Chapter 373, World Cup Trend
Of course, the focus of the World Cup qualifiers is still in the European region. On October 6, the final round of the World Cup European qualifiers was held. Following Poland, which qualified two rounds ahead of schedule and Spain and Sweden, which qualified one round earlier, the other six direct qualifiers were also been divided. Next year's Korea-Japan World Cup will not see the Netherlands, Yugoslavia, Scotland and Bulgaria.
Russia is directly qualified for the first group.
In the case of just a draw to qualify, Russia beat Switzerland 4-0 at home, and Bessic scored a hat-trick within 23 minutes. Slovenia defeated the weak Faroe Islands 3-0 at home and defeated Yugoslavia by 1 point. Although Yugoslavia killed Luxembourg 6:2, it was too late. Jokanovic and Mijatovic each scored one goal, and Kaizman and Milosevic both scored twice.
The second group directly qualified for Portugal
The second place in this group will compete with the third place in the Asian top ten for a World Cup ticket. In this round, Portugal defeated Estonia 5-0 at home, winning the first place in the group and entering the World Cup again 15 years later. Although Ireland beat Cyprus 4-0 at home, it will still play the third place in the top ten in the Asian region. The two rounds are scheduled for November 10 and 15.
The third group is directly qualified by Denmark
Denmark must win this game to ensure the first place, and the result was a 6-0 victory over Iceland. The second battle between the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, the Czech Republic won 6-0. Malta lost 0-1 at home to Northern Ireland.
The 4th group is directly qualified by Sweden
The rest of the games have nothing to do with the overall situation. Sweden qualified ahead of schedule, and Turkey won the second place. Turkey beat Moldova 3:0 away, and they have won the first place in the group before the game.
The 5th group directly qualified from Poland
Poland, which qualified early, did not release water at home, and drew 1-1 with Ukraine. Belarus did not seize the good opportunity, losing 0-1 to Wales away, two points behind Ukraine and being eliminated. Norway beat Armenia 4-1 away.
The direct out of Group 6 is Croatia
Croatia defeated Belgium at home 1:0, surpassing the opponent by 1 point, and reaching the finals for two consecutive times. Scotland defeated Latvia 2-1 at home, but due to the failure of the World Cup, head coach Brown resigned.
Spain is directly out of the 7th group
Due to the Russian plane crash, Austria's away game with Israel was postponed, and the winner of the two teams will be the second in the group.
Group 8 is directly qualified by Italy
Italy only needs 1 point to qualify, and Piero scored with a free kick in the 45th minute. Romania drew 1:1 at home to Georgia, and Popescu won a point before the end of the game.
England is directly qualified in the 9th group. At the request of the German Football Association, the FA advanced the game so that the two games started at the same time. The bad luck at the Ovskskjak court was unsipating. Biehov hit the goal frame twice, and his other shot 5 meters away from the goal also hit the goalkeeper's knee. Old Trafford played a good reversal. In the 36th and 69th minutes, Greek strikers Charlesides and Nicoledith used two fatal mistakes of Leo Ferdinand to surpass the score twice. In the previous 68th minute, Beckham made a free kick, and the veteran Sheringham made a header for less than a minute to equalize England. In the third minute of injury time, Germany's game ended, and England still fell behind 1:2. If the score is maintained until the end of the game, Germany will directly qualify. At this time, England got a free kick at 25 meters. Beckham, who had returned without success in seven previous home penalties, kicked an arc ball and flew directly into the upper right corner of the gate. England qualified directly with this golden goal.
After the end of the last round of the European qualifiers, the first round of the play-off of the second place in the group will be held on November 10 and 11, and the second round will be held on November 14. The match is: Belgium vs. Czech Republic, Ukraine vs. Germany, Austria or Hungary vs. Turkey, Slovenia vs. Romania. Ireland and the third place in the top ten of the Asian region are scheduled to be held on November 10 and 15.
The ninth round of the Central and North America and the Caribbean was fully launched on the 7th. As a result, Trinidad and Tobago, a weak team that had no hope of qualifying, broke out a big surprise in this round, defeating the recently good Honduran team 1-0 away. The result of this competition has greatly changed the qualifying situation in the North and Central American and Caribbean divisions. Because in the other two games, the United States defeated Jamaica 2-1, while Costa Rica, which had already qualified early, shook hands with Mexico 0-0. After this round, Costa Rica continued to lead with 20 points, and the United States rose to second place with 16 points. Mexico and Honduras both scored 14 points, but Mexico dominated the goal difference. It made the originally bright qualifying situation of the Honduran team quite bleak. In the 2002 World Cup, there were three tickets in North America and the Caribbean. Because Mexico will meet Honduras in the last round, regardless of the result of the game, the United States will ensure the top three positions. The team will become the second ball to qualify early after Costa Rica. Team. At present, the third qualifying place in the Central and North America and Caribbean will be created between Mexico and Honduras. In the last round, the Mexican team, which plays at home, can qualify with the advantage of goal difference as long as they ensure a draw, while the Honduran team is only expected to realize their dream of entering the World Cup finals only by winning. .
In the 16th round of the South American qualifiers, Paraguay and Argentina shook hands, Argentina was the first in the group, Paraguay was the second in the group, as long as one point in the last two rounds, Ecuador defeated Bolivia 5:1, ranking third, the same situation as Paraguay, Brazil 2:0 After defeating Chile, he took the fourth place in the group and was expected to qualify. Uruguay, a traditional giant in South America, drew 1-1 at home to Colombia, ranking fifth in the group. The hope of direct qualifying has become very slim, but there is still hope to compete with Australia for the fifth World Cup ticket in South America. The Colombian team has 21 points and still has a glimmer of light. The key depends on the outcome of the last two games. According to the regulations, the top four in the South American division directly participated in the World Cup finals, and the fifth place competed with Australia for another qualification. At present, Argentina is at the top of the South American queue and has qualified. There is great hope for Ecuador, Paraguay and Brazil to qualify directly. Uruguay and Colombia are competing for the fifth place. Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela and Chile will definitely be eliminated. However, Venezuela defeated Peru 3-0 and won three consecutive victories. For the first time, it got rid of the bad luck of the bottom points in previous World Cup qualifiers and made historic progress.
The Chinese team in Asia has also made historic progress. The Chinese team, which has not reached the World Cup finals in 40 years, finally defeated Oman 1-0 in the penultimate round of the top ten in the Asian region. China's long-term expectations for the World Cup have come to an end. After six unremitting efforts, it has finally succeeded this time. The victory of the Chinese team in this game made the Chinese team the first Asian team to qualify for the 2002 World Cup. At the end of the game, the whole of China became a sea of joy. In the Wulihe Stadium in Shenyang, fans shouted the names of the Chinese team and head coach Milu. 500,000 people in Beijing went to Tiananmen Square to celebrate the victory, and the grand event can only be compared with the scale of the successful bid for the 2008 Olympic Games. The streets of Sanlitun Bar are full of carnival fans, who set off firecrackers, blow horns, wave the Chinese flag, and celebrate the victory of the Chinese team.
The Chinese team's qualifying also excited FIFA, because this World Cup will become the most populous participating countries and regions in history. The importance of the Chinese team's qualifying is only compared with the U.S. team's finalist.
The Asian Football Network Station pointed out in the article "China's team is out" that Yu Genwei's goal in the 36th minute sent more than 50,000 fans at the scene and hundreds of millions of Chinese fans in front of the TV into ecstasy, and the world's most populous country finally took off the hat of "football backward country".
AFP broadcast a report entitled "Football Enters the World Cup, Chinese Fans Revel on the Street". The article pointed out that after years of hard work and many failures, the Chinese team finally qualified for the World Cup final.
With the Chinese team qualifying for two rounds ahead of schedule, the general situation in Group B of the top ten has suddenly brightened. However, the competition for the second place in the group is still very fierce. The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Uzbekistan all have a glimmer of vitality.
At present, the United Arab Emirates is temporarily leading with 10 points in 7 games; Qatar is temporarily ahead with 9 points in 7 games; Uzbek is third with 7 points in 6 games. According to the match schedule, the Uzbekistan team started the game first. They beat Oman 5-0 at home, but there is still no guarantee of victory in the away game. Due to the weather and personnel constraints, the level of the Uzbek team is also very large. They must win away from home and get enough net leftovers. The next game is China's home game against Qatar. The Chinese team that has already qualified will not let go of the card team at home. From the coach to the players, they seem to be rubbing their hands. They vowed to wash away the shame that Qatar has brought them. It is difficult for Qatar to get 3 points in Shenyang. The match between the UAE and Oman is a key match. If the UAE defeats Oman, which is at the bottom of the points, at home on October 19, Qatar has obviously withdrawn from the competition regardless of their performance against China. Because the highest score of becoming the second in the group is only 13 points. If the Uzbeks defeat Oman away, they will have the opportunity to compete with the UAE. The UAE team once drew with Oman on the road. The characteristics of the two teams are relatively similar, and their strength is equal. The gap lies in the professional quality of the players. But it is easy for West Asian teams to fall into strange circles, and their strengths and weaknesses are also very frequent. The last game was between Uzbekistan and China at home. There is a possibility that the Ukrainian team will win at home in this game, but it is not realistic to win the goal.
The situation in Group A of the top ten has come out of confusion. The Saudi team, which has one more game, is currently at the top of the list by two points, while the Iranian team behind is aggressive.
Iran currently has 12 points and has two games left, one against Iraq at home on October 12 and the other against Bahrain on October 19. Although Iran once defeated Iraq 1-0 in Baghdad on the road, they did encounter a tenacious block and the game was very difficult. And the other opponent, Bahrain, is also very difficult to deal with. Bahrain once drew the Iranian team 0-0 in Tehran, the capital of Iran. Facts have proved that the Iranian team does not have many ways to face some skilled teams such as Bahrain and Thailand, and often cannot organize effective attacks. The motor Vikia in the team has always been in a mediocre state, and there is no feeling of the 1997 top ten at all. Ali Day, the number one star, has not shown the ability of Asia's best striker at all. To qualify directly from this group, they must win the remaining two games. In this way, they can ensure that they are foolproof.
In contrast, the situation of the Saudi team is still optimistic. They currently have 14 points in hand, and for them, now they have to wait. Because the last home game against Thailand was on October 20, the last day of the top ten. If Iran defeats Iraq and Bahrain with 18 points, the Saudi team will compete with the second place in Group A for the qualification of the European Irish team in the playoffs regardless of the last game. If Iran achieves a record of one win, one draw and 16 points, the Saudi team must defeat the final opponent Thailand to qualify. The strength of the Thai team is also under the Saudi team. It should be reasonable for Saudi Arabia to win at home. However, what the Saudi team hopes most now is that Iran will not be able to win two games. They can only wait hard before defeating Thailand.