World Cup Round-up

Europe playoffs, first leg
Greece 0-0 Ukraine
Portugal 1-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina
Republic of Ireland 0-1 France
Russia 2-1 Slovenia

FRANCE dealt a severe blow to Republic of Ireland's chances of World Cup qualification after a 1-0 win at Croke Park in Dublin.

Nicolas Anelka's deflected strike was the only goal but it was no more than France deserved after an industrious second half showing.

The French started brightly and lone striker Andre-Pierre Gignac had the ball in the net after 11 minutes but he was correctly ruled offside.

But, in a tight first half, the Irish had the best chance when Liam Lawrence's shot was prodded away by Patrice Evra with the goalkeeper stranded.

France began the second period with a hitherto unseen vigour, dominating possession and playing almost exclusively in the Irish half.

Eventually the pressure told. With 20 minutes left, a layoff by Lassana Diarra set up Chelsea striker Anelka.

He hit a shot from the edge of the box which went into the net via the unlucky Sean St Ledger and has left Ireland with it all to do.

It could have been worse for Ireland after Kevin Kilbane's sloppy back pass.

But after Anelka's initial shot was blocked, and with goalkeeper Shay Given on the ground, Gignac's follow up went woefully wide for a throw-in.

Ireland had a late chance to rescue a draw after an error by Eric Abidal.

The Barcelona defender gave the ball away to Robbie Keane who laid it off to the unmarked Glenn Whelan in the box but French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris smothered the danger.

A scuffle at the full time whistle was a clear demonstration of Irish frustration as the loss added to a terrible playoff record in which they have won just once in nine games.

But this was the first time they have lost the first leg and, having conceded an away goal, Giovanni Trapattoni's men face a huge task in Paris.


Looking to make their first World Cup finals appearance, Bosnia-Herzegovina also lost by a single goal in their first leg against Portugal.

The Portuguese were without Cristiano Ronaldo but had the best of the early action in Lisbon, and scored after 31 minutes through a Bruno Alves header.

But the unlucky Bosnians responded and, in a spirited comeback, hit the woodwork no fewer than three times.

Portugal held out but have showed they are vulnerable and Bosnia will still have high hopes of turning the tie around back home in Sarajevo.


Russia will take a narrow lead to Slovenia after a brace from Diniyar Bilyaletdinov gave them a 2-1 win in the first leg in Moscow.

The Everton midfielder struck either side of half time to give Guus Hiddink's team a comfortable and well-deserved two-goal lead.

But Hiddink will be furious as the Russians relaxed in the last five minutes and gave Slovenia an unlikely way back in the tie.

Nejc Pečnik halved the deficit with a possibly vital away goal before the Slovenians also hit the post in stoppage time.

Russia may have won the match but Slovenia will be encouraged by their late surge and will look to capitalise fully in the second match in Maribor.


There is everything to play for in the fourth tie as Greece and Ukraine cancelled each other out in a 0-0 draw in Athens.

Chances at both ends were at a premium in a poor game which did little to enhance the prospect of either team making a splash in South Africa next summer.

If anything, Ukraine had the better of the tie but could not find an away goal, much to the Greeks' relief.

Liverpool defender Sotiris Kyrgiakos had the best chance in stoppage time but missed the target with his header, leaving the tie delicately poised for the second leg in Donetsk.


Africa
The five group winners qualify for the finals.

CAMEROON and Nigeria both won to join Ivory Coast and Ghana in qualifying for the World Cup finals.

But the identity of the fifth African qualifier remains unknown after a goal deep into stoppage time gave Egypt a 2-0 win against Algeria.

The late goal, scored Emab Moteab, gave the Egyptians an identical record to the Algerians, meaning the final place will be decided by a playoff on neutral territory in Sudan.

While that promises to be another thrilling spectacle, Cameroon can finally relax after winning 2-0 away in Morocco and qualifying from Group A in the final round of matches.

The Indomitable Lions started the process slowly with a 1-0 defeat in Togo and a 0-0 home draw against the Moroccans.

But four straight wins ensured Cameroon's sixth finals appearance, a record for the African continent.

Gabon finished second on nine points, despite a final day defeat to Togo, which would have been enough for Cameroon to progress regardless of the result in Fez.

Togo's win meant they finished disappointingly in third on eight points with Morocco bottom and without a win on three points.

Meanwhile, former Newcastle United striker Obafemi Martins scored twice as Nigeria qualified thanks to a fine second half display and a slip up by Tunisia in Group B.

The Tunisians have led the group for most of the campaign but suffered a shock 1-0 defeat after a late Mozambique goal in Maputo.

To qualify, Nigeria still needed a win but they fell behind to bottom-placed Kenya after just 16 minutes.

Two goals in three minutes midway through the second half from Martins and Everton's Aiyegbeni Yakubu seemed to have turned the match in the Nigerians' favour.

But, with 11 minutes left in Nairobi, the Kenyans scored an equaliser and it looked like the Super Eagles were out and Tunisia through.

Just four minutes later, though, that situation was reversed as Martins struck his second to prevent a repeat of Nigeria's failure to qualify four years ago.

Algeria looked as if they would qualify for their first World Cup finals since 1986 from Group C until Egypt's dramatic second goal in Cairo which gave the two teams an identical record.

The Egyptians got the perfect start when former Wigan Athletic striker Amr Zaki scored after just two minutes.

Despite wave after wave of Egypt attacks after that early boost, the Algerians held firm and as the clock ticked into the 95th minute, they looked like they had done enough.

But Moteab scored with almost the last kick of the game to keep alive the Pharaoh's World Cup dreams and spark wild celebrations around the stadium.

A playoff in neutral Sudan on Wednesday will now determine the winner of Group C.

Matters in Groups D and E had already been settled before the last qualifying matches with Ivory Coast and Ghana both racking up a second successive World Cup finals showing.

Ghana completed their Group D campaign with a 2-2 home draw against Mali. Benin beat Sudan 2-1 to finish second, surprisingly above the Malians.

In Group E, Ivory Coast finished unbeaten with 16 points out of a possible 18 after an easy 3-0 win over bottom-placed Guinea.

That took the Ivorians onto 19 goals from their six matches, the highest of any team in the continent.

And, though he was not on the score-sheet against the Guineans, Chelsea's Didier Drogba was the continent's top scorer in qualifying with six goals.

Burkina Faso finished second in the group on 12 points after beating Malawi 1-0.

Group A: Cameroon 13 (Q), Gabon 9, Togo 8, Morocco 3
Group B: Nigeria 12 (Q), Tunisia 11, Mozambique 7, Kenya 3
Group C: Algeria 13, Egypt 13, Zambia 5, Rwanda 2
Group D: Ghana 13 (Q), Benin 10, Mali 9, Sudan 1
Group E: Ivory Coast 16 (Q), Burkina Faso 12, Malawi 4, Guinea 3


Asia-Oceania playoff, second leg
New Zealand 1-0 Bahrain
New Zealand won 1-0 on aggregate and qualify for the World Cup

NEW ZEALAND qualified for only their second World Cup finals appearance after a 1-0 win against Bahrain in Wellington.

Rory Fallon scored the decisive goal on the stroke of half-time with a header from a corner as the All Whites made it to their first finals since 1982.

After a goalless first leg, Bahrain knew a score draw would send them through on the away goals rule.

And, early in the second half, the Bahrainis had the perfect chance to equalise when Tony Lochhead fouled Abdulla Omar.

But Sayed Adnan's weak penalty was saved by Kiwi keeper Mark Paston and it was as close as Bahrain would come.

The All Whites held out comfortably and the full time whistle resulted in a joyous outpouring of celebration.

For Bahrain, who dominated the first leg, this was a familiar feeling of failure. They lost at the same stage in the World Cup 2006 in a playoff against Trinidad & Tobago.


Americas playoff, first leg
Costa Rica 0-1 Uruguay

URUGUAY took a massive step towards a place in the World Cup finals after beating Costa Rica 1-0 in San Jose.

Diego Lugano scored the only goal on 21 minutes, prodding the ball from close range after the Costa Ricans failed to deal with a corner adequately.

It got even worse for the home side just after half time when Randall Azofeifa was sent off for two bookings following a crude challenge.

The Ticos still continued to threaten until they tired in the last 10 minutes but Uruguay were unable to score a second and possibly kill the tie off.

Nevertheless, the South Americans will be confident of completing the job at the Centenario in Montevideo on Wednesday.


Qualifiers
Hosts: SOUTH AFRICA
Africa: CAMEROON, GHANA, IVORY COAST, NIGERIA
Asia: AUSTRALIA, JAPAN, NORTH KOREA, SOUTH KOREA
Europe: DENMARK, ENGLAND, GERMANY, ITALY, NETHERLANDS, SERBIA, SLOVAKIA, SPAIN, SWITZERLAND
North/Central America: HONDURAS, MEXICO, UNITED STATES
South America: ARGENTINA, BRAZIL, CHILE, PARAGUAY
Oceania: NEW ZEALAND
26 of 32 teams. Six remaining places to be decided by playoffs - one from Africa, four from Europe and one from the Americas.
Note: Australia, while geographically in Oceania, qualified from the Asia zone as members of the AFC.