Fifa World Cup 2014

[Saracen21stC 239]

FIFA World Cup 2014 Qualification
Discussion Thread

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Edited September 7, 2012 by Saracen21stC

[Saracen21stC 239]

*Teams participating from*

AFRICA (CAF)

[Saracen21stC 239]

*Teams participating from*

ASIA (AFC)

[Saracen21stC 239]

*Teams participating from*

EUROPE (UEFA)

[Saracen21stC 239]

*Teams participating from*

NORTH AMERICA+ (CONCACAF)

 

[Saracen21stC 239]

*Teams participating from*

OCEANIA (OFC)

 

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*Teams participating from*

SOUTH AMERICA (CONMEBOL)

 

[Nightingale 136]

Well, for CONCACAF, qualifying starts in earnest with the big 2 (Mexico and the US) starting their qualifying runs on Friday 6/8. The matches for Friday are:

 

USA v. Antigua & Barbuda (Group A)

Jamaica v. Guatemala (Group A)

Costa Rica v. El Salvador (Group B)

Mexico v. Guyana (Group B)

Cuba v. Canada (Group C)

Honduras v. Panama (Group C)

 

Of course the top 2 teams in each group progress to 'the Hex' for the final qualifying round. My thoughts on the teams progressing to the Hex are USA and Guatemala from Group A, Mexico and El Salvador from Group B, and Canada and Panama from Group C. Though there is a strong third team in each of the groups that could cause problems. :)

[Nightingale 136]

Well, the first two games for CONCACAF are done in this round. For myself, the US beat Antigua & Barbuda but didn't look all that great, then they drew with Guatemala (giving up a late goal to tie the game). But four points is still good.

 

Standings so far:

Group A: USA 1-0-1 4 pts, Jamaica 1-0-1 4 pts, Guatemala 0-1-1 1 pts, Antigua & Barbuda 0-1-1 1 pts

Group B: Mexico 2-0-0 6 pts, Costa Rica 1-0-1 4 pts, El Salvador 0-1-1 1 pts, Guyana 0-2-0 0 pts

Group C: Panama 2-0-0 6 pts, Canada 1-0-1 4 pts, Honduras 0-1-1 1 pts, Cuba 0-2-0 0 pts

[Nile_Salafy 63]

Egypt ROCKS :D

[Saracen21stC 239]

By ESPN staff

England launched their World Cup qualifying campaign with a five-star performance in Moldova, to record their biggest away win since 1993.

 

EmpicsFrank Lampard celebrates after opening the scoring from the penalty spot

Frank Lampard scored twice to provide the perfect answer to questions about his age, with Jermain Defoe, James Milner and a deflected Leighton Baines free-kick underlining England's overwhelming superiority.

Northern Ireland's World Cup qualifying campaign got off to a losing start as goals from Viktor Fayzulin and Roman Shirokov gave Fabio Capello's Russia a 2-0 win in Moscow.

The visitors set-up to steal a point and for half-an-hour looked as though they might, only for Fayzulin to break the deadlock with a smart finish from eight yards.

Russia's second came from a hotly-disputed penalty, Shirokov coolly converting after left-back Craig Cathcart had been harshly treated by the referee.

Abou Diaby scored the only goal as France edged past Finland 1-0 in their opening 2014 World Cup qualifier.

The Arsenal midfielder made the breakthrough in the 20th minute in the Group I game where chances and shots on target were few and far between.

It was not the rout that many expected, but Germany started their road to Brazil with a routine 3-0 win over the Faroe Islands.

Joachim Low's men have been known to run up big scores against the minnows such as Lars Olsen's side over recent years, but that was not the case on Friday.

It could have been had goalkeeper Gunnar Neilsen not produced a stunning display, but in the end they had to settle for three goals from Mario Gotze and Mesut Ozil's brace to do the job.

Last-gaps goals from Robbie Keane and Kevin Doyle saved Republic of Ireland's blushes as they came from behind to edge to a dramatic 2-1 victory over Kazakhstan.

Giovanni Trapattoni's men looked set for an embarrassing defeat when Kairat Nurdauletov glanced home after an insipid first-half performance from the visitors.

Kazakhstan, ranked 116 places below the Republic, controlled almost all the second half until Keane scored from the penalty spot after 87 minutes and Doyle blasted home in the dying seconds to hand the beleaguered Trapattoni a much-needed three points.

Edin Dzeko and Vedad Ibisevic scored a hat-trick apiece as Bosnia-Herzegovina thrashed Liechtenstein 8-1 in their opening 2014 World Cup qualification match.

 

EmpicsEdin Dzeko scores the first of his hat-trick and Bosnia's fifth in their 8-1 drubbing of Liechtenstein

Bosnia-Herzegovina midfielder Zvjezdan Misimovic scored twice in five minutes before Ibisevic netted two goals as the visitors took a comfortable four goal lead at half-time.

Their domination continued after the break when Manchester City forward Dzeko fired a hat-trick before strike partner Ibisevic sealed his own three-goal effort from the six-yard box with seven minutes left on the clock.

Substitute striker Mathias Christen at least ensured Liechtenstein got on the scoresheet in the 61st minute, scoring at the second attempt after Bosnia-Herzegovina and Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic failed to block his initial shot.

Also in Group G, Lithuania and Slovakia came away with a point apiece from their World Cup qualifying opener in Vilnius after both being reduced to 10 men as the match finished 2-2.

Greece came from behind to secure all three points with a 2-1 win over Latvia.

The visitors fell behind when Aleksandrs Cauna converted a 43rd-minute penalty, but bounced back after the break with strikes from Nikos Spyropoulos (57) and Theofanis Gekas (70).

Honours were even in Podgorica as Montenegro and Poland started their World Cup qualifying campaigns with a bad-tempered 2-2 draw.

Euro 2012 co-hosts Poland had to come from behind to earn a credible point after squandering the early lead given to them by Jakub Blaszczykowski`s penalty.

Nikola Drincic and Mirko Vucinic were responsible for the turnaround but, after half-time substitute Adrian Mierzejewski levelled, ill-discipline took over.

Serbia`s Savo Pavicevic and Poland`s Ludovic Obraniak were red carded for separate, nasty incidents inside a three-minute spell, and in the end, both sides were happy when the whistle came.

Cristiano Ronaldo put in a thrilling goal-scoring performance in Portugal's 2-1 win over Luxembourg.

The Portugal midfielder drew his side level just before the half-hour mark after Daniel Da Mota Alves gave Luxembourg the lead, before he made a nuisance of himself in a top-class performance which saw Helder Postiga's strike earn the visitors a well deserved win.

Azerbaijan and israel shared the spoils in their opening World Cup qualifier in Baku as the match ended 1-1.

Visitors israel took a 50th-minute lead in the Group F encounter through Bebras Natcho but Azerbaijan were level within 15 minutes thanks to Ruslan Abusov and neither side could find a winner.

In Group A, ten-man Wales kicked off their World Cup qualifying campaign with a defeat as goals from Vincent Kompany and Jan Vertonghen gave Belgium a 2-0 victory in Cardiff.

Nikica Jelavic's opportunist 68th-minute header got Igor Stimac's reign as Croatia coach off to a winning start against Macedonia.

Jelavic headed into the bottom corner of the net from close range after connecting with an Ivan Perisic cross to seal the points for the hosts, who were made to battle for their victory by a dogged Macedonian line-up.

Cristiano Ronaldo put in a thrilling goal-scoring performance in Portugal's 2-1 win over Luxembourg.

The Portugal midfielder drew his side level just before the half-hour mark after Daniel Da Mota Alves gave Luxembourg the lead, before he made a nuisance of himself in a top-class performance which saw Helder Postiga's strike earn the visitors a well deserved win.

Azerbaijan and israel shared the spoils in their opening World Cup qualifier in Baku as the match ended 1-1.

Visitors israel took a 50th-minute lead in the Group F encounter through Bebras Natcho but Azerbaijan were level within 15 minutes thanks to Ruslan Abusov and neither side could find a winner.

Georgia got their World Cup qualifying campaign off to a winning start as a fine second-half goal from Tornike Okriashvili saw off the challenge of Belarus in a game that ended 1-0.

Okriashvili's clinical finish from inside the area six minutes after half-time sealed the points for Georgia in this Group I encounter in Tbilisi.

Robin Van Persie's 30th international set Netherlands on their way to a hard-fought 2-0 victory in their game against Turkey.

The Manchester United striker opened the scoring in the 16th minute and Luciano Narsingh added a second in stoppage time as the Dutch registered a morale-boosting victory following their poor Euro 2012 showing.

An evening that began badly for Andorra got little better as Hungary fired five past them at the Estadio Comunal de Aixovall. Elsewhere in Group D,

Second-half goals by Gabriel Torje and Ciprian Marica lifted Romania to a solid 2-0 victory over Estonia in their World Cup qualifier in Tallinn.

Torje opened the scoring 10 minutes into the second period and Marica made it two in the 75th minute as Victor Piturca's men made a perfect start to their Group D campaign.

Substitute Artur Sarkisov's 70th-minute strike ensured Armenia began their World Cup qualifying campaign in a positive manner with a 1-0 victory over Malta.

Sarkisov had only been on the pitch for six minutes before his close range strike gave the visitors all three points in this Group B encounter at the Ta' Qali National Stadium.

In Group E, Albania required two late goals to open their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 3-1 victory over Cyprus in Tirana. A goal in either half was enough to earn 10-man Switzerland a winning start to their Cup qualifying campaign as they eased past Slovenia 2-0 in Ljubljana. Iceland opened their campaign with a well-deserved 2-0 victory over a below-par Norway side in Reykjavik. Goals in either half from Kari Arnason and Alfred Finnbogason were just reward for a good performance against strong opposition

[Saracen21stC 239]

Argentina (3-1) and Colombia(4-0) did Well.

[Saracen21stC 239]

Spain struggled tonight against Georgia. A late winner for them.

 

FT 1-0. Soldado

Edited September 11, 2012 by Saracen21stC

[Saracen21stC 239]

Lamps salvages point, Soldado strikes late

 

September 11, 2012

By ESPN staff

Skipper Steven Gerrard was sent off as Frank Lampard's 86th-minute penalty spared England's blushes at Wembley.

 

GettyImagesFrank Lampard rescues a draw for England against Ukraine from the penalty spot

• Qualifying photo gallery

• England restore status quo

Gerrard was red-carded two minutes from the end of a poor display from Roy Hodgson's men in their World Cup qualifier with Ukraine that ended 1-1.

The hosts were saved when Yevhen Khacherdi blocked Danny Welbeck's flick with his arm, allowing Lampard to drive home from the spot to earn England a point, after Yevhen Konoplyanka had opened the scoring with a screamer.

Italy claimed their first win of the World Cup qualifying campaign although it was a less than convincing performance against Group B minnows Malta in Modena as the match ended 2-0.

Goals at either end of the match from Mattia Destro and Federico Peluso sealed the points for the home side which sees them tied with Bulgaria on four points at the top of the standings.

Bulgaria continued their impressive start to World Cup qualifying with a bad-tempered 1-0 victory at home to nine-man Armenia.

Stanislav Manolev's close-range finish settled an untidy game in which the hosts' Svetoslav Dyakov and Armenia's Marcos Pizelli and Gevorg Ghazaryan were sent off all in the space of four second-half minutes.

Spain needed a late Roberto Soldado goal to get their World Cup qualifying campaign off to a winning start against Georgia in Tbilisi.

The world champions dominated possession throughout the contest without creating many clear-cut chances against the side ranked 86th in the world and could even have been behind early in the second half when Alexander Amisulashvili struck the post.

However, the visitors' persistence paid off when a short corner was worked to Cesc Fabregas and his low ball in was clinically swept home by Soldado in the 86th minute.

France made it two wins from two at the start of their qualifying campaign as Didier Deschamps' men compiled a solid 3-1 victory over Belarus in Group I.

All the goals arrived in the second half, with France taking a 2-0 lead thanks to maiden international strikes by both Etienne Capoue (49) and Christophe Jallet (68).

Jeremain Lens was the star of the show as Louis van Gaal's new-look Netherlands side swept to a 4-1 win over Hungary in Budapest.

The PSV Eindhoven striker, winning only his sixth cap, scored twice and hit the crossbar before setting up the fourth goal for substitute Klaas Jan Huntelaar.

Young defender Bruno Martins Indi scored his first international goal, rendering Balasz Dszudszak's eighth-minute penalty - an equaliser at the time - irrelevant in the final analysis.

Romania continued their winning start in Group D with a comfortable 3-0 victory over minnows Andorra in Bucharest.

Gabriel Torje, also on target against Estonia last week, opened the scoring before Costin Lazar effectively wrapped up the match before half-time.

Germany rode their luck to beat Austria 2-1 and continue their perfect start to World Cup qualifying in Vienna.

Marco Reus put Germany ahead just before half-time and Mesut Ozil added a second shortly after the interval from the penalty spot.

Zlatko Junuzovic pulled a goal back for the hosts in the 57th minute and they were unfortunate not to get at least an equaliser as they caused Joachim Low's side numerous problems but failed to find another goal.

 

GettyImagesRoberto Soldado is mobbed after scoring Spain's late winner in Georgia

Goals from Rasmus Elm and Marcus Berg ensured Sweden made a winning start to their World Cup qualifying campaign at the expense of Kazakhstan as the match finished 2-0.

The Scandinavians had sat out last week's round of fixtures, but gave their Group C opponents food for thought with a workmanlike performance in Malmo.

Turkey got their World Cup qualifying campaign up and running with an emphatic 3-0 victory over 10-man Estonia in Istanbul.

Emre, Umut Bulut and Selcuk Inan all got on the scoresheet as the Turks dominated proceedings after the early dismissal of Enar Jaager at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium.

Montenegro hit San Marino for six in a predictably one-sided World Cup qualifier.

Two goals each from Fatos Beqiraj and substitute Andrija Delibasic and one each from Luka Djordjevic and another substitute, Elsad Zverotic, sealed a comprehensive win for the visitors.

Also in Group H, Poland eased to a 2-0 win over Moldova to make it four points from their opening two World Cup qualifiers.

Alexander Kerzhakov scored twice as Russia cruised to a 4-0 victory over israel in Group F.

The match was all but over as a contest inside 20 minutes as Kerzhakov and Aleksandr Kokorin put the visitors 2-0 up in Ramat Gan.

Kerzhakov made it 3-0 in the 64th minute and Viktor Faitzulin added a fourth as Fabio Capello's side made it two wins from two qualifiers.

Portugal recorded their second win of the campaign, 3-0 against Azerbaijan, courtesy of second-half efforts from Silvestre Varela, Helder Postiga and Bruno Alves, the last two coming in the final five minutes.

Northern Ireland had to accept a demoralising home 1-1 draw against Luxembourg after a match they dominated ended with the visitors scoring a heavily deflected equaliser in the 86th minute.

Konstantinos Makridis belatedly launched Cyprus' qualifying campaign with the only goal in a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Iceland.

The Cypriots, who lost their opening qualifier 3-1 in Albania on Friday, bounced back to take three vital points, courtesy of Makridis' 57th-minute strike from Dimitris Christofi's cut-back.

John Arne Riise scored a priceless injury-time penalty to earn Norway a narrow 2-1 win over Slovenia in Oslo and get their World Cup qualifying points tally off to a belated start in Group E.

The Norwegians, reeling from Friday night's opening defeat to Iceland, fell behind to Marko Suler's 17th-minute opener but Markus Henriksen equalised 10 minutes later before Riise kept his nerve from the spot.

Switzerland continued their winning start to the World Cup qualifying campaign with a routine victory over Albania in Lucerne.

After an impressive 2-0 win in Slovenia in their opening Group E fixture on Friday, Ottmar Hitzfeld's side were again on song this evening as goals from Xherdan Shaqiri and Gokhan Inler took the Swiss to top spot.

Wales' World Cup aspirations lie in tatters after an inept display at the Karadjordje Stadium saw them roundly thumped by Serbia 6-1.

Woeful defending played a major part in Wales' heaviest defeat since 1996 and Aleksandar Kolarov and Zoran Tosic had the hosts 2-0 up inside 25 minutes.

Gareth Bale gave Wales hope with a stunning free-kick but Filip Djuricic got a third for the hosts before the break and Dusan Tadic, Branislav Ivanovic and Miralem Sulejmani completed the rout.

 

GettyImagesAleksander Kerzhakov scored twice in Russia's thrashing of israel.

Scotland were jeered off after being held 1-1 at home by Macedonia at Hampden.

There had been pressure on Craig Levein's men to deliver a win following the disappointment of Saturday's goalless stalemate against Serbia in their Group A opener.

Kenny Miller cancelled out Nikolce Noveski's opener just before the interval but the Scots could not find a winner, leaving them with just two points from two home games in a campaign which has so far failed to live up to expectations.

Guillame Gillet claimed the equaliser as Belgium were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw in their World Cup qualifying Group B clash with Croatia in Brussels.

The star-studded hosts were grateful for Gillet's effort on the stroke of half-time after Ivan Perisic struck for the visitors after just six minutes.

Zvjezdan Misimovic struck twice as Bosnia-Herzegovina came from behind to maintain their 100% start to their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 4-1 win against Latvia.

The Dinamo Moscow midfielder proved the central figure in a spirited fightback as Latvia initially threatened to pull off a shock in Zenica.

Marek Sapara and Martin Jakubko scored a goal in each half as Slovakia laboured to a 2-0 victory over Liechtenstein in World Cup Qualifying Group G in Bratislava.

Second-half goals from Sotiris Ninis and Kostas Mitroglou gave Greece their second straight win in World Cup qualifying Group G with a 2-0 success over Lithuania in Piraeus.

[Saracen21stC 239]

All the favourites won except Portugal. They lost to Russia away.

[Saracen21stC 239]

Another round of matches to come.

Edited October 16, 2012 by Saracen21stC

[Saracen21stC 239]

Some great matches tonight. Poland vs England match has been called off due to rain. Sounds like cricket, eh?

[Nightingale 136]

I was shocked by the Honduras-Canada score. 8-1 Honduras, which knocked Canada out of next year's Hex.

 

I'm hoping the US does well tonight.

[Saracen21stC 239]

Pick of the week was Spain vs France match. Unlike the Euro 12 match, it was a great game. Rare Ramos goal, a penalty miss from Fabregas, a France goal disallowed, and a late late Giroud equalizer. 1-1 it finished. Good comeback!

[Saracen21stC 239]

If that was good come back, what do u say about the Germany vs Sweden match? Sweden were 4-0 down away at Germany! And the game finished 4-4! The best comeback match I have ever seen in my life!! Well done the Swedes!

[Saracen21stC 239]

Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Belgium won. But Portugal drew against N. Ireland at home. They had to score the equalizer at the 79th minute! Ronaldo clearly falling behind. Messi looking great for both Barca and Argentina.

[Nightingale 136]

The US qualified for the Hexagonal tonight with a 3-1 win. And they probably should have scored a few more.

[Saracen21stC 239]

Messi once again shining for Argentina away at Chile. 1-2 Argentina win. They are at the top of the table. Looking great!

[Saracen21stC 239]

Meanwhile, that washed out match was rescheduled. It finished 1-1 in Poland. England lacklustre!

[iRock 0]

Messi once again shining for Argentina away at Chile. 1-2 Argentina win. They are at the top of the table. Looking great!

Yes , Messi always really great .