:5) Uzbekistan
02/06/08 19:20 YOKOHAMA Japan 3:0 (2:0) Oman
02/06/08 19:00 TEHRAN Iran 0:0 United Arab Emirates
02/06/08 18:30 BANGKOK Thailand 2:3 (2:2) Bahrain
02/06/08 17:00 ASHGABAT Turkmenistan 0:0 Korea DPR
01/06/08 21:00 CAIRO Egypt 2:1 (0:1) Congo DR
01/06/08 19:10 RADES Tunisia 1:2 (1:0) Burkina Faso
01/06/08 18:00 BAMAKO Mali 4:2 (3:1) Congo
01/06/08 17:00 CONAKRY Guinea 0:0 Zimbabwe
01/06/08 17:00 BRISBANE Australia 1:0 (0:0) Iraq
01/06/08 17:00 KUMASI Ghana 3:0 (1:0) Libya
01/06/08 16:00 ABUJA Nigeria 2:0 (2:0) South Africa
01/06/08 16:00 MONROVIA Liberia 1:1 (0:1) Gambia
01/06/08 16:00 ABIDJAN Côte d'Ivoire 1:0 (0:0) Mozambique
01/06/08 15:30 LUANDA Angola 3:0 (0:0) Benin
01/06/08 15:30 MALABO Equatorial Guinea 2:0 (0:0) Sierra Leone
01/06/08 15:30 BUJUMBURA Burundi 1:0 (0:0) Seychelles

[Galactus]

02/06/08 21:00 RIYADH Saudi Arabia 4:1 (1:1) Lebanon
02/06/08 20:00 DAMASCUS Syria 1:0 (0:0) Kuwait

[Galactus]

Cameroon 1 1 0 0 2 0 3
Mauritius 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Tanzania 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Cape Verde Islands 1 0 0 1 0 2 0

Namibia 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
Guinea 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Zimbabwe 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Kenya 1 0 0 1 1 2 0

Angola 1 1 0 0 3 0 3
Uganda 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
Niger 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
Benin 1 0 0 1 0 3 0

Equatorial Guinea 1 1 0 0 2 0 3
Nigeria 1 1 0 0 2 0 3
Sierra Leone 1 0 0 1 0 2 0
South Africa 1 0 0 1 0 2 0

Ghana 1 1 0 0 3 0 3
Gabon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lesotho 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Libya 1 0 0 1 0 3 0

Senegal 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
Gambia 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Liberia 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Algeria 1 0 0 1 0 1 0

Côte d'Ivoire 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
Botswana 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Madagascar 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Mozambique 1 0 0 1 0 1 0

Morocco 1 1 0 0 3 0 3
Rwanda 1 1 0 0 3 0 3
Ethiopia 1 0 0 1 0 3 0
Mauritania 1 0 0 1 0 3 0

Burkina Faso 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
Burundi 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
Seychelles 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
Tunisia 1 0 0 1 1 2 0

Mali 1 1 0 0 4 2 3
Chad 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Sudan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Congo 1 0 0 1 2 4 0

Togo 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
Swaziland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Zambia 1 0 0 1 0 1 0

Malawi 1 1 0 0 8 1 3
Egypt 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
Congo DR 1 0 0 1 1 2 0
Djibouti 1 0 0 1 1 8 0

[Galactus]

Australia 3 2 1 0 4 0 7
Qatar 3 1 1 1 2 3 4
China PR 3 0 3 0 1 1 3
Iraq 3 0 1 2 1 4 1

Bahrain 3 3 0 0 5 2 9
Japan 3 2 0 1 7 2 6
Oman 3 1 0 2 1 4 3
Thailand 3 0 0 3 3 8 0

Korea Republic 3 1 2 0 6 2 5
Korea DPR 3 1 2 0 1 0 5
Jordan 3 1 1 1 4 3 4
Turkmenistan 3 0 1 2 0 6 1

Uzbekistan 3 3 0 0 11 3 9
Saudi Arabia 3 2 0 1 6 4 6
Singapore 3 1 0 2 5 9 3
Lebanon 3 0 0 3 1 7 0

United Arab Emirates 3 1 2 0 3 1 5
Syria 3 1 2 0 2 1 5
Iran 3 0 3 0 2 2 3
Kuwait 3 0 1 2 2 5 1

[Galactus]

04/06/08 20:30 SAN PEDRO SULA Honduras 4:0 (1:0) Puerto Rico

[Galactus]

06/06/08 19:15 BLIDA Algeria 3:0 (2:0) Liberia
06/06/08 15:00 DJIBOUTI Djibouti 0:4 (0:1) Egypt

[Galactus]

07/06/08 21:00 RIYADH Lebanon 1:2 (0:1) Saudi Arabia
07/06/08 20:00 DUBAI Iraq 1:0 (1:0) Australia
07/06/08 20:00 TIANJIN China PR 0:1 (0:1) Qatar
07/06/08 20:00 TRIPOLI Libya 1:0 (1:0) Gabon
07/06/08 20:00 AL AIN CITY United Arab Emirates 0:1 (0:1) Iran
07/06/08 19:30 MANAMA Bahrain 1:1 (0:0) Thailand
07/06/08 19:00 TASHKENT Uzbekistan 1:0 (0:0) Singapore
07/06/08 18:00 OUAGADOUGOU Burkina Faso 2:0 (2:0) Burundi
07/06/08 17:30 AMMAN Jordan 0:1 (0:1) Korea Republic
07/06/08 17:15 MUSCAT Oman 1:1 (1:0) Japan
07/06/08 17:00 PYONGYANG Korea DPR 1:0 Turkmenistan
07/06/08 17:00 NOUAKCHOTT Mauritania 1:4 (0:2) Morocco
07/06/08 16:30 FREETOWN Sierra Leone 0:1 (0:0) Nigeria
07/06/08 16:30 VICTORIA (SEY) Seychelles 0:2 (0:2) Tunisia
07/06/08 16:00 PRAIA Cape Verde Islands 1:0 (0:0) Tanzania
07/06/08 16:00 NAIROBI Kenya 2:0 (1:0) Guinea
07/06/08 16:00 N'DJAMENA Chad 1:2 Mali
07/06/08 15:00 PRETORIA South Africa 4:1 (2:0) Equatorial Guinea

[Galactus]

08/06/08 20:45 KUWAIT CITY Kuwait 4:2 (2:2) Syria
08/06/08 17:00 BLOEMFONTEIN Lesotho 2:3 (0:2) Ghana
08/06/08 17:00 BANJUL Gambia 0:0 Senegal
08/06/08 16:00 COTONOU Benin 4:1 (2:1) Uganda
08/06/08 16:00 NIAMEY Niger 1:2 (1:1) Angola
08/06/08 16:00 ADDIS ABEBA Ethiopia 1:2 (1:0) Rwanda
08/06/08 15:30 BRAZZAVILLE Congo 1:0 (0:0) Sudan
08/06/08 15:30 KINSHASA Congo DR 1:0 (0:0) Malawi
08/06/08 15:00 CUREPIPE Mauritius 0:3 (0:2) Cameroon
08/06/08 15:00 HARARE Zimbabwe 2:0 (1:0) Namibia
08/06/08 15:00 MAPUTO Mozambique 1:2 (0:1) Botswana
08/06/08 15:00 MBABANE Swaziland 2:1 (0:0) Togo
08/06/08 14:30 ANTANANARIVO Madagascar 0:0 Côte d'Ivoire

[Galactus]

Group 1
Cameroon 2 2 0 0 5 0 6
Cape Verde Islands 2 1 0 1 1 2 3
Tanzania 2 0 1 1 1 2 1
Mauritius 2 0 1 1 1 4 1




Group 2
Zimbabwe 2 1 1 0 2 0 4
Kenya 2 1 0 1 3 2 3
Namibia 2 1 0 1 2 3 3
Guinea 2 0 1 1 0 2 1



Group 3
Angola 2 2 0 0 5 1 6
Benin 2 1 0 1 4 4 3
Uganda 2 1 0 1 2 4 3
Niger 2 0 0 2 1 3 0




Group 4
Nigeria 2 2 0 0 3 0 6
South Africa 2 1 0 1 4 3 3
Equatorial Guinea 2 1 0 1 3 4 3
Sierra Leone 2 0 0 2 0 3 0



Group 5
Ghana 2 2 0 0 6 2 6
Libya 2 1 0 1 1 3 3
Gabon 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
Lesotho 1 0 0 1 2 3


Group 6
Senegal 2 1 1 0 1 0 4
Algeria 2 1 0 1 3 1 3
Gambia 2 0 2 0 1 1 2
Liberia 2 0 1 1 1 4 1




Group 7
Botswana 2 1 1 0 2 1 4
Côte d'Ivoire 2 1 1 0 1 0 4
Madagascar 2 0 2 0 0 0 2
Mozambique 2 0 0 2 1 3 0




Group 8
Morocco 2 2 0 0 7 1 6
Rwanda 2 2 0 0 5 1 6
Ethiopia 2 0 0 2 1 5 0
Mauritania 2 0 0 2 1 7 0




Group 9
Burkina Faso 2 2 0 0 4 1 6
Tunisia 2 1 0 1 3 2 3
Burundi 2 1 0 1 1 2 3
Seychelles 2 0 0 2 0 3 0




Group 10
Mali 2 2 0 0 6 3 6
Congo 2 1 0 1 3 4 3
Chad 1 0 0 1 1 2 0
Sudan 1 0 0 1 0 1 0




Group 11
Swaziland 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
Togo 2 1 0 1 2 2 3
Zambia 1 0 0 1 0 1 0




Group 12
Egypt 2 2 0 0 6 1 6
Malawi 2 1 0 1 8 2 3
Congo DR 2 1 0 1 2 2 3
Djibouti 2 0 0 2 1 12 0

[Galactus]

Group 1
Australia 4 2 1 1 4 1 7
Qatar 4 2 1 1 3 3 7
Iraq 4 1 1 2 2 4 4
China PR 4 0 3 1 1 2 3




Group 2
Bahrain 4 3 1 0 6 3 10
Japan 4 2 1 1 8 3 7
Oman 4 1 1 2 2 5 4
Thailand 4 0 1 3 4 9 1




Group 3
Korea Republic 4 2 2 0 7 2 8
Korea DPR 4 2 2 0 2 0 8
Jordan 4 1 1 2 4 4 4
Turkmenistan 4 0 1 3 0 7 1




Group 4
Uzbekistan 4 4 0 0 12 3 12
Saudi Arabia 4 3 0 1 8 5 9
Singapore 4 1 0 3 5 10 3
Lebanon 4 0 0 4 2 9 0



Group 5
Iran 4 1 3 0 3 2 6
United Arab Emirates 4 1 2 1 3 2 5
Syria 4 1 2 1 4 5 5
Kuwait 4 1 1 2 6 7 4

[Galactus]

13/06/08 17:00 NOUAKCHOTT Mauritania 0:1 (0:0) Ethiopia
13/06/08 15:00 DJIBOUTI Djibouti 0:6 (0:3) Congo DR

[Galactus]

14/06/08 14:00 PORT VILA Vanuatu 1:1 (0:0) New Caledonia
14/06/08 14:30 BLANTYRE Malawi 1:0 (0:0) Egypt
14/06/08 15:00 WINDHOEK Namibia 1:2 (1:2) Guinea
14/06/08 15:00 GABORONE Botswana 1:1 (1:0) Côte d'Ivoire
14/06/08 15:30 LIBREVILLE Gabon 2:0 (1:0) Ghana
14/06/08 15:30 KIGALI Rwanda 3:1 (1:0) Morocco
14/06/08 16:00 MONTEVIDEO Uruguay 1:1 (1:0) Venezuela
14/06/08 16:00 DAR ES SALAAM Tanzania 0:0 Cameroon
14/06/08 16:00 NAIROBI Kenya 2:0 (1:0) Zimbabwe
14/06/08 16:00 KAMPALA Uganda 3:1 (2:0) Angola
14/06/08 16:00 NIAMEY Niger 0:2 (0:0) Benin
14/06/08 16:00 N'DJAMENA Chad 2:1 (1:1) Congo
14/06/08 16:00 ST. GEORGE'S Grenada 2:2 (2:1) Costa Rica
14/06/08 16:00 PARAMARIBO Suriname 1:0 (0:0) Guyana
14/06/08 16:30 FREETOWN Sierra Leone 1:0 (1:0) South Africa
14/06/08 16:30 VICTORIA (SEY) Seychelles 2:3 (0:1) Burkina Faso
14/06/08 17:00 PYONGYANG Korea DPR 2:0 (1:0) Jordan
14/06/08 17:00 BANJUL Gambia 1:0 (1:0) Algeria
14/06/08 17:20 BANGKOK Thailand 0:3 (0:2) Japan
14/06/08 19:00 DOHA Qatar 1:3 (0:1) Australia
14/06/08 19:00 ASHGABAT Turkmenistan 1:3 (0:1) Korea Republic
14/06/08 19:00 TASHKENT Uzbekistan 3:0 (0:0) Lebanon
14/06/08 19:30 MANAMA Bahrain 1:1 (1:0) Oman
14/06/08 19:30 SINGAPORE Singapore 0:2 (0:1) Saudi Arabia
14/06/08 20:00 LIMA Peru 1:1 (1:1) Colombia
14/06/08 20:00 TIANJIN China PR 1:2 (1:1) Iraq
14/06/08 20:00 DAMASCUS Syria 0:2 (0:0) Iran
14/06/08 20:00 KHARTOUM Sudan 3:2 (1:0) Mali
14/06/08 20:00 GUATEMALA CITY Guatemala 6:0 (3:0) St. Lucia
14/06/08 20:00 BAYAMON Puerto Rico 2:2 (2:1) Honduras
14/06/08 20:45 KUWAIT CITY Kuwait 2:3 (0:2) United Arab Emirates

[Mee]

USA v Barbatos (sp?) today. :up:

[Kaleb]

Argentina vs Equador today :up:

[Galactus]

15/06/08 14:00 CARSON/LOS ANGELES USA 8:0 (3:0) Barbados
15/06/08 14:30 ANTANANARIVO Madagascar 1:1 (0:1) Mozambique
15/06/08 15:00 ASUNCION Paraguay 2:0 (1:0) Brazil
15/06/08 15:00 CUREPIPE Mauritius 0:1 (0:1) Cape Verde Islands
15/06/08 15:00 BLOEMFONTEIN Lesotho 0:1 (0:0) Libya
15/06/08 15:00 BUJUMBURA Burundi 0:1 (0:0) Tunisia
15/06/08 15:00 MBABANE Swaziland 0:0 Zambia
15/06/08 15:00 KINGSTOWN St. Vincent / Grenadines 0:3 (0:2) Canada
15/06/08 15:00 PORT-AU-PRINCE Haiti 0:0 Netherlands Antilles
15/06/08 15:30 MALABO Equatorial Guinea 0:1 (0:1) Nigeria
15/06/08 15:30 HOUSTON Belize 0:2 (0:0) Mexico
15/06/08 16:00 MONROVIA Liberia 2:2 (0:0) Senegal
15/06/08 16:00 PANAMA CITY Panama 1:0 (1:0) El Salvador
15/06/08 17:30 MACOYA Trinidad and Tobago 1:2 (1:2) Bermuda
15/06/08 18:00 KINGSTON Jamaica 7:0 (3:0) Bahamas
15/06/08 18:10 BUENOS AIRES Argentina 1:1 (0:0) Ecuador
15/06/08 19:30 LA PAZ Bolivia 0:2 (0:1) Chile

[Galactus]

17/06/08 19:00 MONTEVIDEO Uruguay 6:0 (2:0) Peru
17/06/08 19:00 ST. JOHN'S Antigua and Barbuda 3:4 (2:2) Cuba

[Kaleb]

I will be watching the Argentina vs Brazil game tonight.

[Galactus]

18/06/08 16:00 GREENFIELD-TRELAWNY Bahamas 0:6 (0:5) Jamaica
18/06/08 16:10 LA PAZ Bolivia 4:2 (2:0) Paraguay
18/06/08 17:20 QUITO Ecuador 0:0 Colombia
18/06/08 21:50 BELO HORIZONTE Brazil 0:0 Argentina

[Galactus]

19/06/08 20:00 PUERTO LA CRUZ Venezuela 2:3 (0:0) Chile
20/06/08 19:30 BLIDA Algeria 1:0 (1:0) Gambia
20/06/08 19:30 MONTREAL Canada 4:1 (2:0) St. Vincent / Grenadines
20/06/08 21:00 TRIPOLI Libya 4:0 (1:0) Lesotho

[Galactus]

21/06/08 14:00 CHILILABOMBWE Zambia 1:0 (0:0) Swaziland
21/06/08 15:00 NOUMEA New Caledonia 3:0 (1:0) Vanuatu
21/06/08 15:00 PRETORIA South Africa 0:0 Sierra Leone
21/06/08 15:30 YAOUNDE Cameroon 2:1 (0:0) Tanzania
21/06/08 16:00 ABUJA Nigeria 2:0 (1:0) Equatorial Guinea
21/06/08 18:00 OUAGADOUGOU Burkina Faso 4:1 (2:1) Seychelles
21/06/08 19:00 CASABLANCA Morocco 2:0 (1:0) Rwanda
21/06/08 19:00 LOS ANGELES St. Lucia 1:3 (1:2) Guatemala
21/06/08 19:30 DAKAR Senegal 3:1 (2:0) Liberia
21/06/08 20:00 SAN JOSE Costa Rica 3:0 (2:0) Grenada
21/06/08 20:30 RADES Tunisia 2:1 (2:1) Burundi
21/06/08 21:00 MONTERREY Mexico 7:0 (3:0) Belize

[Galactus]

Group 1
Cameroon 4 3 1 0 7 1 10
Cape Verde Islands 3 2 0 1 2 2 6
Tanzania 4 0 2 2 2 4 2
Mauritius 3 0 1 2 1 5 1




Group 2
Kenya 4 2 1 1 5 2 7
Zimbabwe 4 1 2 1 2 2 5
Guinea 3 1 1 1 2 3 4
Namibia 3 1 0 2 3 5 3




Group 3
Angola 3 2 0 1 6 4 6
Benin 3 2 0 1 6 4 6
Uganda 3 2 0 1 5 5 6
Niger 3 0 0 3 1 5 0




Group 4
Nigeria 4 4 0 0 6 0 12
South Africa 4 1 1 2 4 4 4
Sierra Leone 4 1 1 2 1 3 4
Equatorial Guinea 4 1 0 3 3 7 3




Group 5
Libya 4 3 0 1 6 3 9
Ghana 3 2 0 1 6 4 6
Gabon 2 1 0 1 2 1 3
Lesotho 3 0 0 3 2 8 0




Group 6
Senegal 4 2 2 0 6 3 8
Algeria 4 2 0 2 4 2 6
Gambia 4 1 2 1 2 2 5
Liberia 4 0 2 2 4 9 2




Group 7
Botswana 3 1 2 0 3 2 5
Côte d'Ivoire 3 1 2 0 2 1 5
Madagascar 3 0 3 0 1 1 3
Mozambique 3 0 1 2 2 4 1




Group 8
Morocco 4 3 0 1 10 4 9
Rwanda 4 3 0 1 8 4 9
Ethiopia 3 1 0 2 2 5 3
Mauritania 3 0 0 3 1 8 0




Group 9
Burkina Faso 4 4 0 0 11 4 12
Tunisia 4 3 0 1 6 3 9
Burundi 4 1 0 3 2 5 3
Seychelles 4 0 0 4 3 10 0




Group 10
Mali 3 2 0 1 8 6 6
Chad 2 1 0 1 3 3 3
Sudan 2 1 0 1 3 3 3
Congo 3 1 0 2 4 6 3




Group 11
Swaziland 3 1 1 1 2 2 4
Zambia 3 1 1 1 1 1 4
Togo 2 1 0 1 2 2 3




Group 12
Malawi 3 2 0 1 9 2 6
Congo DR 3 2 0 1 8 2 6
Egypt 3 2 0 1 6 2 6
Djibouti 3 0 0 3 1 18 0

The 12 group winners and 8 best runners-up will advance to Round Three. The 20 teams will then be grouped into 5 round-robin, home-and-away groups of 4 teams.

[Galactus]

Group 1
Australia * 6 3 1 2 7 3 10
Iraq 5 2 1 2 4 5 7
Qatar 5 2 1 2 4 6 7
China PR 6 1 3 2 3 4 6




Group 2
Japan * 6 4 1 1 12 3 13
Bahrain * 6 3 2 1 7 5 11
Oman 5 1 2 2 3 6 5
Thailand 5 0 1 4 4 12 1




Group 3
Korea Republic * 6 3 3 0 10 3 12
Korea DPR * 6 3 3 0 4 0 12
Jordan 5 1 1 3 4 6 4
Turkmenistan 5 0 1 4 1 10 1




Group 4
Uzbekistan * 5 5 0 0 15 3 15
Saudi Arabia * 5 4 0 1 10 5 12
Singapore 5 1 0 4 5 12 3
Lebanon 5 0 0 5 2 12 0




Group 5
Iran * 5 2 3 0 5 2 9
United Arab Emirates 5 2 2 1 6 4 8
Syria 5 1 2 2 4 7 5
Kuwait 5 1 1 3 8 10 4

* Teams qualified for the next stage

All group winners and runners-up advance to Round Four, which consists of 2 round-robin, home-and-away groups of 5 teams.

[Galactus]

New Zealand 3 3 0 0 8 2 9
New Caledonia 4 2 2 0 11 4 8
Fiji 3 0 1 2 3 9 1
Vanuatu 4 0 1 3 3 10 1

[Galactus]

The top 4 teams qualify for the FIFA World Cup™. The 5th placed team enters a home-and-away playoff with the 4th placed team from North,Central America & Caribbean.


Paraguay 6 4 1 1 13 5 13
Argentina 6 3 2 1 9 3 11
Colombia 6 2 4 0 4 2 10
Chile 6 3 1 2 9 9 10
Brazil 6 2 3 1 8 4 9
Uruguay 6 2 2 2 15 6 8
Venezuela 6 2 1 3 9 10 7
Ecuador 6 1 2 3 7 13 5
Bolivia 6 1 1 4 7 17 4
Peru 6 0 3 3 3 15 3

[Showtime]

USA beat up on Barbados 9-0 & 1-0, wow.

http://www.goal.com/images/31467.jpg

[Watson]

Canada beat St Vincent :O

[Galactus]

22/06/08 15:00 HARARE Zimbabwe 0:0 Kenya
22/06/08 15:00 MAPUTO Mozambique 3:0 (1:0) Madagascar
22/06/08 15:00 BRIDGETOWN Barbados 0:1 (0:1) USA
22/06/08 15:30 BRAZZAVILLE Congo 2:0 (1:0) Chad
22/06/08 15:30 KINSHASA Congo DR 5:1 (2:0) Djibouti
22/06/08 15:30 GEORGETOWN Guyana 1:2 (0:2) Suriname
22/06/08 16:00 PRAIA Cape Verde Islands 3:1 (1:0) Mauritius
22/06/08 16:00 COTONOU Benin 2:0 (1:0) Niger
22/06/08 16:00 ABIDJAN Côte d'Ivoire 4:0 (2:0) Botswana
22/06/08 16:00 ADDIS ABEBA Ethiopia 6:1 (1:1) Mauritania
22/06/08 17:00 CONAKRY Guinea 4:0 (2:0) Namibia
22/06/08 17:00 ACCRA Ghana 2:0 (1:0) Gabon
22/06/08 17:00 HAVANA Cuba 4:0 (2:0) Antigua and Barbuda
22/06/08 18:00 SYDNEY Australia 0:1 (0:1) China PR
22/06/08 18:00 MUSCAT Oman 2:1 (0:1) Thailand
22/06/08 18:00 AMMAN Jordan 2:0 (0:0) Turkmenistan
22/06/08 18:00 BEIRUT Lebanon 1:2 (0:0) Singapore
22/06/08 18:00 BAMAKO Mali 3:0 (1:0) Sudan
22/06/08 18:00 SAN SALVADOR El Salvador 3:1 (0:1) Panama
22/06/08 18:00 Netherlands Antilles 0:1 (0:0) Haiti
22/06/08 19:20 SAITAMA Japan 1:0 (0:0) Bahrain
22/06/08 19:30 PROSPECT Bermuda 0:2 (0:1) Trinidad and Tobago
22/06/08 20:00 DUBAI Iraq 0:1 (0:0) Qatar
22/06/08 20:00 SEOUL Korea Republic 0:0 Korea DPR
22/06/08 20:00 AL AIN CITY United Arab Emirates 1:3 (0:1) Syria
22/06/08 20:30 TEHRAN Iran 2:0 (1:0) Kuwait
22/06/08 21:00 RIYADH Saudi Arabia 4:0 (2:0) Uzbekistan
22/06/08 21:00 CAIRO Egypt 2:0 (1:0) Malawi

[Galactus]

The 12 winners will contest Round Three, where Teams will be grouped into 3 round-robin, home-and-away groups of 4 teams.

USA
Guatemala
Trinidad and Tobago
Cuba
Mexico
Jamaica
Honduras
Canada
Costa Rica
Suriname
El Salvador
Haiti

[Galactus]

Group 1
Cameroon 4 3 1 0 7 1 10
Cape Verde Islands 4 3 0 1 5 3 9
Tanzania 4 0 2 2 2 4 2
Mauritius 4 0 1 3 2 8 1




Group 2
Guinea 4 2 1 1 6 3 7
Kenya 4 2 1 1 5 2 7
Zimbabwe 4 1 2 1 2 2 5
Namibia 4 1 0 3 3 9 3




Group 3
Benin 4 3 0 1 8 4 9
Angola 3 2 0 1 6 4 6
Uganda 3 2 0 1 5 5 6
Niger 4 0 0 4 1 7 0




Group 4
Nigeria * 4 4 0 0 6 0 12
South Africa 4 1 1 2 4 4 4
Sierra Leone 4 1 1 2 1 3 4
Equatorial Guinea 4 1 0 3 3 7 3




Group 5
Ghana 4 3 0 1 8 4 9
Libya 4 3 0 1 6 3 9
Gabon 3 1 0 2 2 3 3
Lesotho 3 0 0 3 2 8 0




Group 6
Senegal 4 2 2 0 6 3 8
Algeria 4 2 0 2 4 2 6
Gambia 4 1 2 1 2 2 5
Liberia 4 0 2 2 4 9 2




Group 7
Côte d'Ivoire 4 2 2 0 6 1 8
Botswana 4 1 2 1 3 6 5
Mozambique 4 1 1 2 5 4 4
Madagascar 4 0 3 1 1 4 3




Group 8
Morocco 4 3 0 1 10 4 9
Rwanda 4 3 0 1 8 4 9
Ethiopia 4 2 0 2 8 6 6
Mauritania 4 0 0 4 2 14 0




Group 9
Burkina Faso 4 4 0 0 11 4 12
Tunisia 4 3 0 1 6 3 9
Burundi 4 1 0 3 2 5 3
Seychelles 4 0 0 4 3 10 0




Group 10
Mali 4 3 0 1 11 6 9
Congo 4 2 0 2 6 6 6
Chad 3 1 0 2 3 5 3
Sudan 3 1 0 2 3 6 3




Group 11
Swaziland 3 1 1 1 2 2 4
Zambia 3 1 1 1 1 1 4
Togo 2 1 0 1 2 2 3




Group 12
Congo DR 4 3 0 1 13 3 9
Egypt 4 3 0 1 8 2 9
Malawi 4 2 0 2 9 4 6
Djibouti 4 0 0 4 2 23 0

The 12 group winners and 8 best runners-up will advance to Round Three. The 20 teams will then be grouped into 5 round-robin, home-and-away groups of 4 teams.

* Teams qualified for the next stage

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Group 1
Australia * 6 3 1 2 7 3 10
Qatar * 6 3 1 2 5 6 10
Iraq 6 2 1 3 4 6 7
China PR 6 1 3 2 3 4 6





Group 2
Japan * 6 4 1 1 12 3 13
Bahrain * 6 3 2 1 7 5 11
Oman 6 2 2 2 5 7 8
Thailand 6 0 1 5 5 14 1




Group 3
Korea Republic * 6 3 3 0 10 3 12
Korea DPR * 6 3 3 0 4 0 12
Jordan 6 2 1 3 6 6 7
Turkmenistan 6 0 1 5 1 12 1




Group 4
Saudi Arabia * 6 5 0 1 14 5 15
Uzbekistan * 6 5 0 1 15 7 15
Singapore 6 2 0 4 7 13 6
Lebanon 6 0 0 6 3 14 0




Group 5
Iran * 6 3 3 0 7 2 12
United Arab Emirates * 6 2 2 2 7 7 8
Syria 6 2 2 2 7 8 8
Kuwait 6 1 1 4 8 12 4

* Teams qualified for the next stage

[Galactus]

23/06/08 15:30 LUANDA Angola 0:0 Uganda

[Galactus]

Twelve teams are still alive in North, Central America and Caribbean qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. The survivors have been placed into three intriguing groups of four, with Group 2 looking like a neutral fan's dream as Mexico, Honduras, Jamaica and Canada all battle for two spots in the final round.

Join FIFA.com for a closer look at the upcoming action in the New World.

Group 1: USA face tough travels
USA, Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba

USA will be favourites to take top spot in the section, but will have to get through some hostile travels to do so. After beating Barbados 9-0 on aggregate to reach the first group stage, the Americans will face a first trip to Cuban shores for 61 years, a date at Guatemala's intimidating Estadio Mateo Flores and a test in Port of Spain against a resurgent Trinidad and Tobago.

"Anything can happen on any day in the game of soccer, so you have to be focused, especially during qualifying," said US defender Danny Califf, knowing full well the pitfalls that face his side. Cuba, with new German coach Reinhold Fanz leading the way, will be a tricky proposition after their 8-3 aggregate win over Antigua and Barbuda, as will Guatemala who coasted past St. Lucia without extending themselves. Trinidad and Tobago, who just edged past Bermuda in the last round, will be a tough foe too should they find their form and get Sunderland star Kenwyne Jones back from injury. "We were not up to our usual standard in the first games against Bermuda," said captain Aurtis Whitley. "We will need to do a lot of improving if we are going to be ready for the group portion of qualifying."

Group 2: Baptism of fire for Sven
Mexico, Honduras, Jamaica and Canada

Mexico have been handed a monumental task in their group, facing down no less than Honduras and their Inter Milan star David Suazo, a Rene Simoes-led Jamaica, captained by Ricardo Gardner, and Canada, with the likes of Julian De Guzman, Dwayne De Rosario and Paul Stalteri.

El Tri, who beat Belize 9-0 over two legs in their first round, are bound to have a far tougher time of it in their group, with only the top two finishers moving on. "The next round will be very different with stronger teams and a higher level of football," said Carlos Salcido. "But we have to be positive and think we are going to get through and qualify for South Africa. We know we still have a lot of improving to do," he added, seemingly pointing the finger at new boss Sven-Goran Eriksson, who is about to wade into CONCACAF waters for the first time.

Honduras had little trouble dispatching Puerto Rico in their first round, and Jamaica, after years of decline, look set to scale the heights again, beating the Bahamas 13-0 over two legs. Canada, with a squad brimming with talent based in Europe and the USA's MLS, should not be underestimated either as they aim to return to their second FIFA World Cup finals after reaching Mexico 1986.

Group 3: Ticos tipped
Costa Rica, Suriname, Haiti and El Salvador

Costa Rica are the fancied side to take top honours in this section. Despite a wobbly start to qualifying that included a 2-2 draw on the road in Grenada, the Ticos look like the established class act of Group 3.

"We are in the group stages and that was our goal," said Costa Rica coach Hernan Medford. "Now we will need to focus on our task and get better than we have been up to now." The side, led by FC Sion man Alvaro Saborio and young star Celso Borges, will have to face some tricky away dates. Haiti, reigning champions of the Caribbean, had a slow start to qualifying but are bound to be a tough prospect in Port au Prince, while the long trip to Suriname, in the northeast corner of South America, is bound to take its toll.

El Salvador were the true surprise packages of the previous round, knocking out fifth-placed CONCACAF side and runners-up at the 2005 Gold Cup, Panama. The victory was a testament to the team's revival under coach Carlos de los Cobos and the home-field advantage of their Estadio Cuscatlan in the capital of San Salvador. Once a power in Central America, the Salvadorans are hoping to reach the finals for the first time since 1982.

The winners and runners-up from each group will progress to the six-team final-round group in CONCACAF. The games will take place between August and November 2008.

[Galactus]

Asia's last ten teams discovered the hurdles they must overcome to reach the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ on Friday when the draw for the continent's qualifying fourth and final round took place at the AFC House, Kuala Lumpur.

Qualifying final round draw
Group 1: Australia, Japan, Bahrain, Uzbekistan, Qatar
Group 2: Korea Republic, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Korea DPR, United Arab Emirates

The final line-up saw the ten sides divided into two groups of five, with the top two finishers from each group automatically progressing to South Africa 2010. The two third-placed teams will lock horns in a playoff, with the winners facing the Oceania representatives in another two-leg play-off for a spot at the global showpiece.

The qualifying final campaign kicks off on 6 September, lasting a little over nine months until the last round on 17 June 2009.

A familiar rivalry resumes in both groups, with four pairs of opponents locking horns in re-matches, having played against each other in the previous qualifying stage. Group 1 top seeds Australia, who twice defeated Qatar in the last round, will be hoping to continue their hold over the Gulf side when they re-meet on Matchday 3 on 15 October.

Japan will open up with an away match on 6 September against Bahrain, who emerged 1-0 winners at Manama when the sides met in the third stage. While the Socceroos and the Boys in Blue are hotly tipped to dominate this group, Uzbekistan have proved they are more than capable of mounting a serious challenge, and both Bahrain and Qatar are expected to raise their game against the group's so-called big boys.

In Group 2, the two teams from the Korean peninsula will lock horns again, after progressing hand in hand from the same group into the final qualifying stage. The other "re-match" is between Iran and the UAE, while Saudi Arabia enter this competition determined to book their fifth consecutive appearance at the FIFA World Cup.

No easy games
While the draw held the attention of millions of fans across Asia, a host of footballing celebrities attended the event staged at the AFC headquarters. Those present included AFC General Secretary Paul Mony Samuel, FIFA representative Alexander Klosterkemper and Iran coach Ali Daei.

The draw threw up some intriguing pairings, which left the coaches with much to ponder over the fixtures to come. Despite being placed in different groups, the two coaches of Australia and Korea Republic independently remarked that no opponents could be underestimated.

"Every team will give us problems," remarked Australia manager Pim Verbeek, whose Korea Republic counterpart Huh Jung-Moo was quick to echo his opinions. "No game will be easy in the final phase," said Huh.

Bahrain coach Milan Macala, who has spent the past decade coaching a number of Asian teams, drew the conclusion through his immense experiences. "Every team has an equal chance," said the 64-year-old. "All of the qualified teams are competitive and strong. Anyone can win any match."

Match schedule (TBC):
(The ten teams, divided into two groups of five, will play home-and-away. Home teams given first)

Matchday 1: 6 September 2008 - 3 v 2, 5 v 4 (1 bye)
MD 2: 10 September 2008 - 4 v 1; 5 v 3 (2 bye)
MD 3: 15 October 2008 - 1 v 5; 2 v 4 (3 bye)
MD 4: 19 November 2008 - 5 v 2; 3 v 1 (4 bye)
MD 5: 11 February 2009 - 4 v 3; 2 v 1 (5 bye)
MD 6: 28 March 2009 - 2 v 3, 4 v 5 (1 bye)
MD 7: 1 April 2009 - 1 v 4; 3 v 5 (2 bye)
MD 8: 6 June 2009 - 5 v 1; 4 v 2 (3 bye)
MD 9: 10 June 2009 - 2 v 5; 1 v 3 (4 bye)
MD 10: 17 June 2009 - 3 v 4; 1 v 2 (5 bye)

[Galactus]

28/06/08 15:45 LIBREVILLE Gabon 2:0 (1:0) Lesotho

[Galactus]

The wait is finally over for the 12 teams from North, Central America and the Caribbean still in contention for a place at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. This week will see six fascinating ties played out across the region and millions of passionate fans willing their teams on to victory.

Group A: USA facing Guatemalan examination
The clear favourites to emerge from this pool will be regional giants the USA. The Stars and Stripes have progressed considerably since Bob Bradley took up the coaching reins in 2006, recording, among other notable results, a scoreless draw with Argentina in June 2008.

That said, it would be a mistake for the North Americans to take anything for granted ahead of their trip to Guatemala. Currently skippered by Carlos "Pescadito" Ruiz, the Chapines have been steadily improving since the disappointment of missing out on a playoff spot for Germany 2006 by the smallest of margins. With the experienced Ramon Maradiaga calling the shots from the bench, the Central Americans will be hoping to make the most of home advantage and spring the first big surprise of this group phase.

In the group's other fixture, Trinidad and Tobago will be hoping their quest for back-to-back FIFA World Cup appearances gets off to a perfect start when they travel to Havana to face an up-and-coming Cuba side. Now coached by Reinhold Fanz, the locals will be nothing if not prepared after recently completing a 15-match tour of Fanz's native Germany.

Group B: Heat on in the Azteca
If there is a standout game on matchday 1, then it is probably the meeting of Mexico and Honduras at the legendary Estadio Azteca in the Mexican capital. The game marks the competitive debut of El Tri's new coach Sven Goran Eriksson, who, leaving nothing to chance, has called upon 12 members of his foreign legion. Among their number is veteran midfielder Cuauhtemoc Blanco, currently enjoying a new lease of life with Chicago Fire in the USA.

It is widely felt that the Honduran side they will be facing is the best in the country's history. Leading by example will be their captain and perhaps the most accomplished striker in the region, Inter Milan's David Suazo, who will be joined by Julio Cesar Leon and Wilson Palacios, two other Catracho stars enjoying successful careers on the old continent.

Group B's other encounter should be no less enthralling, pitting as it does a Canadian side boasting star player Julian de Guzman against a Jamaican XI containing a host of English-based players. The Reggae Boyz have been further boosted by the return of their former coach Rene Simoes, who led the country to their one and only FIFA World Cup appearance at France 98.

Group C: A Central American classic
The third section kicks off with the latest instalment of Costa Rica - El Salvador, a classic confrontation between two of the region's traditional big guns. In fact, the pair are the only two Central American sides to have graced the finals of the FIFA World Cup on more than one occasion: the Ticos appearing at Italy 1990, Korea/Japan 2002 and Germany 2006, and the Salvadoreans doing the honours at Mexico 1970 and 1986.

Even though Cuscatleco football has been a shadow of its former self in recent years, the Salvadorean national team appear to be heading in the right direction once more under Mexican strategist Carlos de los Cobos. For their part, the Ticos have been struggling to find their best form in recent months, a tendency that saw Hernan Medford make way for Rodrigo Kenton in the Bicolor hotseat.

Despite this, and as De los Cobos himself affirmed recently, Costa Rica will start as clear favourites to win the opening skirmish on home soil, but no one should discount a surprise from the resurgent Cuscatlecos.

Group C's other match has a strong Caribbean flavour to it. Two of the surprise qualifiers for this first group phase, Haiti and Suriname, will both be looking to make headway in their respective bids for glory. Wagneau Eloi's Granaderos can count on their passionate home supporters for the visit of Suriname who, with several of their players competing in the Dutch league, will not be lacking in self-confidence.

Right now the race is wide open, and the only guarantee is the prospect of thrilling action and high drama across the region in the coming months. So all that is left to say is: may the best team win!

[Galactus]

Mexico needed a pair of late goals from Pavel Pardo to avoid defeat at their fabled Azteca on Thursday, while the USA were forced to struggle for their hard-earned three-point haul in Guatemala City. Join FIFA.com for a look back at the first day of group stage 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa qualifying in CONCACAF.

Mexico faced the possibility of only their second-ever defeat at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City when they trailed Honduras 1-0 at half-time, thanks to Julio Cesar De Leon's 35th-minute strike. But Pavel Pardo, veteran of so many tough matches for El Tri, scored twice in three minutes to spare the blushes of new coach Sven-Goran Eriksson and give Mexico all three points.

Later in the day, Mexico's arch-rivals USA managed a 1-0 win in Guatemala on the road despite being dominated for large portions of the match. The Chapines' finishing let them down on the night, and American defender Carlos Bocanegra made them pay with a goal in the 68th minute.

Trinidad and Tobago got off to the perfect start. Two goals from locally-based midfielder Keon Daniel set them on the way to victory over their hosts Cuba in Havana, in the opening game of Group 1. Cornell Glen added a third for T&T in the second half, before Jeniel Marquez gave Cuba a consolation goal three minutes from the close.

Canada were held to a draw by Jamaica in the opening match of Group 2. Spain-based midfielder Julian De Guzman opened the scoring in the 47th minute, but an own goal by Canada keeper Pat Onstad gave the Jamaicans a precious away point.

In a dramatic finish in Port-au-Prince, Suriname, who had gone into a 2-0 lead in the first half through early substitute Christoph Wensley, were pegged back to 2-2 by Haiti in the final minutes of the game. Frantz Gilles gave the home side some hope with a goal in the final minute of normal time, before Brunel Fucien sensationally leveled the scores in added time.

Costa Rica pulled off a win in the day's final game, beating El Salvador at their imposing Saprissa Stadium in San Jose. Alvaro Saborio provided the goal two minutes after the break.

Results
Haiti 2-2 Suriname
Canada 1-1 Jamaica
Cuba 1-3 Trinidad and Tobago
Mexico 2-1 Honduras
Guatemala 0-1 USA
Costa Rica 1-0 El Salvador


First game in the European zone:

20/08/08 22:00 Almaty Kazakhstan 3:0 (3:0) Andorra

[Hotwire]

This was the only soccer thread I noticed, so i figured this would be a good place to ask. I seem to remember seeing an episode of SportsCenter where they showed a played kicking a goal for his own corner all the way to the other end of the field. I however am having trouble finding the video of it. Anyone here familiar with this?

[Galactus]

05/09/08 22:00 Tripoli Libya 1:0 (0:0) Ghana
05/09/08 22:00 Blida Algeria 3:2 (0:0) Senegal
05/09/08 21:00 Djibouti Djibouti 0:3 (0:1) Malawi

[Galactus]

Europe joins the party(FIFA.com)
Friday 5 September 2008

After watching the rest of the world get down to FIFA World Cup™ qualifying business some time ago, Europe's hopefuls will start the long journey to South Africa 2010 on Saturday, with 24 qualifiers taking place across the old continent. Italy, France, Germany and Portugal, the four semi-finalists from Germany 2006, all feature high on the card and while shocks and surprises look unlikely, Europe's major players would be well advised not to take anything for granted at this early stage of the season.

The weekend also sees some high-profile coaches take charge in their first competitive matches, most notably Spain's Vicente Del Bosque, while Marcello Lippi returns to international duty with reigning world champions Italy.

The big game
Spain-Bosnia-Herzegovina, Saturday 6 September, Murcia, 22.00 (local time)

The European champions and current FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking leaders will have to make do without two key men when they entertain the Bosnians on Saturday, with striker Fernando Torres and midfielder David Silva both out through injury. Although Del Bosque has called up Barcelona starlet Bojan Krkic as cover, the task of leading the line will fall to David Villa, while the midfield duo of Diego Capel and Santi Cazorla have both been wearing the first-team bibs in training this week. Still basking in the afterglow of their side's triumph at UEFA EURO 2008, the home fans will be expecting nothing less than victory. The last time the two met on Spanish soil, however, the Balkan side came away with a creditable 1-1 draw.

Elsewhere
England supremo Fabio Capello take his new charges to Barcelona for a Group 6 opener against Andorra in his first official outing. And while three points should be England's for the taking, memories are still fresh of their last meeting with the part-timers in a EURO 2008 qualifier, when Steve McClaren's side were held goalless for 45 minutes before running out 3-0 winners.

Traditionally slow starters in qualifying competitions, Italy will need no reminding of the pitfalls they face when they travel to Cyprus, while Germany should have no problems disposing of Liechtenstein despite the absences of Michael Ballack and Torsten Frings. Carlos Queiroz's Portugal will be expecting a similarly easy ride in Malta.

France's record of never having never lost an official match in Vienna will be put to the test when they take on an Austria side heartened by a recent 2-2 draw in a friendly with Italy. Les Bleus coach Raymond Domenech is under severe scrutiny after a dismal showing at EURO 2008, and with the French FA set to review his position after three qualifying matches anything less than a victory on Saturday could seal his fate.

Kakha Kaladze is hoping Georgia can bring a smile to the faces of the people back home when they take on Giovanni Trapattoni's Republic of Ireland on neutral ground in Mainz, Germany. Elsewhere, Ottmar Hitzfeld makes his much-awaited debut in the Switzerland dugout in a potentially decisive Group 2 encounter away to Israel.

Player to watch
Veteran Swedish goalscorer Henrik Larsson will win his 100th cap when he turns out against Albania in Tirana. The former Celtic and Manchester United striker, now with Helsingborg, will also be sporting the captain's armband for the occasion.

The stat
Spain and Bosnia-Herzegovina have been drawn together in the same section for the third consecutive time. In the qualifiers for Korea/Japan 2002 the Spaniards earned a 4-1 win at home and 2-1 victory in Sarajevo, but when the two sides met again on the road to Germany 2006 it was a slightly different story. The Bosnians held the future European champions to a brace of 1-1 draws on both occasions and came within a whisker of winning the away fixture in Valencia when a Carlos Marchena equaliser six minutes into stoppage time spared Spanish blushes.

What they said
"We're convinced we've got the players to make a big impression in major competitions, which is something we haven't done for the last few years now. I hope that's about to change," England forward Wayne Rooney

[Galactus]

06/09/08 15:00 Ba Fiji 2:0 (1:0) Vanuatu
06/09/08 15:00 Curepipe Mauritius 1:4 (1:4) Tanzania
06/09/08 15:00 Cardiff Wales 1:0 (0:0) Azerbaijan
06/09/08 15:00 Port Elizabeth South Africa 0:1 (0:0) Nigeria
06/09/08 15:00 Skopje Macedonia FYR 1:0 (1:0) Scotland
06/09/08 16:00 Buenos Aires Argentina 1:1 (0:1) Paraguay
06/09/08 16:00 Praia Cape Verde Islands 1:2 (1:0) Cameroon
06/09/08 16:00 Nairobi Kenya 1:0 (1:0) Namibia
06/09/08 16:10 Quito Ecuador 3:1 (1:1) Bolivia
06/09/08 16:30 Freetown Sierra Leone 2:1 (1:0) Equatorial Guinea
06/09/08 16:30 Banjul Gambia 3:0 (2:0) Liberia
06/09/08 16:30 Victoria (Sey) Seychelles 1:2 (0:1) Burundi
06/09/08 17:00 Noumea New Caledonia 1:3 (0:1) New Zealand
06/09/08 17:00 Wroclaw Poland 1:1 (1:1) Slovenia
06/09/08 17:00 Nouakchott Mauritania 0:1 (0:0) Rwanda
06/09/08 17:00 Mexico City Mexico 3:0 (2:0) Jamaica
06/09/08 17:30 Bratislava Slovakia 2:1 (0:0) Northern Ireland
06/09/08 17:30 Port Of Spain Trinidad and Tobago 1:1 (0:0) Guatemala
06/09/08 18:00 Mainz Georgia 1:2 (0:1) Ireland Republic
06/09/08 18:00 Ouagadougou Burkina Faso 0:0 Tunisia
06/09/08 18:20 Bogota Colombia 0:1 (0:1) Uruguay
06/09/08 18:45 Tirana Albania 0:0 Sweden
06/09/08 19:00 Tiraspol Moldova 1:2 (0:2) Latvia
06/09/08 19:00 Oslo Norway 2:2 (1:1) Iceland
06/09/08 19:45 Budapest Hungary 0:0 Denmark
06/09/08 20:00 Ta'Qali Malta 0:4 (0:1) Portugal
06/09/08 20:00 Barcelona Andorra 0:2 (0:0) England
06/09/08 20:00 Lviv Ukraine 1:0 (0:0) Belarus
06/09/08 20:00 Podgorica Montenegro 2:2 (0:1) Bulgaria
06/09/08 20:00 Montreal Canada 1:2 (1:0) Honduras
06/09/08 20:00 San Jose Costa Rica 7:0 (2:0) Suriname
06/09/08 20:00 San Salvador El Salvador 5:0 (2:0) Haiti
06/09/08 20:11 Havana Cuba 0:1 (0:1) USA
06/09/08 20:15 Luxembourg Luxembourg 0:3 (0:2) Greece
06/09/08 20:15 Zagreb Croatia 3:0 (2:0) Kazakhstan
06/09/08 20:15 Belgrade Serbia 2:0 (1:0) Faroe Islands
06/09/08 20:30 Lima Peru 1:0 (1:0) Venezuela
06/09/08 20:45 Vaduz Liechtenstein 0:6 (0:1) Germany
06/09/08 20:45 Liege Belgium 3:2 (1:0) Estonia
06/09/08 20:45 Vienna Austria 3:1 (2:0) France
06/09/08 20:55 Ramat Gan Israel 2:2 (0:1) Switzerland
06/09/08 21:00 Yerevan Armenia 0:2 (0:0) Turkey
06/09/08 21:00 Cluj Romania 0:3 (0:1) Lithuania
06/09/08 21:30 Manama Bahrain 2:3 (0:2) Japan
06/09/08 21:45 Larnaca Cyprus 1:2 (1:1) Italy
06/09/08 22:00 Murcia Spain 1:0 (0:0) Bosnia-Herzegovina
06/09/08 22:00 Doha Qatar 3:0 (1:0) Uzbekistan
06/09/08 22:00 Cairo Sudan 1:2 (0:1) Chad
06/09/08 22:15 Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates 1:2 (0:0) Korea DPR
06/09/08 22:15 Riyadh Saudi Arabia 1:1 (1:0) Iran

[Galactus]

Africa

Group 1
Cameroon 5 4 1 0 9 2 13
Cape Verde Islands 5 3 0 2 6 5 9
Tanzania 5 1 2 2 6 5 5
Mauritius 5 0 1 4 3 12 1




Group 2
Kenya 5 3 1 1 6 2 10
Guinea 4 2 1 1 6 3 7
Zimbabwe 4 1 2 1 2 2 5
Namibia 5 1 0 4 3 10 3



Group 3
Benin 4 3 0 1 8 4 9
Angola 4 2 1 1 6 4 7
Uganda 4 2 1 1 5 5 7
Niger 4 0 0 4 1 7 0




Group 4
Nigeria * 5 5 0 0 7 0 15
Sierra Leone 5 2 1 2 3 4 7
South Africa 5 1 1 3 4 5 4
Equatorial Guinea 5 1 0 4 4 9 3




Group 5
Libya 5 4 0 1 7 3 12
Ghana 5 3 0 2 8 5 9
Gabon 4 2 0 2 4 3 6
Lesotho 4 0 0 4 2 10 0




Group 6
Algeria 5 3 0 2 7 4 9
Gambia 5 2 2 1 5 2 8
Senegal 5 2 2 1 8 6 8
Liberia 5 0 2 3 4 12 2




Group 7
Côte d'Ivoire 4 2 2 0 6 1 8
Madagascar 5 1 3 1 2 4 6
Botswana 5 1 2 2 3 7 5
Mozambique 4 1 1 2 5 4 4



Group 8
Rwanda 5 4 0 1 9 4 12
Morocco 4 3 0 1 10 4 9
Ethiopia 4 2 0 2 8 6 6
Mauritania 5 0 0 5 2 15 0




Group 9
Burkina Faso 5 4 1 0 11 4 13
Tunisia 5 3 1 1 6 3 10
Burundi 5 2 0 3 4 6 6
Seychelles 5 0 0 5 4 12 0




Group 10
Mali 4 3 0 1 11 6 9
Congo 4 2 0 2 6 6 6
Chad 4 2 0 2 5 6 6
Sudan 4 1 0 3 4 8 3




Group 11
Swaziland 3 1 1 1 2 2 4
Zambia 3 1 1 1 1 1 4
Togo 2 1 0 1 2 2 3




Group 12
Congo DR 4 3 0 1 13 3 9
Malawi 5 3 0 2 12 4 9
Egypt 4 3 0 1 8 2 9
Djibouti 5 0 0 5 2 26 0

* Teams qualified for the next stage

[Galactus]

Asia

Group 1
Qatar 1 1 0 0 3 0 3
Japan 1 1 0 0 3 2 3
Australia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bahrain 1 0 0 1 2 3 0
Uzbekistan 1 0 0 1 0 3 0




Group 2
Korea DPR 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
Iran 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Saudi Arabia 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Korea Republic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
United Arab Emirates 1 0 0 1 1 2 0

[Galactus]

Europe

Group 1
Portugal 1 1 0 0 4 0 3
Sweden 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Denmark 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Hungary 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Albania 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Malta 1 0 0 1 0 4 0




Group 2
Greece 1 1 0 0 3 0 3
Latvia 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
Israel 1 0 1 0 2 2 1
Switzerland 1 0 1 0 2 2 1
Moldova 1 0 0 1 1 2 0
Luxembourg 1 0 0 1 0 3 0




Group 3
Slovakia 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
Poland 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Slovenia 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Czech Republic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
San Marino 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Northern Ireland 1 0 0 1 1 2 0




Group 4
Germany 1 1 0 0 6 0 3
Wales 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
Finland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Russia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Azerbaijan 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
Liechtenstein 1 0 0 1 0 6 0




Group 5
Turkey 1 1 0 0 2 0 3
Belgium 1 1 0 0 3 2 3
Spain 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
Estonia 1 0 0 1 2 3 0
Bosnia-Herzegovina 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
Armenia 1 0 0 1 0 2 0




Group 6
Croatia 1 1 0 0 3 0 3
England 1 1 0 0 2 0 3
Ukraine 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
Kazakhstan 2 1 0 1 3 3 3
Belarus 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
Andorra 2 0 0 2 0 5 0




Group 7
Lithuania 1 1 0 0 3 0 3
Austria 1 1 0 0 3 1 3
Serbia 1 1 0 0 2 0 3
France 1 0 0 1 1 3 0
Faroe Islands 1 0 0 1 0 2 0
Romania 1 0 0 1 0 3 0




Group 8
Ireland Republic 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
Italy 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
Bulgaria 1 0 1 0 2 2 1
Montenegro 1 0 1 0 2 2 1
Cyprus 1 0 0 1 1 2 0
Georgia 1 0 0 1 1 2 0




Group 9
Macedonia FYR 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
Iceland 1 0 1 0 2 2 1
Norway 1 0 1 0 2 2 1
Netherlands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Scotland 1 0 0 1 0 1 0

[Galactus]

North America

Group 1
USA 2 2 0 0 2 0 6
Trinidad and Tobago 2 1 1 0 4 2 4
Guatemala 2 0 1 1 1 2 1
Cuba 2 0 0 2 1 4 0




Group 2
Mexico 2 2 0 0 5 1 6
Honduras 2 1 0 1 3 3 3
Canada 2 0 1 1 2 3 1
Jamaica 2 0 1 1 1 4 1




Group 3
Costa Rica 2 2 0 0 8 0 6
El Salvador 2 1 0 1 5 1 3
Haiti 2 0 1 1 2 7 1
Suriname 2 0 1 1 2 9 1

[Galactus]

Oceania

New Zealand 4 4 0 0 11 3 12
New Caledonia 5 2 2 1 12 7 8
Fiji 4 1 1 2 5 9 4
Vanuatu 5 0 1 4 3 12 1

[Galactus]

South America

Paraguay 7 4 2 1 14 6 14
Argentina 7 3 3 1 10 4 12
Uruguay 7 3 2 2 16 6 11
Colombia 7 2 4 1 4 3 10
Chile 6 3 1 2 9 9 10
Brazil 6 2 3 1 8 4 9
Ecuador 7 2 2 3 10 14 8
Venezuela 7 2 1 4 9 11 7
Peru 7 1 3 3 4 15 6
Bolivia 7 1 1 5 8 20 4

[Galactus]

07/09/08 14:30 Antananarivo Madagascar 1:0 (1:0) Botswana
07/09/08 15:00 Harare Zimbabwe 0:0 Guinea
07/09/08 15:00 Bloemfontein Lesotho 0:3 (0:1) Gabon
07/09/08 15:00 Maputo Mozambique 1:1 (0:0) Côte d'Ivoire
07/09/08 15:30 Brazzaville Congo 1:0 (0:0) Mali
07/09/08 15:30 Kinshasa Congo DR 0:1 (0:1) Egypt
07/09/08 16:00 Cotonou Benin 3:2 (1:1) Angola
07/09/08 16:00 Addis Abeba Ethiopia Cancelled Morocco
07/09/08 16:30 Niamey Niger 3:1 (0:1) Uganda
07/09/08 21:00 Santiago De Chile Chile 0:3 (0:2) Brazil

[Galactus]

Africa

Group 1
Cameroon * 5 4 1 0 9 2 13
Cape Verde Islands 5 3 0 2 6 5 9
Tanzania 5 1 2 2 6 5 5
Mauritius 5 0 1 4 3 12 1




Group 2
Kenya 5 3 1 1 6 2 10
Guinea 5 2 2 1 6 3 8
Zimbabwe 5 1 3 1 2 2 6
Namibia 5 1 0 4 3 10 3




Group 3
Benin * 5 4 0 1 11 6 12
Angola 5 2 1 2 8 7 7
Uganda 5 2 1 2 6 8 7
Niger 5 1 0 4 4 8 3




Group 4
Nigeria * 5 5 0 0 7 0 15
Sierra Leone 5 2 1 2 3 4 7
South Africa 5 1 1 3 4 5 4
Equatorial Guinea 5 1 0 4 4 9 3




Group 5
Libya 5 4 0 1 7 3 12
Gabon 5 3 0 2 7 3 9
Ghana 5 3 0 2 8 5 9
Lesotho 5 0 0 5 2 13 0




Group 6
Algeria 5 3 0 2 7 4 9
Gambia 5 2 2 1 5 2 8
Senegal 5 2 2 1 8 6 8
Liberia 5 0 2 3 4 12 2




Group 7
Côte d'Ivoire 5 2 3 0 7 2 9
Madagascar 5 1 3 1 2 4 6
Mozambique 5 1 2 2 6 5 5
Botswana 5 1 2 2 3 7 5




Group 8
Rwanda 5 4 0 1 9 4 12
Morocco 4 3 0 1 10 4 9
Ethiopia 4 2 0 2 8 6 6
Mauritania 5 0 0 5 2 15 0




Group 9
Burkina Faso 5 4 1 0 11 4 13
Tunisia 5 3 1 1 6 3 10
Burundi 5 2 0 3 4 6 6
Seychelles 5 0 0 5 4 12 0




Group 10
Mali 5 3 0 2 11 7 9
Congo 5 3 0 2 7 6 9
Chad 4 2 0 2 5 6 6
Sudan 4 1 0 3 4 8 3




Group 11
Swaziland 3 1 1 1 2 2 4
Zambia 3 1 1 1 1 1 4
Togo 2 1 0 1 2 2 3




Group 12
Egypt 5 4 0 1 9 2 12
Congo DR 5 3 0 2 13 4 9
Malawi 5 3 0 2 12 4 9
Djibouti 5 0 0 5 2 26 0


* Teams qualified for the next stage

[Galactus]

South America

Paraguay 7 4 2 1 14 6 14
Brazil 7 3 3 1 11 4 12
Argentina 7 3 3 1 10 4 12
Uruguay 7 3 2 2 16 6 11
Colombia 7 2 4 1 4 3 10
Chile 7 3 1 3 9 12 10
Ecuador 7 2 2 3 10 14 8
Venezuela 7 2 1 4 9 11 7
Peru 7 1 3 3 4 15 6
Bolivia 7 1 1 5 8 20 4

[ih8nyy]

This Thread should be called "Galactus types to himself".

[Galactus]

09/09/08 20:00 Asuncion Paraguay 2:0 (2:0) Venezuela
10/09/08 14:00 Port Vila Vanuatu 2:1 (0:0) Fiji
10/09/08 14:00 Chililabombwe Zambia 1:0 (1:0) Togo
10/09/08 16:30 Paramaribo Suriname 0:2 (0:2) El Salvador
10/09/08 17:00 Port-Au-Prince Haiti 1:3 (1:1) Costa Rica
10/09/08 17:30 Torshavn Faroe Islands 0:1 (0:0) Romania
10/09/08 17:40 Montevideo Uruguay 0:0 Ecuador
10/09/08 18:30 Reykjavik Iceland 1:2 (0:1) Scotland
10/09/08 18:40 Santiago De Chile Chile 4:0 (2:0) Colombia
10/09/08 19:00 Moscow Russia 2:1 (1:0) Wales
10/09/08 19:00 Andorra La Vella Andorra 1:3 (0:1) Belarus
10/09/08 19:00 Podgorica Montenegro 0:0 Ireland Republic
10/09/08 19:11 Bridgeview USA 3:0 (2:0) Trinidad and Tobago
10/09/08 19:30 San Pedro Sula Honduras 2:0 (0:0) Jamaica
10/09/08 19:35 Auckland New Zealand 3:0 (0:0) New Caledonia
10/09/08 19:45 Belfast Northern Ireland 0:0 Czech Republic
10/09/08 20:00 Shanghai Korea DPR 1:1 (0:0) Korea Republic
10/09/08 20:00 Guatemala City Guatemala 4:1 (1:1) Cuba
10/09/08 20:00 Tuxtla Gutierrez Mexico 2:1 (0:0) Canada
10/09/08 20:15 Solna Sweden 2:1 (0:0) Hungary
10/09/08 20:15 Zenica Bosnia-Herzegovina 7:0 (2:0) Estonia
10/09/08 20:30 Zürich Switzerland 1:2 (1:1) Luxembourg
10/09/08 20:30 Chisinau Moldova 1:2 (1:2) Israel
10/09/08 20:30 Serravalle San Marino 0:2 (0:1) Poland
10/09/08 20:30 Tashkent Uzbekistan 0:1 (0:1) Australia
10/09/08 20:30 Skopje Macedonia FYR 1:2 (0:0) Netherlands
10/09/08 20:35 Helsinki Finland 3:3 (2:2) Germany
10/09/08 20:45 Lisbon Portugal 2:3 (1:0) Denmark
10/09/08 20:45 Tirana Albania 3:0 (1:0) Malta
10/09/08 20:45 Maribor Slovenia 2:1 (1:0) Slovakia
10/09/08 20:50 Udine Italy 2:0 (1:0) Georgia
10/09/08 21:00 Baku Azerbaijan 0:0 Liechtenstein
10/09/08 21:00 Istanbul Turkey 1:1 (0:1) Belgium
10/09/08 21:00 Zagreb Croatia 1:4 (0:1) England
10/09/08 21:00 Saint-Denis France 2:1 (0:0) Serbia
10/09/08 21:15 Riga Latvia 0:2 (0:1) Greece
10/09/08 21:30 Lima Peru 1:1 (0:0) Argentina
10/09/08 21:30 Marijampole Lithuania 2:0 (0:0) Austria
10/09/08 21:50 Rio De Janeiro Brazil 0:0 Bolivia
10/09/08 22:00 Albacete Spain 4:0 (2:0) Armenia
10/09/08 22:00 Almaty Kazakhstan 1:3 (0:1) Ukraine
10/09/08 22:00 Doha Qatar 1:1 (1:0) Bahrain
10/09/08 22:00 Cairo Chad 1:3 (1:1) Sudan
10/09/08 22:15 Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates 1:2 (1:0) Saudi Arabia

[Galactus]

Africa

Group 1
Cameroon * 5 4 1 0 9 2 13
Cape Verde Islands 5 3 0 2 6 5 9
Tanzania 5 1 2 2 6 5 5
Mauritius 5 0 1 4 3 12 1




Group 2
Kenya 5 3 1 1 6 2 10
Guinea 5 2 2 1 6 3 8
Zimbabwe 5 1 3 1 2 2 6
Namibia 5 1 0 4 3 10 3




Group 3
Benin * 5 4 0 1 11 6 12
Angola 5 2 1 2 8 7 7
Uganda 5 2 1 2 6 8 7
Niger 5 1 0 4 4 8 3




Group 4
Nigeria * 5 5 0 0 7 0 15
Sierra Leone 5 2 1 2 3 4 7
South Africa 5 1 1 3 4 5 4
Equatorial Guinea 5 1 0 4 4 9 3




Group 5
Libya 5 4 0 1 7 3 12
Gabon 5 3 0 2 7 3 9
Ghana 5 3 0 2 8 5 9
Lesotho 5 0 0 5 2 13 0




Group 6
Algeria 5 3 0 2 7 4 9
Gambia 5 2 2 1 5 2 8
Senegal 5 2 2 1 8 6 8
Liberia 5 0 2 3 4 12 2




Group 7
Côte d'Ivoire 5 2 3 0 7 2 9
Madagascar 5 1 3 1 2 4 6
Mozambique 5 1 2 2 6 5 5
Botswana 5 1 2 2 3 7 5




Group 8
Rwanda 5 4 0 1 9 4 12
Morocco 4 3 0 1 10 4 9
Ethiopia 4 2 0 2 8 6 6
Mauritania 5 0 0 5 2 15 0




Group 9
Burkina Faso 5 4 1 0 11 4 13
Tunisia 5 3 1 1 6 3 10
Burundi 5 2 0 3 4 6 6
Seychelles 5 0 0 5 4 12 0




Group 10
Mali 5 3 0 2 11 7 9
Congo 5 3 0 2 7 6 9
Sudan 5 2 0 3 7 9 6
Chad 5 2 0 3 6 9 6




Group 11
Zambia 4 2 1 1 2 1 7
Swaziland 3 1 1 1 2 2 4
Togo 3 1 0 2 2 3 3




Group 12
Egypt 5 4 0 1 9 2 12
Congo DR 5 3 0 2 13 4 9
Malawi 5 3 0 2 12 4 9
Djibouti 5 0 0 5 2 26 0


* Teams qualified for the next stage

[Galactus]

Asia

Group 1
Qatar 2 1 1 0 4 1 4
Japan 1 1 0 0 3 2 3
Australia 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
Bahrain 2 0 1 1 3 4 1
Uzbekistan 2 0 0 2 0 4 0




Group 2
Saudi Arabia 2 1 1 0 3 2 4
Korea DPR 2 1 1 0 3 2 4
Korea Republic 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Iran 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
United Arab Emirates 2 0 0 2 2 4 0

[Galactus]

Europe

Group 1
Albania 2 1 1 0 3 0 4
Denmark 2 1 1 0 3 2 4
Sweden 2 1 1 0 2 1 4
Portugal 2 1 0 1 6 3 3
Hungary 2 0 1 1 1 2 1
Malta 2 0 0 2 0 7 0




Group 2
Greece 2 2 0 0 5 0 6
Israel 2 1 1 0 4 3 4
Latvia 2 1 0 1 2 3 3
Luxembourg 2 1 0 1 2 4 3
Switzerland 2 0 1 1 3 4 1
Moldova 2 0 0 2 2 4 0




Group 3
Poland 2 1 1 0 3 1 4
Slovenia 2 1 1 0 3 2 4
Slovakia 2 1 0 1 3 3 3
Czech Republic 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Northern Ireland 2 0 1 1 1 2 1
San Marino 1 0 0 1 0 2 0




Group 4
Germany 2 1 1 0 9 3 4
Russia 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
Wales 2 1 0 1 2 2 3
Finland 1 0 1 0 3 3 1
Azerbaijan 2 0 1 1 0 1 1
Liechtenstein 2 0 1 1 0 6 1




Group 5
Spain 2 2 0 0 5 0 6
Turkey 2 1 1 0 3 1 4
Belgium 2 1 1 0 4 3 4
Bosnia-Herzegovina 2 1 0 1 7 1 3
Armenia 2 0 0 2 0 6 0
Estonia 2 0 0 2 2 10 0



Group 6
England 2 2 0 0 6 1 6
Ukraine 2 2 0 0 4 1 6
Belarus 2 1 0 1 3 2 3
Croatia 2 1 0 1 4 4 3
Kazakhstan 3 1 0 2 4 6 3
Andorra 3 0 0 3 1 8 0




Group 7
Lithuania 2 2 0 0 5 0 6
Serbia 2 1 0 1 3 2 3
Austria 2 1 0 1 3 3 3
France 2 1 0 1 3 4 3
Romania 2 1 0 1 1 3 3
Faroe Islands 2 0 0 2 0 3 0




Group 8
Italy 2 2 0 0 4 1 6
Ireland Republic 2 1 1 0 2 1 4
Montenegro 2 0 2 0 2 2 2
Bulgaria 1 0 1 0 2 2 1
Cyprus 1 0 0 1 1 2 0
Georgia 2 0 0 2 1 4 0




Group 9
Netherlands 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
Macedonia FYR 2 1 0 1 2 2 3
Scotland 2 1 0 1 2 2 3
Norway 1 0 1 0 2 2 1
Iceland 2 0 1 1 3 4 1

[Galactus]

North America

Group 1
USA 3 3 0 0 5 0 9
Guatemala 3 1 1 1 5 3 4
Trinidad and Tobago 3 1 1 1 4 5 4
Cuba 3 0 0 3 2 8 0




Group 2
Mexico 3 3 0 0 7 2 9
Honduras 3 2 0 1 5 3 6
Canada 3 0 1 2 3 5 1
Jamaica 3 0 1 2 1 6 1




Group 3
Costa Rica 3 3 0 0 11 1 9
El Salvador 3 2 0 1 7 1 6
Haiti 3 0 1 2 3 10 1
Suriname 3 0 1 2 2 11 1

[Galactus]

Oceania

New Zealand 5 5 0 0 14 3 15
New Caledonia 6 2 2 2 12 10 8
Fiji 5 1 1 3 6 11 4
Vanuatu 6 1 1 4 5 13 4

[Galactus]

South America

Paraguay 8 5 2 1 16 6 17
Brazil 8 3 4 1 11 4 13
Argentina 8 3 4 1 11 5 13
Chile 8 4 1 3 13 12 13
Uruguay 8 3 3 2 16 6 12
Colombia 8 2 4 2 4 7 10
Ecuador 8 2 3 3 10 14 9
Venezuela 8 2 1 5 9 13 7
Peru 8 1 4 3 5 16 7
Bolivia 8 1 2 5 8 20 5

[Galactus]

11/10/08 14:30 Sekondi Ghana 3:0 (2:0) Lesotho
11/10/08 14:30 Abidjan Côte d'Ivoire 3:0 (1:0) Madagascar
11/10/08 14:30 Blantyre Malawi 2:1 (0:1) Congo DR
11/10/08 15:00 La Paz Bolivia 3:0 (2:0) Peru
11/10/08 15:00 Glasgow Scotland 0:0 Norway
11/10/08 15:30 Yaounde Cameroon 5:0 (1:0) Mauritius
11/10/08 15:30 Libreville Gabon 1:0 (0:0) Libya
11/10/08 15:30 Accra Togo 6:0 (3:0) Swaziland
11/10/08 16:00 Dar Es Salaam Tanzania 3:1 (2:1) Cape Verde Islands
11/10/08 16:00 Windhoek Namibia 4:2 (3:0) Zimbabwe
11/10/08 16:00 Malabo Equatorial Guinea 0:1 (0:1) South Africa
11/10/08 16:00 Abuja Nigeria 4:1 (3:1) Sierra Leone
11/10/08 16:00 Torshavn Faroe Islands 1:1 (0:0) Austria
11/10/08 16:00 Monrovia Liberia 0:0 Algeria
11/10/08 16:00 Dakar Senegal 1:1 (0:0) Gambia
11/10/08 16:30 Gaborone Botswana 0:1 (0:1) Mozambique
11/10/08 16:30 Paramaribo Suriname 1:4 (0:2) Costa Rica
11/10/08 17:00 Helsinki Finland 1:0 (0:0) Azerbaijan
11/10/08 17:00 Rades Tunisia 5:0 (4:0) Seychelles
11/10/08 17:00 Port-Au-Prince Haiti 0:0 El Salvador
11/10/08 17:15 London England 5:1 (0:0) Kazakhstan
11/10/08 17:30 Cardiff Wales 2:0 (1:0) Liechtenstein
11/10/08 17:45 St. Gall Switzerland 2:1 (0:0) Latvia
11/10/08 18:00 Bamako Mali 2:1 (1:0) Chad
11/10/08 18:10 Buenos Aires Argentina 2:1 (2:1) Uruguay
11/10/08 18:20 Bogota Colombia 0:1 (0:1) Paraguay
11/10/08 19:00 Washington Dc USA 6:1 (2:1) Cuba
11/10/08 19:00 Kingston Jamaica 1:0 (1:0) Mexico
11/10/08 19:30 Rabat Morocco 4:1 (1:0) Mauritania
11/10/08 19:30 San Pedro Sula Honduras 3:1 (1:0) Canada
11/10/08 19:45 Budapest Hungary 2:0 (0:0) Albania
11/10/08 20:00 Copenhagen Denmark 3:0 (2:0) Malta
11/10/08 20:00 Solna Sweden 0:0 Portugal
11/10/08 20:00 Kharkov Ukraine 0:0 Croatia
11/10/08 20:00 Guatemala City Guatemala 0:0 Trinidad and Tobago
11/10/08 20:15 Belgrade Serbia 3:0 (2:0) Lithuania
11/10/08 20:30 Luxembourg Luxembourg 1:3 (1:1) Israel
11/10/08 20:30 Chorzow Poland 2:1 (1:0) Czech Republic
11/10/08 20:30 Serravalle San Marino 1:3 (1:2) Slovakia
11/10/08 20:30 Tbilisi Georgia 1:1 (0:0) Cyprus
11/10/08 20:45 Maribor Slovenia 2:0 (0:0) Northern Ireland
11/10/08 20:45 Dortmund Germany 2:1 (2:0) Russia
11/10/08 20:45 Brussels Belgium 2:0 (2:0) Armenia
11/10/08 20:45 Rotterdam Netherlands 2:0 (1:0) Iceland
11/10/08 21:00 Istanbul Turkey 2:1 (0:1) Bosnia-Herzegovina
11/10/08 21:00 Omdurman Sudan 2:0 (1:0) Congo
11/10/08 21:15 Sofia Bulgaria 0:0 Italy
11/10/08 21:30 Piraeus Greece 3:0 (2:0) Moldova
11/10/08 21:40 Constanta Romania 2:2 (2:1) France
11/10/08 21:45 Tallinn Estonia 0:3 (0:2) Spain

[Galactus]

12/10/08 15:30 San Cristobal Venezuela 0:4 (0:3) Brazil
12/10/08 15:30 Bujumbura Burundi 1:3 (1:1) Burkina Faso
12/10/08 16:00 Conakry Guinea 3:2 (1:0) Kenya
12/10/08 16:00 Luanda Angola 3:1 (0:1) Niger
12/10/08 16:00 Kampala Uganda 2:1 (0:1) Benin
12/10/08 16:55 Quito Ecuador 1:0 (0:0) Chile
12/10/08 20:00 Cairo Egypt 4:0 (1:0) Djibouti

[Galactus]

14/10/08 16:00 La Paz Bolivia 2:2 (2:0) Uruguay

[Banshee]

Fair play Mr. Capello. 4 out of 4 for the best start in English history and the best start of the entire European campaign. People get down on England these days, but I'm remaining quietly optimistic as usual. When they get going at the moment, England look great, particularly the Rooney-Heskey partnership.

[Galactus]

15/10/08 17:00 Tehran Iran 2:1 (1:0) Korea DPR
15/10/08 17:10 Asuncion Paraguay 1:0 (0:0) Peru
15/10/08 17:30 Teplice Czech Republic 1:0 (0:0) Slovenia
15/10/08 18:00 Reykjavik Iceland 1:0 (1:0) Macedonia FYR
15/10/08 19:00 Riga Latvia 1:1 (0:0) Israel
15/10/08 19:00 Moscow Russia 3:0 (1:0) Finland
15/10/08 19:00 Kaunas Lithuania 1:0 (1:0) Faroe Islands
15/10/08 19:00 Oslo Norway 0:1 (0:0) Netherlands
15/10/08 19:00 Kingston Jamaica 1:0 (1:0) Honduras
15/10/08 19:00 Edmonton Canada 2:2 (1:1) Mexico
15/10/08 19:30 Ta'Qali Malta 0:1 (0:1) Hungary
15/10/08 19:30 Brisbane Australia 4:0 (2:0) Qatar
15/10/08 19:32 Saitama Japan 1:1 (1:1) Uzbekistan
15/10/08 19:45 Belfast Northern Ireland 4:0 (2:0) San Marino
15/10/08 19:45 Dublin Ireland Republic 1:0 (1:0) Cyprus
15/10/08 20:00 Seoul Korea Republic 4:1 (2:0) United Arab Emirates
15/10/08 20:00 Havana Cuba 2:1 (1:0) Guatemala
15/10/08 20:00 San Jose Costa Rica 2:0 (1:0) Haiti
15/10/08 20:00 San Salvador El Salvador 3:0 (2:0) Suriname
15/10/08 20:11 Port Of Spain Trinidad and Tobago 2:1 (0:0) USA
15/10/08 20:15 Santiago De Chile Chile 1:0 (1:0) Argentina
15/10/08 20:15 Luxembourg Luxembourg 0:0 Moldova
15/10/08 20:15 Zenica Bosnia-Herzegovina 4:1 (2:0) Armenia
15/10/08 20:15 Zagreb Croatia 4:0 (2:0) Andorra
15/10/08 20:30 Puerto La Cruz Venezuela 3:1 (0:1) Ecuador
15/10/08 20:30 Bratislava Slovakia 2:1 (0:0) Poland
15/10/08 20:30 Vienna Austria 1:3 (0:3) Serbia
15/10/08 20:30 Tbilisi Georgia 0:0 Bulgaria
15/10/08 20:45 Braga Portugal 0:0 Albania
15/10/08 20:45 Moenchengladbach Germany 1:0 (0:0) Wales
15/10/08 20:45 Brussels Belgium 1:2 (1:1) Spain
15/10/08 20:50 Lecce Italy 2:1 (2:1) Montenegro
15/10/08 21:30 Piraeus Greece 1:2 (0:1) Switzerland
15/10/08 21:30 Tallinn Estonia 0:0 Turkey
15/10/08 21:30 Minsk Belarus 1:3 (1:1) England
15/10/08 22:00 Rio De Janeiro Brazil 0:0 Colombia

[Galactus]

Africa

Group 1
Cameroon * 6 5 1 0 14 2 16
Cape Verde Islands 6 3 0 3 7 8 9
Tanzania 6 2 2 2 9 6 8
Mauritius 6 0 1 5 3 17 1




Group 2
Guinea * 6 3 2 1 9 5 11
Kenya * 6 3 1 2 8 5 10
Zimbabwe 6 1 3 2 4 6 6
Namibia 6 2 0 4 7 12 6




Group 3
Benin * 6 4 0 2 12 8 12
Angola 6 3 1 2 11 8 10
Uganda 6 3 1 2 8 9 10
Niger 6 1 0 5 5 11 3




Group 4
Nigeria * 6 6 0 0 11 1 18
South Africa 6 2 1 3 5 5 7
Sierra Leone 6 2 1 3 4 8 7
Equatorial Guinea 6 1 0 5 4 10 3




Group 5
Ghana * 6 4 0 2 11 5 12
Gabon * 6 4 0 2 8 3 12
Libya 6 4 0 2 7 4 12
Lesotho 6 0 0 6 2 16 0




Group 6
Algeria * 6 3 1 2 7 4 10
Gambia 6 2 3 1 6 3 9
Senegal 6 2 3 1 9 7 9
Liberia 6 0 3 3 4 12 3




Group 7
Côte d'Ivoire * 6 3 3 0 10 2 12
Mozambique * 6 2 2 2 7 5 8
Madagascar 6 1 3 2 2 7 6
Botswana 6 1 2 3 3 8 5




Group 8
Morocco * 4 3 0 1 11 5 9
Rwanda * 4 3 0 1 7 3 9
Ethiopia 2 2 0 0 7 1 6
Mauritania 6 0 0 6 3 19 0




Group 9
Burkina Faso * 6 5 1 0 14 5 16
Tunisia * 6 4 1 1 11 3 13
Burundi 6 2 0 4 5 9 6
Seychelles 6 0 0 6 4 17 0




Group 10
Mali * 6 4 0 2 13 8 12
Sudan * 6 3 0 3 9 9 9
Congo 6 3 0 3 7 8 9
Chad 6 2 0 4 7 11 6




Group 11
Zambia * 4 2 1 1 2 1 7
Togo * 4 2 0 2 8 3 6
Swaziland 4 1 1 2 2 8 4




Group 12
Egypt * 6 5 0 1 13 2 15
Malawi * 6 4 0 2 14 5 12
Congo DR 6 3 0 3 14 6 9
Djibouti 6 0 0 6 2 30 0


* Teams qualified for the next stage

[Galactus]

Asia

Group 1
Australia 2 2 0 0 5 0 6
Japan 2 1 1 0 4 3 4
Qatar 3 1 1 1 4 5 4
Bahrain 2 0 1 1 3 4 1
Uzbekistan 3 0 1 2 1 5 1




Group 2
Korea Republic 2 1 1 0 5 2 4
Iran 2 1 1 0 3 2 4
Saudi Arabia 2 1 1 0 3 2 4
Korea DPR 3 1 1 1 4 4 4
United Arab Emirates 3 0 0 3 3 8 0

[Galactus]

Europe

Group 1
Denmark 3 2 1 0 6 2 7
Hungary 4 2 1 1 4 2 7
Portugal 4 1 2 1 6 3 5
Albania 4 1 2 1 3 2 5
Sweden 3 1 2 0 2 1 5
Malta 4 0 0 4 0 11 0




Group 2
Greece 4 3 0 1 9 2 9
Israel 4 2 2 0 8 5 8
Switzerland 4 2 1 1 7 6 7
Latvia 4 1 1 2 4 6 4
Luxembourg 4 1 1 2 3 7 4
Moldova 4 0 1 3 2 7 1




Group 3
Slovakia 4 3 0 1 8 5 9
Poland 4 2 1 1 6 4 7
Slovenia 4 2 1 1 5 3 7
Northern Ireland 4 1 1 2 5 4 4
Czech Republic 3 1 1 1 2 2 4
San Marino 3 0 0 3 1 9 0




Group 4
Germany 4 3 1 0 12 4 10
Russia 3 2 0 1 6 3 6
Wales 4 2 0 2 4 3 6
Finland 3 1 1 1 4 6 4
Azerbaijan 3 0 1 2 0 2 1
Liechtenstein 3 0 1 2 0 8 1




Group 5
Spain 4 4 0 0 10 1 12
Turkey 4 2 2 0 5 2 8
Belgium 4 2 1 1 7 5 7
Bosnia-Herzegovina 4 2 0 2 12 4 6
Estonia 4 0 1 3 2 13 1
Armenia 4 0 0 4 1 12 0




Group 6
England 4 4 0 0 14 3 12
Croatia 4 2 1 1 8 4 7
Ukraine 3 2 1 0 4 1 7
Belarus 3 1 0 2 4 5 3
Kazakhstan 4 1 0 3 5 11 3
Andorra 4 0 0 4 1 12 0




Group 7
Serbia 4 3 0 1 9 3 9
Lithuania 4 3 0 1 6 3 9
France 3 1 1 1 5 6 4
Austria 4 1 1 2 5 7 4
Romania 3 1 1 1 3 5 4
Faroe Islands 4 0 1 3 1 5 1




Group 8
Italy 4 3 1 0 6 2 10
Ireland Republic 3 2 1 0 3 1 7
Bulgaria 3 0 3 0 2 2 3
Montenegro 3 0 2 1 3 4 2
Georgia 4 0 2 2 2 5 2
Cyprus 3 0 1 2 2 4 1




Group 9
Netherlands 3 3 0 0 5 1 9
Scotland 3 1 1 1 2 2 4
Iceland 4 1 1 2 4 6 4
Macedonia FYR 3 1 0 2 2 3 3
Norway 3 0 2 1 2 3 2

[Galactus]

North America

Group 1
USA * 5 4 0 1 12 3 12
Trinidad and Tobago 5 2 2 1 6 6 8
Guatemala 5 1 2 2 6 5 5
Cuba 5 1 0 4 5 15 3




Group 2
Mexico 5 3 1 1 9 5 10
Honduras 5 3 0 2 8 5 9
Jamaica 5 2 1 2 3 6 7
Canada 5 0 2 3 6 10 2




Group 3
Costa Rica * 5 5 0 0 17 2 15
El Salvador * 5 3 1 1 10 1 10
Haiti 5 0 2 3 3 12 2
Suriname 5 0 1 4 3 18 1




* Teams qualified for the next stage

[Galactus]

Oceania

New Zealand 5 5 0 0 14 3 15
New Caledonia 6 2 2 2 12 10 8
Fiji 5 1 1 3 6 11 4
Vanuatu 6 1 1 4 5 13 4

[Galactus]

South America

Paraguay 10 7 2 1 18 6 23
Brazil 10 4 5 1 15 4 17
Argentina 10 4 4 2 13 7 16
Chile 10 5 1 4 14 13 16
Uruguay 10 3 4 3 19 10 13
Ecuador 10 3 3 4 12 17 12
Colombia 10 2 5 3 4 8 11
Venezuela 10 3 1 6 12 18 10
Bolivia 10 2 3 5 13 22 9
Peru 10 1 4 5 5 20 7

[Galactus]

19/11/08 16:30 Paramaribo Suriname 1:1 (1:1) Haiti
19/11/08 18:00 Lautoka New Zealand 0:2 (0:0) Fiji
19/11/08 18:00 Manama Bahrain 0:1 (0:0) Australia
19/11/08 18:11 Commerce City USA 2:0 (0:0) Guatemala
19/11/08 19:00 San Pedro Sula Honduras 1:0 (0:0) Mexico
19/11/08 19:15 Dubai United Arab Emirates 1:1 (1:0) Iran
19/11/08 19:30 Doha Qatar 0:3 (0:1) Japan
19/11/08 19:30 San Salvador El Salvador 1:3 (1:2) Costa Rica
19/11/08 19:35 Riyadh Saudi Arabia 0:2 (0:0) Korea Republic
19/11/08 20:00 Kingston Jamaica 3:0 (1:0) Canada
19/11/08 20:30 Serravalle San Marino 0:3 (0:0) Czech Republic
19/11/08 21:11 Port Of Spain Trinidad and Tobago 3:0 (0:0) Cuba

[Galactus]

11/02/09 15:00 Tehran Iran 1:1 (0:0) Korea Republic
11/02/09 15:00 Pyongyang Korea DPR 1:0 (1:0) Saudi Arabia
11/02/09 16:00 Tashkent Uzbekistan 0:1 (0:0) Bahrain
11/02/09 19:00 San Salvador El Salvador 2:2 (0:2) Trinidad and Tobago
11/02/09 19:14 Columbus USA 2:0 (1:0) Mexico
11/02/09 19:20 Yokohama Japan 0:0 Australia
11/02/09 19:30 Ta'Qali Malta 0:0 Albania
11/02/09 19:45 Dublin Republic of Ireland 2:1 (0:1) Georgia
11/02/09 20:30 Serravalle San Marino 0:3 (0:2) Northern Ireland
11/02/09 20:30 San Jose Costa Rica 2:0 (0:0) Honduras

[Equinox]

When do qualifications get over anyway?