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.
