World Cup Qualifying Progress Report: European Qualifying

With qualification for next summers 2010 World Cup at the half way stage it seems to be the appropriate time to access how qualifying is going, and who is set to grace the tournament in South Africa next year.

Starting with Group One and one of the more tighter looking groups on paper has seen two runaway leaders in Denmark and Hungary extend their lead after Wednesday night matches.

Both sides lead the group with 13 points each, while both Portugal and Sweden lie off the pace with six points along with surprise package Albania who are keeping pace with the European heavyweights.

Portugal and Sweden endured a goalless draw at the weekend to allow the two leaders to extend their lead both converting 3-0 home wins over Albania and strugglers Malta respectively.

Sweden having played just four games are far from out of it, but former Real Madrid boss Carlos Quiroz will have a task on his hands to turn around the fortunes of Portugal in there final five group games.

Group Two sees the top four separated by just four points at the top of the group, something that should produce a thrilling finale to qualifying.

Both Greece and Switzerland find themselves at the top of the group with 13 points while Latvia follow with 10 and Israel with nine.

The top three were all-victorious on Wednesday evening, with Israel going down 2-1 to Greece, Georgios Samaras was the savour for the home team with a late penalty, after the two sides had drawn 1-1 all the previous weekend in Tel Aviv.

Northern Ireland find themselves top of Group Three after picking up six points in there two group games over the last four days, but will wary of both there victors Slovakia and Poland with games in hand for the duo.

The Irish have played seven out of ten groups games already and only lead by a single point from Slovakia, whom they beat on Wednesday evening, and three from Poland who they beat on Saturday.

Slovenia showed they are no push overs either by beating fourth placed Czech Republic in Prague to move to within two points of third placed Poland.

With matches in hand for the chasing teams it will be vital for them to take advantage, with the big match sure to be when the Irish travel to Poland when qualifying gets back underway in September.

Germany are the overwhelming favourites in Group Four after a comfortable victory over Wales in Cardiff.

Michael Ballack gave the away side the early lead before defender Ashley Williams scored an own goal to assure victory in the first half.

Russia will have cause for optimism that they could catch the run away leaders, after grinding out another win, this time over Lichtenstein.

With a game in hand and the two still to meet in the group, Guus Hiddink’s side will live in hope of catching their German counterparts before the end of the qualifying campaign.

Back-to-back wins over Turkey have further strengthened Spain’s position at the top of Group Five, as they continue their 100% record in qualifying after a last gasp Albert Reina goal on Wednesday evening.

The 2-1 win has all but assured Spain a place in South Africa as the European Champions continue on from there success of last summer with six wins in a row in the group.

Bosnia find themselves as the surprise chasing side, and with a four point gap from Turkey they will feel confident they can join Spain in next year’s World Cup, especially after their win over group rivals Belgium on Wednesday.

Another side with a 100% record in qualifying is England, who beat Ukraine at Wembley to retain their five-point gap over Croatia, who were 2-0 winners over Andorra.

Croatia’s meeting with Ukraine later in the year is sure to decide who finishes second in the group, as England look to run away with Group Six.

France have bounced right into contention in Group Seven with the help of two goals from Frank Ribery to win both games against Lithuania in the space of four days.

The French has trailed Lithuania by five points going into the double header, but successive wins leave them just two point behind Serbia whose victory at Romania on Saturday looks all the more important.

Giovanni Trapattoni came away from his home country Italy with a credible 1-1 draw for his Republic of Ireland side in the fixture of the week in Group Eight.

Giampaolo Pazzini’s sending off in the opening minutes had left the hosts with an uphill task, before Juventus forward Vincenzo Iaquinta gave the Azure the lead.

Robbie Keane equalized with just a minute remaining, to leave the team separated by just two points, with the sides still to meet at Croke Park before the end of qualifying.

The Republic are sure to be kicking themselves however, after letting a goal slip late on against Bulgaria on Saturday, a result that could have seen the two sides level on points at this stage.

Finally in Group Nine Holland are running away with qualifying with five wins out of five after a crushing 4-0 win over Macedonia.

Scotland are now clear in second after beating Iceland 2-1 at Hampden Park, but as things stand are the weakest of the second placed sides in qualifying, and need to pick up maximum points from there remaining three games if they are to stand any chance of making the play-offs.

So there we have it, a brief run down of how each group is shaping up, and as nothing has been decided yet the coming months are sure to be intriguing as the road to South Africa continues.