Group 4 has become more intriguing after each round of games. I almost feel that Ireland is just toying with some of these teams, and their coach even blasted them for a lackluster 1-nil win over Cyprus. Unless, I am looking at the standings incorrectly, Israel is in first place in the table (although they have one extra game played). Man, I would love to see Israel and Ireland get out of this group.

Glad to see England get into the World Cup last night.

[ October 09, 2005, 08:37 PM: Message edited by: Cattledog ]

Well it may not bring peace to the Middle East but it is reassuring in the midst of current developments that Jews and Arabs are competing on the same team for Israel, even if the conflict has forced Israel to play its home games overseas.

Another interesting development is Australia's ongoing battle to get out of Oceania which looks likely to happen. It would certainly increase their exposure and might enhance their chances of getting to the Cup in the future since Asia gets 4.5 teams to Oceania's 0.5 teams.

I'm torn between France and Switzerland. They are both so hot. France would face a strong challenge from any number of its ex-colonies later which would make for great drama. Remember their embarassment by Senegal in 2002? But a surprise showing by Switzerland would shake up the Euro-show as well.

This is going to be a fun playoff.

Group 4 has been the best to follow, and it does make sense if you look at it hard enough. Here are the scenarios, all based around France's result.

If France wins:
-A Switzerland win gives the Swiss first place, with France second.
-France would clinch first with an Ireland win (Ireland second place).
-A tie would give France first, Switzerland second. Israel is eliminated in all scenarios involving a France win, so you know they're rooting for Cyprus next time.

If France draws:
They would finish tied with Israel, but with a better goal differential.
-An Ireland win would make it Ireland first, France second.
-A Switzerland win would make it Switzerland first, France second.
-An IRE-SUI draw would make a three-way tie for first, and it would be Switzerland first, Israel second (this is due to a different tiebreaker involving goals scored in games between the three clubs, where the Swiss and Israelis have scored four to the French two)

If France loses:
They're done, and Israel clinches second place. The victor of IRE-SUI would take first, or SUI in case of a draw.

I hope this makes sense.

[ October 09, 2005, 09:12 AM: Message edited by: thecrookedcap ]

A wild finish in Africa with only Eagles of Carthage form Tunisia returning from the last Cup. Some great teams from Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa will be staying home.

24 of the 32 are decided already. Glad Costa Rica got in even if it meant beating a second-tier USA squad in a game not critical for us.

England are licking their wounds after a win. I think they realize they are no longer dominators.

South Africa had a really poor qualifying relative to their status, having been knocked out in September. Something tells me they're upset about that, especially since they'll be hosting the next World Cup in 2010 (At least they won't have to worry about qualifying).

The theme going into this World Cup has to be the march of the debutantes. With the four new African teams, there's also Ukraine making their first appearance (with first time appearances by Slovakia and Bosnia possible), and at least one other new team (Trinidad and Tobago, Guatemala, Uzbekistan, or Bahrain).

Host team automatically gets a bye so SA won't have to worry about that in 2010.

For those of us stuck at work or elsewhere this afternoon, Ireland v. Switzerland is today's featured FIFA \"matchcast\" on yahoo Several bars in the DC (Lucky Bar and Fado) are showing the England and Ireland matches live on TV ($20 cover).

Again, for Denmark it's come down to win in Kazakhstan and then get some help from the Albania's and they'll reach the playoff level. Please Albania -- there must be some Turk or Ottoman atrocity of lore that must be avenged today.

Oh -- and a question -- why is Israel placed in Europe? All other teams in the region -- Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine -- were placed in Asia where they belong. (I'm thinking off the top of my head that some of the Arab countries there would refuse to play them).

Think how bad it is for the Americans to go down to Central America and Mexico. Now imagine the Israeli team and/or fans in Lebanon, Jordan, or the territory of Palestine.

Turkey has just won -- so they move onto the playoff round. And the Czechs beat up on Finland, so they move past Romania for second in their group.

It looks like the Irish are officially out . They couldn't even win at Landsdowne Road in Dublin today, and had to settle for a nil draw against Switzerland, who is second place in the table. Israel has the same amount of points as the Swiss, but the Swiss hold the lead in goal differential. Brian Kerr will most certainly lose his coaching job with the Republic of Ireland. France is in first in the table. But after the French, this should have been a pretty easy group for the Irish.

Under the same token, this should have been extremely easy for France. You have to give a lot of credit to the Swiss and Israelis, they performed outstandingly. None of the top three teams lost even once in qualification, and Ireland only once, to France last month. It's a real shame that they all couldn't qualify.

Next is the playoff round to determine the rest of the teams.

Bahrain v. Trinidad & Tobago (11/12 and 11/16)
I'll go with T&T for that.

Uruguay v. Australia (dunno the dates)
If Uruguay can beat Argentina like yesterday, they'll beat the Aussies.

Match-ups for the European teams will be drawn tomorrow. The teams are Czech Republic, Norway, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey. I guess FIFA rankings determine some of the matches. The Czechs, Spanish and Turks are the highest ranked. Stay tuned ...

Here are the European playoff matches for 11/12 and 11/16:

Spain vs. Slovakia
Switzerland vs. Turkey
Norway vs. Czech Republic

I gotta go with Spain, Turkey and the Czechs -- but Switzerland was tough in their grouping and may surprise again.

Yes, that Swiss on Turkey matchup sounds delish, but I have to go with Switzerland. I think they totally rocked their group. The Slovaks are going to give Spain a rough ride and I'm more hoping than expecting the Spainairds to pull through. I totally agree with you on the Czechs. I think they will man-handle Norway.

Final qualifying games will be played tomorrow.

Spain looks like a cinch, already up 5-1

So do the Czechs, going back home with a 1-0 lead.

Switzerland is the big surprise to me -- Turkey needs to score two just to tie.

Australia v. Uruguay -- I just dunno. Uruguay's up 1-0, but the game's Down Under.

Same with Trinidad & Tobago and Bahrain. I gotta think T&T will come through.

The Spain, Switzerland and Aussie games can be followed on FIFA MatchCast

Australia has qualified for its first World Cup since 1974.

Trinidad & Tobago also qualify -- for the first time ever.

Also Switzerland -- Turkey beat them today 4-2, but the Swiss win on the tiebreaker (away goals scored)

Looks like Spain is cruising; Czechs up by 1 today over Norway.

I don't mind the aggregate system determining fate, but I think the "away goals scored" rule is rather silly. They might as well flip a coin.

Spain is a 99.9% lock even though they are down 1-nil in the second half. Slovakia would have to tack 4 more goals on to win on aggregate.

Way to go, Australia and Trinidad & Tobago!

I work with someone from Spain and someone from the Czech Republic, and both are breathing a big sigh of relief right now. Spain and Czech Republic both advanced to the 2006 World Cup this afternoon.

FINAL ROUNDUP

WCQ Playoffs (2nd leg)
UEFA
Slovakia 1-1 Spain ESP adv 6-2 on aggregate
Czech Rep. 1-0 Norway CZE adv 2-0 on aggregate
Turkey 4-2 Switzerland tied 4-4 on aggregate; SUI adv on away goals rule

CONCACAF vs. AFC
Bahrain 0-1 Trin & Tob. TNT adv 2-1 on aggreagte

OFC vs. CONMEBOL
Australia 1-0 Uruguay (tied 1-1 on aggregate; tied on away goals; AUS adv 4-2 on p.k.'s)

The 32 qualified teams are:
Angola, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Ghana, Iran, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Serbia & Montenegro, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Togo, Trinidad & Tobago; Tunisia, Ukraine, USA.

The draw on December 9, 2005 will assign the 32 lucky teams into 8 groups for the first stage of the Finals tournament.
:cool:

We are very excited down under. The 1st time since 1974 we have made the world cup. It was a great game last night finishing with the nail biting penelty shootout. Go Socceroos.

OK guys - so now comes the seeding and the draw on December 9th in Leipzig. Who deserves a seeding from CONCACAF, USA or Mexico? Or both? Below is part of an article that explains the seeding process.

Culled from the Washington Times U.S. seeding uncertain for World Cup
An argument could be made that the U.S. team deserves to be one of the top eight seeds at the draw, and thus avoid playing big guns Brazil, Germany, Argentina, France, Italy and England in its opening three games. The Americans won the CONCACAF region qualifying group in 2005 above Mexico -- the team it beat to reach the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup in Asia -- and are ranked seventh in the world.
Mexico is certain to be one of the top eight seeds since it is only one of four teams, including Brazil, Italy and Germany, to have advanced out of the opening round in the last three finals. But it would seem unlikely for FIFA, soccer's governing body, to choose two seeds from the CONCACAF region (including North and Central America and the Caribbean), despite the success of CONCACAF teams at recent finals.
At the draw for the 2002 World Cup, the top seeds were determined based on results in the last three World Cups and its rankings during the last three years. But FIFA has sent mixed signals on how the seeding will be decided this time around. More emphasis might be placed on a team's ranking. The process will be decided on Dec. 6, three days before the draw.
Despite advancing to the second round in 1994 and the quarterfinals in 2002 (eighth place), America's dead-last finish in France in 1998 counts against it, if FIFA uses its traditional seeding formula.
A study on how the seedings might look using the 2002 system, done last month by a leading British newspaper, had the U.S. team listed at No. 10 behind Holland, with Mexico seeded No. 4.
It's expected that the top eight teams in "Pot A" will be automatic seeds Brazil (champion) and Germany (hosts), along with Spain, Mexico, Argentina, England, Italy and France, but nothing is certain.
FIFA boss Sepp Blatter left some teams sweating recently, when according to England's Daily Mail he said: "The seeded teams won't only be decided on their FIFA ranking, but also on results obtained in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups. With the selection procedures, I think the national teams of Holland and England have reason to be worried. Even Italy might not get a place."

My first reaction is to say the USA should get the Concacaf spot since they beat Mexico in the qualifying group. In the FIFA world standings I have seen they are almost even in points and there is a new standing published in the next days (maybe the USA could gain a spot? I don't know) so I would give it to the concacaf qualifying winner, USA.

But from the system of allowing the berth Mexico is assured a spot due to its previous performance. So mow it's not really which one of the two teams should get a top seeding; it's is concacaf going to get two teams?

Solely on its place in the FIFA points standing the USA should be in, but it will depend on which criteria or formula they decide to select the teams. Against many European teams, I doubt two from Concacaf will make it, therefore my prediction is the USA won't make it.

Of course I am biased for the USA, but they did win the CONCACAF and are ranked in the top 8 in the world. They did what they were supposed to do to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. The Americans really cannot control the level of competition in Europe and South America. But, they did their job well, and should be rewarded with one of the top 8 seeds. As far as Mexico, I would think that they would just miss out on one of those seeds.

The idea that the US may not get one of the top seeds is simply ludicrous. The US won the qualifying group and, for the last three years, have consistently been ranked in the top ten in the world.

But, take a look at CONCACAF's group winner for the 2002 World Cup to see how disrespected the region is. Costa Rica, the group winner in 2001, was placed with eventual champions Brazil, third place team Turkey, and China. That's no easy group.