Tuesday, 13 October 2009
In the first half, as a result of Rio Ferdinand's error, Artem Milevskiy was through on goal and England goalkeeper Robert Green brought him down in the penalty area, this was a professional foul and so Green was sent off. Andriy Shevchenko however failed to convert the penalty, hitting the post.
However on the 29th minute, Ashley Cole conceded possession near the penalty area, the ball broke loose to Serhiy Nazarenko who shot from 20 metres out, it deflected off Ashley Cole's and beat the substitute goalkeeper David James, putting Ukraine in the lead. Soon afterwards, Frank Lampard received a clever pass from Wayne Rooney and almost immediately levelled, but Lampard's shot went across the face of goal and wide. However, Artem Milevskiy hit the crossbar with a long range volley from 30 metres out at 32 minutes with James well beaten.
In the second half, England did seem more confident in possession and at 59 minutes, Rooney and Lampard combined to make a half chance. However, whenever ten-man England attacked, Ukraine were at many times able to hit England on the break. Shevchenko was unlucky to be called offside after a nice passing move, and he almost nutmegged James. And ten minutes from time James saved Andriy Yarmolenko's goal-bound shot with his legs. Rooney, who was by far England's best player, came close right at the end when he received a pass from substitute Carlton Cole and shot only just wide. That was the final action of the game and Ukraine had won 1-0. My prediction of 2-1 to England was well wide of the mark, but then I was not expecting England to play badly.
As a result of this game, Ukraine have a great chance of qualifying for the playoffs at Croatia's expense. Ukraine only have to beat Andorra to guarantee second place and the said playoff place, whereas Croatia will need to beat Kazakhstan in Alamaty and hope that Ukraine do not beat Andorra, which is a tall order. England will be wanting to, and must, put the Ukraine result behind them and the only way to do this will be to defeat Belarus convincingly at Wembley. England however will be without Wayne Rooney who is out with a calf injury, and without Steven Gerrard, who has had a recurrence of the groin injury he suffered on Saturday However, I predict England will win 2-0 against Belarus.
The Republic of Ireland drew 2-2 with Italy, the Irish had taken the lead twice, then Alberto Gilardino scored a dramatic injury time equaliser to make it 2-2. This draw guarantees Italy's automatic qualification and the Republic of Ireland's playoff place.
Germany won their crunch match in Russia to clinch qualification. A sole Miroslav Klose goal on 35 minutes proved to be enough, and Germany won despite being reduced to ten men, Jerome Boateng who was making his debut as right back was sent off for a second bookable foul on Vladimir Bystrov. Russia are guaranteed a playoff place however.
Elsewhere in Europe, Serbia also clinched qualification with a 5-0 drubbing of Romania, and France are in a good position to claim a playoff spot. In Group 1, Denmark have cliched qualification with a 1-0 win against Sweden, and Portugal have a chance of making the playoffs having beaten Hungary 3-0. Portugal only have to beat Malta at home to guarantee a playoff place. Slovakia lost at home to Slovenia 2-0, meaning that Slovakia have to beat Poland to guarantee qualification, and Slovenia can ensure second place by beating San Marino.
For more details on the fixtures in Europe, the permutations, and what each of the teams need to do to qualify, please click here.
In South America, Argentina laboured to a 2-1 win against bottom of the table Peru. Gonzalo Higuaín gave Argentina the lead in the 48th minute, but on the 90th minute Hernán Rengifo equalised for Peru, and then Martín Palermo, who is known for missing three penalties in a single Copa America match in 1999 (a 3-0 defeat against Colombia incidentally), was the hero in this game having scored a 93rd minute injury time winner, and saving Argentina's blushes.
Ecuador's 2-1 home defeat to Uruguay means that Argentina now only need a draw away to Uruguay to qualify automatically and consign Uruguay to the playoffs, or elimination if other results don't go Uruguay's way because Colombia, and Ecuador are also in with a chance of a playoff place. A Uruguay win however means Argentina is in trouble. Meanwhile, Chile secured qualification with a 2-1 win away to Colombia.
In the CONCACAF region, the US and Mexico clinched their qualification spots, the US winning 3-2 away to Honduras, and Mexico winning 4-1 against El Salvador. In Africa, Côte d'Ivoire secured their place in the World Cup. By Wednesday, we will know most of the teams who will be taking part in next summer's World Cup, and all the teams taking part in November's playoff matches.
Further information
- World Cup 2010 qualifying latest fixtures and results - all continental zones
- Europe (UEFA) qualifying standings
- South America (CONMEBOL) qualifying standings
- North America, Central America, and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) qualifying standings
- Asia (AFC) qualifying standings
- Africa (CAF) qualifying standings
- Oceania (OFC) qualifying standings
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