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| Thursday, October 4, 2001 22:03 EST |
Six more teams will progress directly to Asia
[Reuters]
LONDON -- The 2002 World Cup finals will
come sharply into focus for some nations -- and disappear from
view for others -- when the European qualifying competition
reaches its climax this weekend.
Apart from world champions France and recently-qualified
Sweden, Poland and Spain, no other European countries are
definitely through to next year's jamboree in South Korea and
Japan.
But that situation will have changed by Saturday night, when
another six teams will definitely have booked their places by
winning their qualifying groups.
By Sunday night, all nine runners-up will be confirmed, with
those teams pinning their hopes of reaching the finals on
success in next month's playoffs.
The tension is bound to be unbearable as the 14-month long
qualifying campaign ends, and there is likely to be no more
nerve-wracking arena than Manchester United's Old Trafford
stadium where nearly 70,000 England fans will be hoping their
team completes a dramatic comeback by beating Greece to finish
top of Group 9.
Swedish coach Sven Goran Eriksson has transformed England
since taking over in January, and victory over Greece will
secure a place in the finals -- as long as Germany doesn't beat
Finland by a margin seven goals better.
England has climbed from bottom to top of the group under
Eriksson, and its staggering 5-1 win over Germany in Munich
last month, coupled with a 2-0 victory over Albania in Newcastle
a few days later, has left the team with one foot in Asia.
England and Germany have 16 points each, but England has a
better goal difference and is firmly in the driving seat.
Germany, facing problems of morale and fitness, can still
finish top if it beats Finland in Gelsenkirchen and England
fails to defeat Greece.
If that happened, it would represent the biggest anti-climax
of all time for English soccer -- and another last-minute escape
for the Germans, who themselves think that scenario is highly
unlikely.
"I can't see England losing to Greece," German soccer great
Franz Beckenbauer said this week. "And our team is not stable
and we have weaknesses."
Whoever finishes second will face Ukraine or Belarus in the
playoffs, a tough prospect according to Beckenbauer.
"I am not certain that we will beat those playoff opponents
to go through to the finals," he added.
While England is on the verge of qualifying, so is Russia,
Portugal, Denmark, Belgium and Italy.
Russia leads Group 1 by three points from Slovenia and will
win the group if it avoids defeat by Switzerland in Moscow.
Russia opened its campaign with a 1-0 win over the Swiss
in Zurich last year, and a repeat of that scoreline would be
greeted with delight by the hosts on Saturday.
But if Russia was to slip up and Slovenia scored a big
enough victory over the Faroe Islands, Slovenia could pinch top
spot and reach the World Cup finals for the first time. The
runners-up will face Italy or Romania in the playoffs.
Portugal is also poised to celebrate a place in the finals
and only an unlikely defeat in Lisbon by unfancied Estonia can
stop the team.
Portugal goes into its last Group 2 match with 21 points,
the same as Ireland, who is at home to Cyprus, but the
Portuguese have a better goal difference (plus 21 compared to
plus 14). So Portugal looks set to qualify and Ireland will play
an Asian qualifier in next month's playoffs.
Unbeaten Denmark is also in control of its own destiny
because if it beats Iceland in Copenhagen, as expected, the team
will win Group 3.
But if the Danes slip up, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria
are waiting to pounce. They are both on 17 points and meet in
Prague, where the Czechs will be favorites to come out on top.
The Danes are guaranteed a runners-up place at worst, so
there will be no room for faint hearts in Copenhagen or Prague.
The runners-up will face the second team from Group 6 in the
playoffs.
Group 6 ends with a do-or-die match in Zagreb between
leaders Belgium and Croatia.
Belgium tops the group with 17 points and cannot finish lower
than second. Croatia has 15 points and could finish top -- if
it won -- or third and out of the running if it lost to
Belgium and Scotland, on 12 points, beats Latvia by seven goals
in Glasgow. Not even Scotland coach Craig Brown believes that
will happen, though, and it looks like a two-horse race between
the Belgians and the Croats.
For perennial World Cup finalists Italy, the position is far
clearer. If it beats Hungary, as expected, the team is through to
the finals for the 11th successive time.
Italy leads Group 8 by two points from Romania, and with
Romania also likely to beat Georgia at home, the top two
positions should remain unchanged.
If matches go according to form, Russia, Portugal, Denmark,
Belgium, Italy and England should reach the finals.
The race for the runners-up spots appears more open and one
game, in particular, will capture the headlines when it eventually gets played - the Group 7 match between Israel and Austria in Tel Aviv.
Nine Austrian players originally pulled out of the squad rather
than travel for security reasons, but the game was postponed by FIFA after a Russian plane heading from Tel Aviv with some 78 people on board plunged into the Black Sea after a mid-air blast on Friday.
When the game is rescheduled, Israel can qualify
for the playoffs behind group winners Spain if it wins, while any other
result would put Austria through to a playoff against Turkey.
It is a close call in Group 5. Poland has already
qualified, Ukraine, second on 16 points, travels to Chorzow to
face the Poles, while Belarus (15 points) visits Cardiff to play
a Welsh team that has not won in 11 internationals.
There is a real prize at stake for whoever finishes second
-- a playoff against Germany, or perhaps England.
If it's Germany, and Beckenbauer's warning comes true, a
place in the finals is also well within reach.
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