World Cup qualifying took centre stage as more countries booked their tickets to Germany (2006) over the weekend.

Many of the usual suspects soldified their spots in next year’s tournament, alongside a substantial number of surprise qualifiers.

Africa

The big news came from Africa, where 4 of the 5 teams that will represent the continent are different from the group that took part in 2002.

The least surprising of the newcomers is Ghana, 5-time African Cup champs and a recent winner of the FIFA U-20 tournament, who have up until this point been the best team in the world to have never made it to the big show. The Ghanaians easily won their group by a five point margin.

Perennial African representatives Cameroon stole defeat from the jaws of victory in their last qualifying match, and Ivory Coast was the beneficiary. A win over Egypt in Cameroon would have sealed yet another Indomitable Lions trip to the World Cup, but all that Cameroon could muster was a 1-1 draw, which allowed Ivory Coast to edge its way into first place by a single point.

Other African upsets included Angola qualifying over Nigeria. The two teams finished level on points, and the group was decided by a head-to-head tiebreaker (the Angolans won and tied the teams’ two meetings).

Togo ended their qualifying run with a two point edge over 2002 darling Senegal, and will make their World Cup debut next summer.

The only team that took part in Japan-Korea that will advance to Germany is Tunisia, who claimed their spot by a 1 point margin over Morocco.

Europe

In European action, the second qualifying spot from Group One is hotly contested between the Czech Republic and Romania. The Czechs must win in Helsinki on Wednesday if they hope to be in next year’s Cup, as the Romanians currently hold a one point lead and the tiebreaker should the Czechs only manage a draw against the Finns. The Netherlands won the group quite a while ago, and look to be a favourite going into Germany.

In Group 2, Turkey, Denmark and Greece are all seperated by two points for the second qualifying spot, with all three set to play their final matches on Wednesday, which should lead to some nervous cell phone updates for each team’s respective management teams. The Ukraine has already sown up the top spot in the group.

Group 3 was won handily by Portugal, and presents perhaps the juiciest match of the week, as Russia travels to Bratislava on Tuesday tied with the Slovaks for second place. It’ll be a single game with qualification on the line.

A real dog fight ensues in Group 4, as no less than four nations are vying for the two spots still up for grabs. Israel sits on top, with Switzerland, France and Ireland all within 2 points of the Israelis.

Italy wrapped up a spot in Germany over the weekend, so the drama in Group 5 now rests with Norway and Slovenia battling it out for second place. Both teams play Wednesday, although the Norwegians hold a three point advantage and can seal it with a draw, win, or any Slovenian result other than a win. Norway should qualify.

If you listened hard enough on Saturday, you would have heard a collective sigh of relief from Limeys everywhere, as England secured second place in Group 6 with a victory over Austria. After a roller-coaster qualifying run that included losing to colonial brothers Northern Ireland for the first time in decades, the English joined group winner Poland as qualifiers for Germany.

Group 7 sees Serbia-Montenegro atop the pile with 19 points, followed closely by Spain (17 points) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (16 points). The Bosnia-Serb match on Wednesday in Belgrade will decide those two teams’ fates, as the Spaniards have a guarantered win versus hapless San Marino scheduled that same day. The Bosnians must win the match by a large margin to have any chance of qualifying, as the Serbs can secure a World Cup spot even with a narrow loss.

Croatia and Sweden have already cemented the top two slots in Group 8, so Wednesday’s matches will be nothing more than a chance to see new players and try new formations for those two nations’ respective managers.

South America

The four automatic qualifying spots in South America have already been decided, with Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Ecuador already looking ahead to next summer. The interesting stuff is taking place immediately below the top four teams on the table, where Chile and Colombia are tied on points with one match remaining for each side. Whoever claims the 5h spot will go on to a two-game playoff with Australia in November for a place in Germany.

CONCACAF

With qualification assured, the Americans sent a largely experimental squad (peppered with some veterans) to Costa Rica on Saturday and left with a 3-0 loss for their troubles. The Costa Ricans claimed third place (and qualification) with that victory, and will join the Yanks and Mexico as CONCACAF reps for the second straight tournament.

This leaves Trinidad and Guatemala to fight over the region’s ‘half-spot’, with the Soca Warriors holding a two point advantage going into Wednesday’s final round. Whomever claims the half-spot will take on either Bahrain or Uzbekistan (who will decide Asia’s fifth-place team this week) in a home-and-home series for a trip to Germany.

Asia and Oceania

All the automatic spots are already decided, with Saudi Arabia, Japan, Korea and Iran representing the Asian zone.

Canucks Abroad

With the FIFA international week putting all top tier competitions on hold (except for MLS, which apparently follows its own schedule), only Canadians employed in lower level leagues were in action over the weekend.

MLS MVP candidate Dwayne De Rosario of Toronto notched a goal and an assist in a 2-2 San Jose Earthquakes home draw versus Real Salt Lake. Fellow Canadian Pat Onstad tended goal as per usual.

18-year-old Will Johnson was suspended for Chicago Fire’s 2-1 home loss to Columbus Crew on Saturday, as he was red carded in the Fire’s previous regular season match. Johnson took part in Chicago’s reserve team’s 2-1 loss to the Crew’s reserves on Sunday.

Over in Europe, Johnson’s Canadian U-20 teammate Marcel De Jong played 90 minutes in the midfield for Helmond Sport in the Holland 2nd division. De Jong’s side was victorious, and are 6 points off the league lead. Perhaps by this time next year, De Jong will join 18-year-old Canadian wunderkind Jonathan De Guzman in Holland’s top league.

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