South American World Cup qualifers set for overhaul: Blatter
[09 Nov 2004]
CARACAS (AFP)
South American countries must have a different system of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup said FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
Blatter insisted the present system whereby there is just one group with all 10 countries playing each other was not fair on club sides, who were forced to release their South American players too often.
"At the moment there are 18 matches but in my opinion that makes no sense," said Blatter.
"The international calendar doesn't have too many dates and that creates problems with clubs, especially in Europe, as the players get tired.
"It is the last time that FIFA will accept this form of qualifiers. They have to change in the future."
For the 2006 edition to be hosted by Germany the top four qualify as of right with the fifth involved in a play-off with the winner of the Oceania zone.
North, Central American and Caribbean Zone
FT St. Kitts and Nevis 0:5 Mexico
Group 3
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Mexico 5 5 0 0 19 1 15
Trinidad and Tobago 5 3 0 2 10 8 9
St. Vincent / Grenadines 5 2 0 3 4 10 6
St. Kitts and Nevis 5 0 0 5 2 16 0
Top two from group adavnce to third stage. Mexico are assured of advancing to the third stage.
From the Sun-Sentinel
Defeating U.S. on Boyz mind
Published November 14, 2004
Despite having to play away from home, and in temperatures distinctly unlike home, Jamaica's Reggae Boyz are confident of doing what the national senior team has never done -- beat the United States.
National Technical Director Carl Brown says his major concern is any possible injury to members of his squad, and in a bid to minimize this, he has ruled that none should play in any competitive games before the U.S. assignment on Wednesday, in Columbus, Ohio.
The Reggae Boyz will be strengthened by the inclusion of England-based Jason Euill, who has been cleared by FIFA to play for Jamaica.
Euill, who represented England's Under-21 team, is of Jamaican descent.
Also lending encourage-ment to the Boyz is the form of prolific goal-scorer Marlon King, who was on the score sheet for Nottingham Forest in a 4-2 loss to Premiership Fulham in the English Carling Cup.
Jamaica must win the game to qualify for the final set of qualifiers, which will decide three CONCACAF teams to journey to Germany for the 2006 World Cup Finals.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines also face a must-win situation when they visit Trinidad and Tobago for the last semifinal qualifier, and the visitors need to win by three clear goals.
SVG's coaching staff remains confident that the goal can be achieved, and with 500 Vincentians descending on Port of Spain to cheer on Vincey Heat, the visitors are determined to give it their best shot.
T&T, however, seems to be looking beyond St. Vincent, announcing plans last week for former England and Aston Villa manager Graham Taylor to assist with the preparation for the final round of qualifiers.
From the Gulf Daily News
Red alert as China set for do-or-die battle
TOKYO: China's hopes of qualifying for the 2006 World Cup finals could disappear tomorrow if they fail to collect a big win over Hong Kong.
Even that might not be enough for them to avoid four long years of bitter recrimination and soul-searching.
Elsewhere, South Korea need to beat Maldives to preserve their record of having qualified for every World Cup since 1986, while Iran should advance at the expense of Jordan.
Saudi Arabia, Japan, Bahrain, Uzbekistan and North Korea have already filled five of the eight spots in next year's final round of 2006 Asian World Cup qualifiers.
A 1-0 defeat in Kuwait last month has left China's qualification in the balance. Both teams have 12 points at the top of Group Four but Kuwait, who face Malaysia, are two goals better off than China.
Only one team will qualify from the group with tomorrow's final round of matches to go. The eight group winners will go through to two groups of four teams next year with the top two from each going straight through to Germany in 2006.
The two third-placed teams meet in a two-legged playoff and the winner of that then meets a country from the Concacaf region to win the right to play in the finals, also in a two-legged tie.
Kuwait play at home to Malaysia, who have lost all five of their previous matches, and the Gulf side are now favourites to advance at the expense of China.
Failure to reach the World Cup in Germany would be a devastating setback for China and would certainly mark the end for Dutch coach Arie Haan.
"Right now I don't want to think about it because it's a negative question but of course if we do not qualify then (my) contract is automatically terminated," Haan said.
China, who made their World Cup finals debut in 2002, will be under extreme pressure, with the Asian Football Association (AFC) monitoring the game for signs of match-fixing.
Even with English-based midfielder Li Tie back in the squad after a lengthy injury lay-off, China's chances of pulling off an escape act in Guangzhou are slim.
Asian Zone
FT Iraq 4:1 Palestine
Group 2
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Uzbekistan 5 4 1 0 10 2 13
Iraq 6 3 2 1 17 7 11
Palestine 6 2 1 3 11 11 7
Chinese Taipei 5 0 0 5 2 20 0
The top team qualifies for the final qualifying stage. Uzbekistan have already qualified for this stage.
African Zone
FT Kenya 2:1 Guinea
Group 5
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Guinea 5 2 2 1 9 5 8
Botswana 5 2 0 3 5 10 6
Kenya 3 2 0 1 6 5 6
Morocco 4 1 3 0 4 3 6
Tunisia 4 1 2 1 8 6 5
Malawi 5 0 3 2 6 9 3
Group Winners qualify for finals.
Asian Zone
FT Japan 1:0 Singapore
FT Thailand 1:1 Yemen
FT Indonesia 3:1 Turkmenistan
FT Saudi Arabia 3:0 Sri Lanka
FT China PR 7:0 Hong Kong
FT Korea Republic 2:0 Maldives
FT Iran 7:0 Laos
FT Qatar 2:0 Jordan
FT Kuwait 6:1 Malaysia
FT Uzbekistan 6:1 Chinese Taipei
FT United Arab Emirates 1:0 Korea DPR
FT Syria 0:1 Kyrgyzstan
FT Bahrain 4:0 Tajikistan
FT Oman 0:0 India
FT Lebanon 0:0 Vietnam
Group 1
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Iran 6 5 0 1 22 4 15
Jordan 6 4 0 2 10 6 12
Qatar 6 3 0 3 16 8 9
Laos 6 0 0 6 3 33 0
Group 2
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Uzbekistan 6 5 1 0 16 3 16
Iraq 6 3 2 1 17 7 11
Palestine 6 2 1 3 11 11 7
Chinese Taipei 6 0 0 6 3 26 0
Group 3
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Japan 6 6 0 0 16 1 18
Oman 6 3 1 2 14 3 10
India 6 1 1 4 2 18 4
Singapore 6 1 0 5 3 13 3
Group 4
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Kuwait 6 5 0 1 15 2 15
China PR 6 5 0 1 14 1 15
Hong Kong 6 2 0 4 5 15 6
Malaysia 6 0 0 6 2 18 0
Group 5Key
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Korea DPR 6 3 2 1 11 5 11
United Arab Emirates 6 3 1 2 6 6 10
Thailand 6 2 1 3 9 10 7
Yemen 6 1 2 3 6 11 5
Group 6
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Bahrain 6 4 2 0 15 4 14
Syria 6 2 2 2 7 7 8
Tajikistan 6 2 1 3 5 9 7
Kyrgyzstan 6 1 1 4 5 12 4
Group 7
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Korea Republic 6 4 2 0 9 2 14
Lebanon 6 3 2 1 11 5 11
Vietnam SR 6 1 1 4 5 9 4
Maldives 6 1 1 4 5 14 4
Group 8
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Saudi Arabia 6 6 0 0 14 1 18
Turkmenistan 6 2 1 3 8 10 7
Indonesia 6 2 1 3 8 12 7
Sri Lanka 6 0 2 4 4 11 2
Group winners advance to 2nd stage (Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Bahrain, North Korea, Kuwait, Japan, Uzbekistan and Iran. China who qualified for the last world cup have been knocked out).
The eight qualifiers are divided into two groups of four. The winners and runners up of these groups qualify for the finals. The two third placed teams meet in a two-leg play-off, the winner of which meets the fourth placed CONCACAF team over two legs for a place in the finals.
North, Central American and Caribbean Zone
FT Guatemala 0:1 Canada
FT Mexico 8:0 St. Kitts and Nevis
FT Panama 3:0 El Salvador
FT USA 1:1 Jamaica
FT Honduras 0:0 Costa Rica
FT Trinidad and Tobago 2:1 St. Vincent / Grenadines
Group 1
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
USA 6 3 3 0 13 3 12
Panama 6 2 2 2 8 11 8
Jamaica 6 1 4 1 7 5 7
El Salvador 6 1 1 4 2 11 4
Group 2
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Costa Rica 6 3 1 2 12 8 10
Guatemala 6 3 1 2 7 9 10
Honduras 6 1 4 1 9 7 7
Canada 6 1 2 3 4 8 5
Group 3
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Mexico 6 6 0 0 27 1 18
Trinidad and Tobago 6 4 0 2 12 9 12
St. Vincent / Grenadines 6 2 0 4 5 12 6
St. Kitts and Nevis 6 0 0 6 2 24 0
The top two from each group advance to the next stage (Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, USA, Panama, Costa Rica and Guatemala).
The top three in the next stage qualify for the WC. The fourth placed team meet the winners of the asian play-off for a place in the WC.
South American Zone
FT Uruguay 1:0 Paraguay
FT Argentina 3:2 Venezuela
FT Colombia 1:0 Bolivia
FT Ecuador 1:0 Brazil
FT Peru 2:1 Chile
Standings
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Argentina 11 6 4 1 21 11 22
Brazil 11 5 5 1 19 11 20
Paraguay 11 4 4 3 12 11 16
Ecuador 11 5 1 5 12 11 16
Uruguay 11 4 2 5 16 23 14
Colombia 11 3 4 4 12 11 13
Peru 11 3 4 4 13 13 13
Chile 11 3 4 4 10 11 13
Venezuela 11 4 1 6 13 17 13
Bolivia 11 3 1 7 11 20 10
Top four qualify for the finals. Fifth placed team meets the winners of the oceanian play-off for a place in the final
European Zone
FT San Marino 0:1 Lithuania
FT Turkey 0:3 Ukraine
FT Georgia 2:2 Denmark
FT Greece 3:1 Kazakhstan
FT Luxembourg 0:5 Portugal
FT Andorra 0:3 Netherlands
FT Belgium 0:2 Serbia and Montenegro
FT Armenia 1:1 Romania
FT Malta 0:2 Hungary
FT Cyprus 1:2 Israel
FT Macedonia FYR 0:2 Czech Republic
FT Russia 4:0 Estonia
FT Liechtenstein 1:3 Latvia
Group 1
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Netherlands 4 3 1 0 10 3 10
Romania 5 3 1 1 10 5 10
Finland 5 3 0 2 10 6 9
Czech Republic 4 3 0 1 6 2 9
Macedonia FYR 5 1 1 3 6 7 4
Andorra 4 1 0 3 2 11 3
Armenia 5 0 1 4 2 12 1
Group 2
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Ukraine 5 3 2 0 9 3 11
Denmark 4 1 3 0 6 4 6
Turkey 5 1 3 1 6 5 6
Albania 4 2 0 2 3 5 6
Greece 4 1 2 1 5 4 5
Georgia 4 1 2 1 5 5 5
Kazakhstan 4 0 0 4 2 10 0
Group 3
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Portugal 5 4 1 0 20 3 13
Slovakia 4 3 1 0 15 3 10
Russia 4 2 1 1 10 8 7
Latvia 5 2 1 2 10 12 7
Estonia 5 2 1 2 8 11 7
Liechtenstein 5 1 1 3 8 14 4
Luxembourg 6 0 0 6 4 24 0
Group 4
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Ireland Republic 4 2 2 0 6 1 8
France 4 2 2 0 4 0 8
Israel 4 2 2 0 6 4 8
Switzerland 3 1 2 0 9 3 5
Cyprus 5 0 1 4 4 11 1
Faroe Islands 4 0 1 3 2 12 1
Group 5
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Italy 4 3 0 1 7 5 9
Norway 4 2 1 1 6 3 7
Slovenia 4 2 1 1 4 3 7
Belarus 3 1 1 1 8 5 4
Scotland 3 0 2 1 1 2 2
Moldova 4 0 1 3 1 9 1
Group 6
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
England 4 3 1 0 7 3 10
Poland 4 3 0 1 10 5 9
Austria 4 1 2 1 8 8 5
Northern Ireland 4 0 3 1 5 8 3
Wales 4 0 2 2 5 8 2
Azerbaijan 4 0 2 2 1 4 2
Group 7
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Serbia and Montenegro 4 3 1 0 10 0 10
Lithuania 4 2 2 0 6 1 8
Spain 3 1 2 0 3 1 5
Bosnia-Herzegovina 2 0 2 0 1 1 2
Belgium 3 0 1 2 1 5 1
San Marino 4 0 0 4 0 13 0
Group 8
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Sweden 4 3 0 1 14 2 9
Bulgaria 3 2 1 0 9 4 7
Croatia 3 2 1 0 6 2 7
Hungary 4 2 0 2 5 8 6
Iceland 4 0 1 3 4 10 1
Malta 4 0 1 3 1 13 1
Group winners and the two best runners up qualify for the finals. The other six runners up are paired in three two leg play-off matchs, the winners of these also qualify for the finals.
Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- China's Dutch coach Arie Haan was fired after a missed penalty in his team's 7-0 win against Hong Kong sealed the country's elimination from qualifying for soccer's 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Kuwait also won, 6-1 against Malaysia, to leave both teams with 15 points from six group games. Head-to-head results didn't separate the pair because each team won its home game 1-0 and both had a goal difference of plus-13. Kuwait advanced because it scored 15 goals to China's 14. China would have won the group on goal difference if Zheng Zhi's penalty hadn't been saved.
``I'm empty inside,'' Haan told world ruling body FIFA's Web site. ``I feel sad for the players and for everybody who was involved in the game. You can't come closer than this.''
China qualified for its first World Cup in 2002 and finished runnerup in this year's Asian Cup, the continent's championship for national teams, raising fans' expectations in the most populous nation. Haan played in the 1974 and 1978 World Cups and took over as China's coach after the 2002 tournament.
The Chinese led 3-0 at halftime in Guangzhou with an opening goal from Jinyu Li after 10 minutes and two strikes from Jiayi Shao. Jinyu added his second goal two minutes after the interval, Yunlong Xu got the fifth and Genwei Yu the sixth before Weifeng Li completed the scoring after 87 minutes.
`It's Over'
China had seemed likely to advance until Kuwait scored five times in the last 45 minutes in Kuwait City to convert a 1-1 scoreline at the interval into a 6-1 win.
``After a game like this there's not so much to say because it's over,'' Haan said. ``Everybody tried their best and seven goals is a lot, but it wasn't enough today.''
From Blomberg
Tuesday, November, 23
Tokyo, Nov 23, Kyodo/IRNA - Archrivals Japan and South Korea will be separated into two different groups in the upcoming draw for the final round of Asian zone qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany.
According to Asian Football Confederation documents that arrived at the headquarters of the Japan Football Association on Monday, all eight teams have been grouped into four seeded pairs based on their performances in the 2002 World Cup finals and qualifying matches. The second-seed teams are Saudi Arabia and Iran while Bahrain and Uzbekistan have been named third seeds. Kuwait and North Korea are both seeded fourth.
The draw will be held in Kuala Lumpur on December 9. The eight countries have advanced past the first round and will be divided into two groups of four teams in the final round. The final round will be conducted on a league basis with teams playing each of their group rivals twice on a home-and-away basis.
The top two teams in each group will advance directly to the World Cup finals, while the two third-placed teams will meet each other in a playoff. The winner of that playoff will then meet a CONCACAF confederation team in another playoff for a ticket to Germany.
From Iran Kicks
From FIFA:
Match schedule determined for final stage of preliminary competition
30 November 2004
At a ceremony in Zurich, FIFA today conducted the draw for the match schedule of the final stage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ preliminary competition in the North, Central American and Caribbean zone.
Eduardo Deluca, General Secretary of CONMEBOL, oversaw the draw proceedings conducted by FIFA Deputy General Secretary Jérôme Champagne in the presence of FIFA General Secretary Urs Linsi and his CONCACAF counterpart Chuck Blazer (USA), who is also a member of the FIFA Executive Committee and the Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup™. The General Secretaries of all six confederations, who are meeting in Zurich today, also attended the draw ceremony.
At the conclusion of the second stage of the zone’s preliminary competition, just six of CONCACAF’s 34 member associations were left in the running for a place in the finals – Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago and the USA.
The third phase of the competition will be played in a league system with home and away matches (see attached match schedule), and the top three teams will automatically qualify for the final competition of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™.
The fourth-placed team in CONCACAF’s third stage will enter a play-off (home and away) against the fifth-placed team in the Asian zone. The team that wins this head-to-head showdown will also book its place at the biggest event in world football in 2006.
----
09.02.05
PAN v. GUA
CRC v. MEX
TRI v. USA
26/27.03.05
CRC v. PAN
GUA v. TRI
MEX v. USA
30.03.05
PAN v. MEX
USA v. GUA
TRI v. CRC
04/05.06.05
TRI v. PAN
GUA v. MEX
USA v. CRC
08.06.05
PAN v. USA
CRC v. GUA
MEX v. TRI
17.08.05
GUA v. PAN
MEX v. CRC
USA v. TRI
03/04.09.05
PAN v. CRC
TRI v. GUA
USA v. MEX
07.09.05
MEX v. PAN
GUA v. USA
CRC v. TRI
Matches on two final match days to be played simultaneously
08/09.10.05
PAN v. TRI
MEX v. GUA
CRC v. USA
12.10.05
USA v. PAN
GUA v. CRC
TRI v. MEX
Posting Permissions
Quote
Bookmarks