F1 2013: Simply four-some for Vettel

MULTIPLE F1 WORLD CHAMPIONS

(7)	Michael Schumacher (GER)	Benetton	1994, 1995
		Ferrari	2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
(5)	Juan Manuel Fangio (ARG)	Alfa Romeo	1951
		Mercedes-Benz	1954, 1955
		Ferrari	1956
		Maserati	1957
(4)	Alain Prost (FRA)	McLaren	1985, 1986, 1989
		Williams	1993
(4)	Sebastian Vettel (GER)	Red Bull	2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

SEBASTIAN VETTEL joined a pantheon of motor racing legends after clinching his fourth successive Formula One world title with victory in the Indian Grand Prix at the Buddh International Circuit.

Vettel's win from pole was his sixth in a row, and his seventh in the last eight races. It was also his 10th of the season which, remarkably, is eight more than anyone else.

Aged just 26, the German became the youngest ever four-time world champion, having previously been the youngest world champion, youngest double world champion, and youngest triple world champion.

And yet, despite - or maybe because - of his glittering career, Vettel is not exactly a popular champion with the crowds.

Booing on the podium has blighted the second half of the season when, after a fairly even start to 2013, the superiority of Vettel and the Red Bull team has become unquestionable.

Vettel had remained pretty quiet on the issue at previous Grand Prix but he finally admitted on Sunday that he has been hurt by the negative reaction.

"It's very difficult for me personally, to receive boos, even though you haven't done anything wrong," he said.

"At the time it hurts not to get the reception you expect but I think I'm clever enough to understand why they do it. I'm not blaming them."

Vettel's theory is that most of his detractors are supporters of Ferrari or McLaren, and are finding it difficult to see a team as dominant as Red Bull when it is not their own.

Meanwhile, Adrian Newey, Red Bull design chief extraordinaire, agreed that at least part of it was down to "jealousy of success people have".

However, Newey has also recognised that Vettel has not helped himself this year, even effectively admitting that the German's oft-seen index-finger victory salute could be perceived as arrogant.

Then, there is Vettel's flagrant decision early in the season to ignore team orders not to pass team-mate Mark Webber in Malaysia.

But none of these reasons is in any way good enough for motor racing fans to boo a quadruple world champion. It is rather poor form and he really cannot help being as good as he is.

It does beg the question, though - just how good is Vettel?

Arguably, the last four years have shown only that he is faster than his older team-mate Webber, and that much of his success has been down to the brilliant design work of Newey.

To pardon the pun, that in itself would be nothing new. Since 1992, Newey has designed the winning car on 10 occasions, having previously furnished the likes of Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve, and Mika Häkkinen at Williams and then McLaren.

Of course, Vettel - for his part - has plenty of brilliance throughout his short career - from winning in a Toro Rosso in Monza in 2008 to wrapping up his title on Sunday by storming through the field from 17th after an early tyre change.

Nevertheless, the feeling persists even among die-hard race fans, who would never boo him, that he needs to win the Drivers' Championship with more than one team - just as Prost, Juan Manuel Fangio, and Michael Schumacher did.

Some more competition would help too, although that this has not been present is largely down to the faults of the other teams.

Ferrari, in particular, have consistently let down their main driver Fernando Alonso over the last few years while McLaren have had another year to forget with even Lotus ahead of them in the Constructors' standings.

Mercedes have probably been the best of the rest in 2013 with three race victories from their two drivers, Lewis Hamilton (once) and Nico Rosberg (twice).

Rosberg's second-place in India has even lifted them back above Ferrari in the Constructors' championship with just three races left.

But the team came back down with one hell of a bump today following the bombshell news that their team principal Ross Brawn has decided to leave at the end of the season.

Brawn, alongside Newey, is the other remarkable figure in F1 over the last 20 or so years, having masterminded Schumacher's seven world titles at Benetton and Ferrari before later leading Jenson Button to a dream title-winning season in 2009.

If Brawn were to leave F1 altogether, then he would be a great loss to the sport - and a blow for those hoping that the Vettel-Newey axis will be properly challenged next year.

Nevertheless, 2014 already promises more than 2013 has delivered, with the move from 2.4 litre V8s to 1.6 litre V6 turbos among other big regulation changes.

It will be a clean slate for all of the teams - but the same question as last year will remain: can anyone stop Vettel?

CALENDAR

Date	Television		Pole position	Fastest lap	Winner
17 March	Sky	Australian Grand Prix	Vettel	Raikkonen	Raikkonen
24 March	Sky	Malaysian Grand Prix	Vettel	Perez	Vettel
14 April	BBC Sky	Chinese Grand Prix	Hamilton	Vettel	Alonso
21 April	Sky	Bahrain Grand Prix	Rosberg	Vettel	Vettel
12 May	BBC Sky	Spanish Grand Prix	Rosberg	Gutierrez	Alonso
26 May	Sky	Monaco Grand Prix	Rosberg	Vettel	Rosberg
9 June	BBC Sky	Canadian Grand Prix	Vettel	Webber	Vettel
30 June	BBC Sky	British Grand Prix	Hamilton	Webber	Rosberg
7 July	Sky	German Grand Prix	Hamilton	Alonso	Vettel
28 July	Sky	Hungarian Grand Prix	Hamilton	Webber	Hamilton
25 August	BBC Sky	Belgian Grand Prix	Hamilton	Vettel	Vettel
8 September	BBC Sky	Italian Grand Prix	Vettel	Hamilton	Vettel
22 September	Sky	Singapore Grand Prix	Vettel	Vettel	Vettel
6 October	Sky	Korean Grand Prix	Vettel	Vettel	Vettel
13 October	BBC Sky	Japanese Grand Prix	Webber	Webber	Vettel
27 October	BBC Sky	Indian Grand Prix	Vettel	Raikkonen	Vettel
3 November	Sky	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Webber	Alonso	Vettel
17 November	Sky	United States Grand Prix
24 November	BBC Sky	Brazilian Grand Prix

STANDINGS
Drivers' Championship

P	Driver	Team	Points
01	Sebastian Vettel (Ger)	Red Bull-Renault	347 (11 wins)
02	Fernando Alonso (Spa)	Ferrari	217 (2 wins)
03	Kimi Raikkonen (Fin)	Lotus-Renault	183 (1 win)
04	Lewis Hamilton (Gbr)	McLaren-Mercedes	175 (1 win)
05	Mark Webber (Aus)	Red Bull-Renault	166
06	Nico Rosberg (Ger)	Mercedes	159 (2 wins)
07	Romain Grosjean (Fra)	Lotus-Renault	114
08	Felipe Massa (Brz)	Ferrari	106
09	Jenson Button (Gbr)	McLaren-Mercedes	60
10	Paul di Resta (Gbr)	Force India-Mercedes	48
11	Nico Hulkenberg (Ger)	Sauber-Ferrari	39
12	Sergio Perez (Mex)	McLaren-Mercedes	35
13	Adrian Sutil (Ger)	Force India-Mercedes	29
14	Daniel Ricciardo (Aus)	Toro-Rosso-Ferrari	19
15	Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra)	Toro-Rosso-Ferrari	13
16	Esteban Gutierrez (Mex)*	Sauber-Ferrari	6
17	Pastor Maldonado (Ven)	Williams-Renault	1
18	Valtteri Bottas (Fin)*	Williams-Renault	0
19	Jules Bianchi (Fra)*	Marussia-Cosworth	0
20	Charles Pic (Fra)	Caterham-Renault	0
21	Giedo van der Garde (Ned)*	Caterham-Renault	0
22	Max Chilton (Gbr)*	Marussia-Cosworth	0

*= Debut season in F1

Constructors' Championship

P	Team	Points
01	Red Bull-Renault	513 (11 wins)
02	Mercedes	334 (3 wins)
03	Ferrari	323 (2 wins)
04	Lotus-Renault	297 (1 win)
05	McLaren-Mercedes	95
06	Force India-Mercedes	77
07	Sauber-Ferrari	45
08	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	32
09	Williams-Renault	1
10	Marussia-Cosworth	0
11	Caterham-Renault	0

World Cup 2014 qualifiers: Copacabana, here we come!

(Q) Brazil, Japan, Australia, Iran, South Korea, Netherlands, Italy, United States, Costa Rica, Argentina, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Colombia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Russia, England, Spain, Chile, Ecuador, Honduras

ENGLAND held their nerve to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil following a 2-0 win against Poland at Wembley.

The unbeaten Three Lions topped Group H with 22 points, six wins and four draws ensuring Roy Hodgson's men finished ahead of Ukraine by a single point.

Ukraine, who faced San Marino in their last game, were clearly going to win that match, and indeed they were 3-0 up inside 19 minutes, eventually prevailing 8-0.

Therefore, there was real pressure on England to get a positive result last night. Worryingly, the Poles began well on the counter attack with dangerous Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski calling Joe Hart into action before dragging an even better chance wide.

But, far from appearing burdened by their task, England took the game to their opponents from the start.

Indeed, it was quite amazing it took until 41 minutes for England to take the lead, considering the trio of glorious chances which were spurned by Danny Welbeck.

When the goal eventually came, though, it was a moment of real quality. Everton full-back Leighton Baines, supporting the attack brilliantly throughout, sent in an pinpoint cross which talisman Wayne Rooney glanced into the far corner for his 38th international goal and his seventh in six qualifiers.

Still, at just 1-0, the game was far from safe and - backed by 18,000 vocal visiting supporters - Poland continued to threaten intermittently with Gary Cahill blocking from Mateusz Klich.

Lewandowski again forced a stop from Hart before Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny saved brilliantly from a curling effort by the outstanding Rooney.

The game was a frantic, and frighteningly open affair and the danger of a 1-1 draw, like in 1973, never felt too far away.

At the same time, though, England had deserved far more than just their solitary goal for their efforts and, with one final push, doubled their lead.

Skipper Steven Gerrard applied the finishing touches to a fraught qualifying campaign, prodding the ball home following a powerful run against a tired defence.

Gerrard, who won his 107th cap, has often been criticised in the past for performing on a different level in the red of Liverpool but this was a moment in an England shirt of which he could be rightly proud.

Similarly, head coach Hodgson could celebrate what he considers to be the pinnacle of his career, although he was not getting too carried away in his debrief today.

After all, holders Spain also confirmed their place at the finals last night with a standard 2-0 win over Georgia, rendering France's 3-0 victory over Finland as irrelevant.

Les Bleus are, therefore, condemned to the playoffs and, such is their lowly ranking, are unlikely even to be seeded.

That fate does not quite apply to Portugal but they, too, must play two additional matches after Russia gained the point they needed in Azerbaijan to qualify automatically from Group F.

The playoffs are hardly a new experience for the Portuguese, though, having been forced into them in their previous two qualification campaigns, beating Bosnia-Herzegovina both times.

Bosnia, then, will have breathed a huge sigh of relief in having qualified automatically for their first ever World Cup as an independent nation, Vedad Ibisevic scoring midway through the second half in a 1-0 win over Lithuania. 

So, in full, the European qualifiers are: Belgium, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Russia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, England, and Spain. 

Contesting the playoffs will be Croatia, Sweden, Romania - who bettered Turkey's result, Portugal, Greece, Ukraine, France... and, rather delightfully, Iceland. 

The Icelanders were actually bottom seeds when the qualifying draw was made in July 2011, with a FIFA ranking of 121.

That position has rather improved and they are now at number 54 in the world although, considering some of the opponents they could face in the playoffs, seeing them in Brazil would still be a Nordic fairytale. 

The draw for the playoffs will be made on Monday with the ties played next month. Portugal, Croatia, Greece and Ukraine can expect to be seeded.

---

Elsewhere in the qualifiers, Chile and Ecuador sealed their places in the finals from the marathon South American group, leaving perennial playoff contestants Uruguay in that spot yet again. 

Semi finalists in 2010, Uruguay beat group winners Argentina 3-2 to draw level with the Ecuadorians on points, La Tri having been left without a single away win in the campaign after losing 2-1 to Chile in Santiago. 

Ultimately, though, the Uruguayans defence let them down. 25 goals scored and conceded left them four goals short of a top-four place, although Óscar Tabárez's men are quite used to requiring additional matches. 

Incredibly, La Celeste are in a playoff for a fourth successive World Cup - two of the previous three campaigns were successful and they will start as strong favourites again against Jordan. 

The prize for the luckiest team left in the World Cup simply has to be Mexico. Another defeat, this time 2-1 away to already-qualified Costa Rica, had left the two-time hosts in grave danger of missing out on even a playoff spot with Panama in the process of beating group winners United States.

But, amazingly, the Americans came to the Mexicans' rescue, as two stoppage-time goals by Graham Zusi and Aron Jóhannsson totally turned the tie around for the USA who ran out 3-2 winners.

Panama had dramatically failed to hold their nerve, finishing three points behind Mexico who won just twice and scored just seven times in 10 games.

Their next opponents, New Zealand, who qualified for - and remained unbeaten (with three draws) at - the last World Cup should therefore approach the tie next month with little to fear. Even the Estadio Azteca has rather lost its legend in this dreadful campaign.

Finally, one playoff in Africa which has just begun already looks over after Ghana thumped Egypt 6-1 in what was expected to be a keenly-contested match.

Two goals from Asamoah Gyan leave the Black Stars almost already assured of a place in the World Cup finals for a third successive time. Egypt's wait, which has lasted since 1990, seems likely to go on.

The other African playoff matches were held over the weekend, with the second legs next month. Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso, seeking a first finals appearance, both travel away with 3-1 and 3-2 leads respectively.

Cameroon host Tunisia with all to play for after a 0-0 draw in North Africa, while a last-minute Emmanuel Emenike penalty has put Nigeria in control following their 2-1 win over another surprise package, Ethiopia.  

RESULTS

UEFA (Europe)
Group A
(Q) Belgium (P) Croatia

19:30	Serbia	5-1	FYR Macedonia
20:00	Belgium	1-1	Wales
20:00	Scotland	2-0	Croatia

Group B  
(Q) Italy

19:15	Bulgaria	0-1	Czech Republic
19:15	Denmark	6-0	Malta
19:15	Italy	2-2	Armenia

Group C
(Q) Germany (P) Sweden

19:45	Faroe Islands	0-3	Austria
19:45	Ireland	3-1	Kazakhstan
19:45	Sweden	3-5	Germany

Group D 
 (Q) Netherlands (P) Romania

19:00	Hungary	2-0	Andorra
19:00	Romania	2-0	Estonia
19:00	Turkey	0-2	Netherlands

Group E
(Q) Switzerland (P) Iceland

17:00	Cyprus	0-0	Albania
19:00	Norway	1-1	Iceland
19:00	Switzerland	1-0	Slovenia

Group F 
(Q) Russia (P) Portugal

18:00	Azerbaijan	1-1	Russia
18:00	Israel	1-1	Northern Ireland
18:00	Portugal	3-0	Luxembourg

Group G
(Q) Bosnia-Herzegovina (P) Greece

18:00	Greece	2-0	Liechtenstein
18:00	Lithuania	0-1	Bosnia-Herzegovina
19:10	Latvia	2-2	Slovakia

Group H
(Q) England (P) Ukraine

20:00	England	2-0	Poland
20:00	Montenegro	2-5	Moldova
20:00	San Marino	0-8	Ukraine

Group I
(Q) Spain (P) France

20:00	France	3-0	Finland
20:00	Spain	2-0	Georgia

CONMEBOL (South America)  
(Q) Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador (P) Uruguay v Jordan

00:30	Chile	2-1	Ecuador
00:30	Paraguay	1-2	Colombia
00:30	Uruguay	3-2	Argentina
03:15	Peru	1-1	Bolivia

CONCACAF (Caribbean, North & Central America)  
(Q) United States, Costa Rica, Honduras (P) Mexico v New Zealand

02:30	Costa Rica	2-1	Mexico
02:30	Jamaica	2-2	Honduras
02:30	Panama	2-3	United States

CAF (Africa)
Final playoff matches, first leg

17:00

Ghana

6-1

Egypt

Nothing to fear?

NEWSPAPERS have nothing to fear from the regulatory Royal charter drawn up by the three main parties at Westminster according to shadow culture secretary, Harriet Harman.

So why, then, is there still so much resistance from the Fourth Estate to the proposal almost a year on from the published report following the Leveson Inquiry?

Leading the charge against, Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre has claimed that the row last week between his paper and Labour leader Ed Miliband showed exactly why politicians should not be involved in press regulation.

Mr Dacre wrote in his own newspaper and in the Guardian: "Some have argued that last week's brouhaha shows the need for statutory press regulation. I would argue the opposite.

"The febrile heat, hatred, irrationality and prejudice provoked by last week's row reveals why politicians must not be allowed anywhere near press regulation."

Indeed, it could be added, perhaps slightly flippantly, that the consensus between the political parties is the perfect reason why the charter should be rejected.

Moreover, this is hardly a lone crusade by the Mail. Inevitably, the Murdoch-owned pair - the Sun and the Times - are against the plans... but then so is the left-wing daily, the Mirror.

The Telegraph and the Express are also opposed - and so, quite clearly, is the editor of Private Eye, Ian Hislop following his rant on the latest episode of Have I Got News For You.

The only notable outsiders are the Guardian, which is tentatively in support of the Royal charter, and the Independent, which wrote in an editorial: "To ignore the Royal charter would mock the very democracy the press claims to guard."

And the biggest problem for the press is that this is one of those seemingly rare occasions where the politicians are actually carrying out the will of the majority of the British public.

After all, it must be remembered exactly the context in which the whole debate on the future of the press began.

It began, of course, with the shocking revelations in July 2011 that the now-defunct News of the World had hacked the phone of the murdered teenager Milly Dowler.

Many other complainants had already come forward. The majority at first, like Hugh Grant and JK Rowling, were already in the public eye.

However, after the Dowler revelations, others then became aware that they had also been victims - and many of them, like the falsely-accused Christopher Jefferies, were categorically not.

Ever since, unsurprisingly, the tide of opinion has been against the newspaper industry. On this matter, it had effectively lost the moral high ground.

Yes, the newspapers can point out that the likes of Mr Grant and Mr Jefferies gained recourse in the courts within the existing legal framework - and, in suggesting statutory regulation, this was something which Sir Brian Leveson seemed to disregard far too easily.

But, whatever Mr Dacre and others claim, the above fact is exactly why the Prime Minister David Cameron insisted on a Royal charter, rather than a whole new set of laws.

In other words, the existing framework is generally accepted to work just fine - but there simply must be more done to make the press more accountable.

After all, none of what has actually been proposed would have prevented the Mail from publishing slurs about Mr Miliband's dead father or, more importantly, stories like the Telegraph uncovering the MPs' expenses scandal.

Happily, the draft proposals also include a vital opt-out for local and regional newspapers which even Sir Brian found to be rarely in the wrong.

And all of it is far superior to the rejected newspaper industry's alternative charter - which was frankly little more than a rehash of the failed and discredited Press Complaints Commission.

Quite predictably, there have already been howls of anguish that the proposed Royal charter is the end of the 'free press' as we know it.

This is a pretty bizarre assessment considering that much of the national media is so 'free' that it rests in the hands of just a few wealthy men...

And, sadly for journalism, the cliché that you should not believe everything you read in the papers is particularly true of the reporting of the Royal charter.

The proposals will be put to the Privy Council for final agreement on 30 October.

World Cup 2014 qualifiers: England stay on course

QUALIFIED TEAMS

(Q) Brazil, Japan, Australia, Iran, South Korea, Netherlands, Italy, United States, Costa Rica, Argentina, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Colombia

ENGLAND enjoyed an ultimately comfortable win against Montenegro to stay on course to make it to the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.

The Three Lions scored four times in the second half and so remain on top of Group H, a point clear of Ukraine, with the Montenegrins and Poland now out of the running.

It all looked rather more precarious at half time. England were being held 0-0, while Ukraine - having beaten the Polish 1-0 in Kharkiv - headed the group by a point with only San Marino left to play.

However, head coach Roy Hodgson will have been pleased to see Wayne Rooney score his 37th international goal, following up on the rebound after club team-mate Danny Welbeck's shot had been saved.

Meanwhile, at the other end, under-pressure goalkeeper Joe Hart saved well to his left from Dejan Damjanović before England doubled their lead thanks to a comical own goal by Branko Bošković.

Nerves were definitely back on display at Wembley when Damjanović diverted Fatos Bećiraj's shot into the net for 2-1.

But, thankfully, England swiftly reasserted their dominance through Andros Townsend's brilliant drive from 25 yards.

And, just to make sure, Daniel Sturridge beat his man down the left channel, winning a clear penalty which he converted himself for 4-1.

Remarkably, this was England's first win against their principal rivals in Group H - but, importantly, one which means the Three Lions will definitely qualify with a home win against Poland on Tuesday.

---

Already there after tonight are Belgium, for their first World Cup appearance since 2002, following a fine 2-1 win in Zagreb against Croatia, courtesy of two goals from Romelu Lukaku.

The unbeaten Belgians - ranked sixth in the world - now lead Group A by an unassailable eight points ahead of their hosts, who have nonetheless secured a playoff spot.

Wales and Scotland, also in Group A, were never likely to feature at the business end of the qualifiers after their frankly terrible starts.

Simon Church scored a late goal as the Welsh beat Macedonia to haul themselves off the bottom of the table and into fourth above Gordon Strachan's Scots who didn't play.

In Group B, Alberto Aquilani scored a last-minute equaliser for already-qualified Italy against Denmark to set up a fascinating tussle for second place.

The Danes are still favourites to be runners-up, given that they face minnows Malta in their last game, but Bulgaria - who play the Czech Republic at home - are level on points and poised to take advantage of any slip-ups.

Nevertheless, whoever makes it might still have not done enough - the worst-performing second-placed side is not even worthy of a playoff.

Matters are much clearer in Group C where Germany sealed their long-anticipated qualification against managerless Ireland. Arsenal's Mesut Oezil scored in the final minute to seal a 9-1 aggregate victory over the fourth-placed Irish.

Sweden, meanwhile, guaranteed a playoff spot thanks to Zlatan Ibrahimovic's late winner against rivals Austria in Solna.

In Group D, Netherlands celebrated their qualification from last month with an 8-1 thumping of once-proud football nation Hungary.

Manchester United striker Robin van Persie scored a hat-trick to become his country's all-time leading goalscorer, at the same time leaving Budapest in mourning and Mighty Magyar Ferenc Puskás turning in his grave.

Turkey currently occupy second place - but their final fixture against the Dutch means Romania, who face Estonia at home in the last round of matches, are favourites for the prized playoff place.

In Group E, Switzerland confirmed their third successive World Cup qualification with a 2-1 win against Albania in Tirana.

An underwhelming section could yet have an extraordinary tale with Iceland holding second ahead of Slovenia.

The Slovenians face the Swiss in their last match while Iceland, who were ranked 121 before qualifying began, travel to fellow Scandanavians Norway.

Group F is headed by Fabio Capello's Russia, easy 4-0 winners in Luxembourg tonight.

However, the big result of the night came in Lisbon, where Portugal were held to a 1-1 draw by Israel after Eden Ben Basat's goal just five minutes from time.

The draw means Russia will qualify with just a point against Azerbaijan, consigning the Portuguese to the playoffs - again.

Group G is an even tighter two-way battle between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Greece, who are inseparable on 22 points after respective wins over Liechtenstein and Slovakia.

The Greeks can be more assured of victory on Tuesday, given that they travel to Liechtenstein - but leaders Bosnia, with 29 goals from their nine qualifiers, hold a significant goal difference advantage ahead of their tie in Lithuania.

Last - but certainly not least in the UEFA zone - Spain, the holders of course, will almost certainly have the chance to defend their trophy after a 2-1 win over Belarus in Group I.

The Spaniards need just a point at home to Georgia in Albacete, leaving France - who face Finland - nervously assessing their potential playoff opponents.

---

In South America, Colombia qualified for their first World Cup finals since 1998 after a stunning comeback against Chile.

The Chileans led 3-0 inside half an hour before Carlos Carmona's second booking halfway through the second period turned the match on its head.

From then on, it was all Colombia with Teofilo Gutiérrez and two Radamel Falcao penalties sending the crowd in Barranquilla into raptures. Los Cafeteros are second in the South American group, five points behind runaway leaders Argentina. 

Ecuador are third and likely to qualify after Jefferson Montero's goal earned them a tight 1-0 victory over 2010 semi finalists Uruguay. 

That defeat at altitude means the Uruguayans must beat their age-old rivals Argentina to have any chance of an automatic slot, with even victory unable to secure a top-four spot if Ecuador and Chile play out a draw. 

At the same time, if Uruguay are forced into a playoff, they should not panic too much as they will be expected to beat their opponents from the Middle East, Jordan. 

Also seemingly heading for the playoffs are Mexico after Honduras beat already-qualified Costa Rica to maintain their three-point gap in third, with only rock-bottom Jamaica to come. 

The Mexicans have endured awful form throughout the qualifying process, failing to win any of their first four home matches at their former fortress of an international stadium, the Azteca. 

It looked as if that run might even be extended to five games when Luis Tejada equalised for Panama with 10 minutes remaining. 

But an even later winner from Raúl Jiménez lifted El Tri three points clear of their opponents in the battle for fourth and a home-and-away series against New Zealand.

United States qualified last month and were confirmed as having won the section following a 2-0 victory over the winless Jamaicans.

Finally, the first legs of four playoff matches in Africa took place over the weekend with the winners of each of the ties making it to Brazil.

Burkina Faso, who have never previously qualified, take a lead into their second leg against Algeria but conceded two away goals in a 3-2 victory.

Similarly, Ivory Coast were well in control of their tie against Senegal, scoring two early goals - one from Didier Drogba - on the way to a 3-0 lead.

However, Papiss Cisse kept the Senegalese in it with a last-minute strike which may yet prove more than just a consolation.

In Sunday's matches, Emmanuel Emenike converted a stoppage time penalty for his second goal as Nigeria came from behind to beat Ethiopia 2-1 in Addis Ababa. 

And it is all to play for in the second leg in Yaoundé after Tunisia and Cameroon cancelled each other out in a 0-0 draw.

The final playoff tie - Ghana v Egypt - has its first leg on Tuesday, with the second legs of all of the matches played between 16-19 November.

RESULTS

UEFA (Europe)
Group A
(Q) Belgium (P) Croatia

17:00	Croatia	1-2	Belgium
19:45	Wales	1-0	FYR Macedonia

Group B  
(Q) Italy

16:00	Armenia	2-1	Bulgaria
18:30	Malta	1-4	Czech Republic
19:15	Denmark	2-2	Italy

Group C
(Q) Germany (P) Sweden

18:00	Faroe Islands	1-1	Kazakhstan
19:45	Germany	3-0	Ireland
19:45	Sweden	2-1	Austria

Group D 
 (Q) Netherlands

19:30	Andorra	0-4	Romania
19:30	Estonia	0-2	Turkey
19:30	Netherlands	8-1	Hungary

Group E
(Q) Switzerland

19:30	Albania	1-2	Switzerland
19:45	Iceland	2-0	Cyprus
19:45	Slovenia	3-0	Norway

Group F

17:00	Azerbaijan	2-0	Northern Ireland
19:30	Luxembourg	0-4	Russia
20:45	Portugal	1-1	Israel

Group G

16:30	Lithuania	2-0	Latvia
19:00	Bosnia-Herzegovina	4-1	Liechtenstein
19:45	Greece	1-0	Slovakia

Group H

17:00	Moldova	3-0	San Marino
19:00	Ukraine	1-0	Poland
20:00	England	4-1	Montenegro

Group I

21:00

Spain

2-1

Belarus

CONMEBOL (South America)  
(Q) Argentina, Colombia

22:00	Colombia	3-3	Chile
22:00	Ecuador	1-0	Uruguay
22:00	Venezuela	1-1	Paraguay
00:00	Argentina	3-1	Peru

CONCACAF (Caribbean, North & Central America)  
(Q) United States, Costa Rica

22:00	Honduras	1-0	Costa Rica
23:36	United States	2-0	Jamaica
02:30	Mexico	2-1	Panama

CAF (Africa)
Final playoff matches, first leg

Sat 17:00	Burkina Faso	3-2	Algeria
Sat 18:00	Ivory Coast	3-1	Senegal
Sun 14:00	Ethiopia	1-2	Nigeria
Sun 17:00	Tunisia	0-0	Cameroon

Miliband v the Daily Mail

Yes, that is Adolf Hitler - with then-Daily Mail proprietor Lord Rothermere I

THE DAILY MAIL hit a new low this week when it made an unbridled series of slurs on the dead father of the Labour leader Ed Miliband.

Ralph Miliband, a Marxist academic, was labelled "an evil man who hated Britain" by the self-righteous right-wing rag on the strength of a diary entry which he had made aged 17.

Naturally, the article upset the Leader of the Opposition who understandably leapt to his late father's defence.

"Fierce debate about politics does not justify character assassination of my father, questioning the patriotism of a man who risked his life for our country in the Second World War," said Mr Miliband.

Undaunted, the Mail justified the story on basis that Ralph Miliband's hardline left-wing stance would have heavily influenced his son.

And, of course, it came in the context of 'Red Ed' having delivered an impassioned, slightly more left-wing, party conference speech in favour of freezing energy bills.

Indeed, in an extraordinary twist, the Mail - having refused to apologise - has now demanded an apology itself from the Labour party for the accusation that its Ralph Miliband article had been motivated by anti-Semitism.

Most of the flak, however, has deservedly headed in the newspaper's direction - and it has not just come from  left-wing political circles.

The affair prompted prominent right-wing broadsheet the Telegraph to republish their Ralph Miliband obituary, a fair-minded review which referred to him as "an inspiring teacher of politics and an internationally renowned figure of the British Left".

Meanwhile, a minister from the Thatcher cabinet, Lord Moore, accused the Mail of "telling lies" about his former tutor.

The current Conservatives - aware that the ill-timed furore was overshadowing their conference in Manchester - were generally a bit more reserved.

Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague both supported Mr Miliband's right to defend his father, without further commenting on the Mail article.

However, Deputy PM Nick Clegg did not hold back, referring to the paper as "overflowing with bile".

Of course, he and the Liberal Democrats had come under attack by the paper during the 2010 General Election campaign, partly for him having the audacity of being married to a sweet señorita from Spain.

The general consensus in the Westminster village - and perhaps the country at large - was that the story had backfired, and that Mr Miliband had received sympathy and support for his stance, despite his ongoing dreadful approval ratings.

Indeed, the view against the Mail newspaper group became even more entrenched when it emerged two journalists from sister paper, the Mail on Sunday, had intruded into a private memorial service for Mr Miliband's recently deceased uncle.

Action has at least been taken at the weekly publication - the reporters have been suspended and editor Geordie Greig has issued an apology.

Yet, still, Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre remains unmoved.

It is an incredible state of affairs, considering that, while the story is shameful in itself, it is actually unbelievably hypocritical as well.

For, while Ralph Miliband fled the Nazis in 1940, the then-Mail owner Lord Rothermere, Harold Harmsworth, famously sent gushing telegrams to Adolf Hitler and even met with him.

But, then, supporting far-right parties is not just something which the Mail did in the dark pre-WWII era.

As recently as last year, a columnist at the Mail, Richard Waghorne, ridiculously supported the leader of the French Front National, Marine Le Pen, in the presidential election.
 
At least, the media furore has meant that, on this occasion, the Mail has not got away with some pretty ignominious journalism, with social media gallantly leading the response.

The Twitter hashtag '#mydadhatedbritain' produced several comic gems, all of which - without exception - were laced with sarcasm.

Meanwhile satirical site Us Vs Th3m has created a quiz which allows you to determine just exactly how hated you are by the Mail...

Why not try it for yourself?... although, after this week, Mr Miliband hardly needs a quiz to find out where he stands.