World Cup Qualifier Play-Offs

European World Cup Qualifier Play-Offs

Croatia 2-0 Iceland
Croatia went through to the World Cup with a 2nd leg win against Iceland, securing a 4th World Cup appearance. Mandzukic and Srna scored the goals which send Croatia to Brazil. Unfortunately Mandzukic was sent off in the 38th minute after a clumsy tackle.

France 3-0 Ukraine
France came from a 1st leg 2 goal deficit to secure a spot in Brazil with a 3-2 aggregate win against the Ukraine. This will also be France's 5th consecutive appearance into the World Cup. A brace from Sakho and a goal from Benzema crushed Ukraine's 2 goal lead. France was not in the 1st leg match at all, in the Ukraine where Koscielny was red carded.

Sweden 2-3 Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to send Portugal through to the World Cup while Ibrahimovic scored a brace for Sweden. On the night CR7 also equalled Pauleta's 47 goals.

Could you imagine CR7 not in the World Cup? We wouldn't see his hairstyles, his body and most importantly, his skill and the excellence he exudes when he is on the pitch! He had to score all 4 goals that took Portugal to the World Cup. He also had to upstage Ibrahimovic at his home ground. However, I do take my hat off to Ibrahimovic who applauded CR7's performance last night.

Romania 1-1 Greece
Greece and Romania played a 2nd leg 1-1 draw after Greece scored for themselves and later, an own goal for Romania. However, Greece qualified for Brazil, advancing 4-2 on aggregate.

African World Cup Qualifier Play-Offs

Algeria 1-0 Burkina Faso
Although it ended 1-0 to Algeria on the night, they also head to the World Cup with a 3-3 aggregate draw, winning on away goals.

Egypt 2-1 Ghana
Ghana lost 2-1 to Egypt in the 2nd leg of the World Cup qualifiers. However, Ghana head to Brazil with an overall 7-3 aggregate win over the Egyptians.

The Black Cats recording a 7-3 aggregate win over Egypt goes to show that they are ready to head to Brazil. Which reminds me, during the 2010 World Cup Ghana was the only country in the quarter-finals that flew the African flag. Besides, they are an amazing team with stars such as Gyan, Prince-Boateng, Essien, Muntari etc etc.

Weekend Football Action

CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - AL AHLY v ORLANDO PIRATES
Not only did Al Ahly win their 8th CAF title on Sunday, but they won it in style. The first leg at Orlando Stadium had an epic ending, Orlando Pirates scoring in the last minute of extra time kept their hopes alive before they travelled to Egypt. However, Al Ahly has a very good record playing at home, and they proved it when they beat Pirates 2-0 and clinched their 8th CAF title. Al Ahly also won by an aggregate of 3-1.
Unfortunately Pirates lost out on a second title as well as a second star.
Does this mean Al Ahly will have 8 stars?
Pirates can now shift their focus to the ABSA Premiership having only played 3 matches and sit at the bottom of the table on 4 points.

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Liverpool won 4-0 against Fulham while Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur suffered the same fate during the weekend. Arsenal lost 1-0 to Manchester United, Manchester City lost 1-0 to Sunderland and Spurs lost 1-0 to Newcastle United.
Liverpool was the pick of the bunch as they continued their winning streak as they beat Fulham 4-0. Bringing the gap between Arsenal to only 2 points.
At Old Trafford, former Arsenal man Robin van Persie scored the only goal that dented Arsenal's title aspirations while keeping theirs alive.
The 150th clash between Newcastle and Spurs resulted in Spurs conceding their 6th goal of the season and losing to Newcastle. Interestingly, both North London rivals lost their matches.
Chelsea survived a close 2-1 defeat to West Brom. A last minute penalty awarded to Chelsea was scored by Torres who levelled the match for Chelsea which then ended 2-2.
Arsenal remain at the top of the log while 2nd placed Liverpool close in with a 2 point deficit. Southampton moved to 3rd place, Chelsea 4th while Manchester United moved to 5th place. Unfortunately, Fulham, Sunderland and Crystal Palace make up the bottom three.

LA LIGA
Barcelona remains unbeaten, Atletico Madrid held, while Real Madrid bridge the gap.
Barcelona were without injured Lionel Messi for the rest of their 4-1 win against Real Betis. Fabregas scored a brace while Neymar and Pedro scored the other goals to hold on to Barca's unbeaten run and number 1 spot. Barca now sit on 37 points from only 13 games.
Second place Atletico could have seen the summit had Villarreal's Juanfran's only scored for Atletico instead of scoring for both clubs.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick while Benzema and Khedira also got their names on the scoresheet in Real Madrid's 5-1 victory against Real Sociedad. Madrid is 3rd on the table with 31 points, 3 points behind Atletico and 6 points behind Barca.