Argentina clinch victory in the dying minutes of the game and keep their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup alive.
Palermo has certainly made a successful come back to the big stage helping Argentina edge closer to qualifying, since being called upon by Maradona to join the World Cup 2010 squad. Maradona choose to keep star strikers Carlos Tevez and Aguero.
Coach Maradona said:
“The victory gives us new life. It was a very dramatic finish. Now we go to Uruguay to play for a place in the World Cup.”
Defending Champions – Italy have booked a place in the World Cup 2010 by securing a 2 – 2 draw versus The Republic of Ireland on Saturday. The 2006 winners haven’t won matches too convincingly with an ever aging line-up, but Captain Cannavaro sums it up appropriately saying -
“We have never played well, but Italy are not about playing well, they are about winning when it matters”
Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini of Italy and Richard Dunne of Ireland
Portugal beat Hungary 3-0 and have been propelled to the second position in the group with Sweden registering a 0-1 defeat versus Denmark. A win over Malta will see Portugal through to the World Cup, but it remains to be seen if Player of the Year – Ronaldo, out with an ankle injury, makes a recovery in time for the clash on Wednesday.
England suffered a 0-1 loss to Ukraine. English keeper Robert Green was sent off within the first 15 minutes, while the defense was uncharacteristically unstable. Andriy Shevchenko came up to take the penalty and missed, hitting the post. However, Ukraine managed to score in the 29th minute through Serhiy Nazarenko.
The English players had to not only cope with the Ukrainian players on the pitch, but also the flares thrown down on the field by the Ukrainian spectators.
World Cup 2006 runners-up – Germany also booked a berth for next year’s World Cup to be held in South Africa. The Germans beat Russia 1-0, with Klose scoring the winner. Goalkeeper Rene Alder helped keep Germany in the game with some good saves. On the other hand, Russia had quite a few decent chances of scoring but missed. Russian Coach Guus Hiddink stated-
“Now we must be satisfied with a place in the play-offs.”
Also see:
List of teams qualified for World Cup 2010.
Upcoming Fixtures
