Spain, England & the nations that can book their ticket for the World Cup Goal takes a look at the sides that can seal their places at international footballs greatest show in the coming days With the qualification campaign for the 2014 World Cup approaching its decisive stages, a number of teams will this week be looking to book their tickets for next years tournament. Hosts Brazil have already been joined by Asian representatives Japan, Australia, Iran and South Korea, European teams Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland, as well as Concacaf outfits USA, Costa Rica and fellow South American sides Argentina and Colombia. Additionally, a number of nations from Africa, Europe, North America and South America can also seal qualification in the coming days. In Europe, Russia will be confident of reaching next years tournament with just one more game to go in Group F. A draw against Azerbaijan will be enough for Fabio Capellos men to secure top spot ahead of Portugal, while even a defeat could still see them through, with the Seleccao seven goals worse off ahead of Tuesdays encounter versus Luxembourg. Group G is a straight battle between Bosnia- Herzegovina and Greece, with the former likely to top the group if they win against Lithuania due to the huge goal difference between the two sides. Greece will only book their ticket for Brazil if they do better than Bosnia or beat Liechtenstein by 18 goals more than the current leaders defeat Lithuania. Elsewhere, England will qualify if they beat Poland, while a draw or loss will only be enough if second- placed Ukraine fail to beat Group H minnows San Marino. Finally in Europe, reigning world champions Spain need one more point to guarantee their ticket to Brazil. If they lose against Georgia, France can only overtake them if they beat Finland by a sufficient margin to better Spains goal difference. In the Concacaf zone, Honduras are sitting in pole position to secure qualification as a draw versus bottom-side Jamaica will suffice. However, Mexico can overtake them if they lose and the Mexicans bag the full three points versus Costa Rica. In South America, meanwhile, Ecuador meet Chile, with both teams guaranteed to qualify automatically with a draw. Fifth-placed Uruguay can only book their ticket for the World Cup if they beat Argentina and one of Ecuador or Chile win, while they will also have to significantly improve their goal difference (they are four goals behind Chile and six behind Ecuador at present). The African play-offs continue on Wednesday, with Cote dIvoire and Nigeria defending a first-leg lead, while Tunisia travel to Cameroon on Thursday after a scoreless draw at the weekend. Oceania representative New Zealand and Asian side Jordan will be closely monitoring the action in North and South America respectively, with the intercontinental play-offs taking place in November.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 15:06:48 +0000
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