World Cup Qualifiers, SA 2010.

[Ab-Titchaz]

​

Ivory Coast have booked their place in the World Cup finals.The Elephants will be making their second successive appearance at the finals following their 1-1 draw against Malawi on Saturday.


Malawi took the lead in Blantyre through Jacob Ngwira, but Ivory Coast

grabbed the point they needed as Didier Drogba - who was introduced as a second-half substitute - struck just after the hour mark..


Ivory Coast are the second African nation to qualify, joining Ghana in South Africa, with the hosts also present.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/8300822.stm

 

[Lucchese DeCavalcante]

Mapundit wengi wa soka wanaipa ghana nafasi kubwa ya kutwaa kombe la dunia kwa timu za Afrika

 

[Chimo]

Zambia-0 Egypt-1
Gabon-3 morroco-1
Cameroun-3-Togo-0

 

[Invisible]

Czech 2 - Poland 0 (Final Whistle)

Portugal 1 - 0 Hungary (1st Half - 36min)

 

[Invisible]

France 3 - Faroe Islands 0

79th min...

It's half time for Portugal vs Hungary

 

[Lucchese DeCavalcante]

89'France5 - 0Faroe Islands

HTPortugal1 - 0Hungary

89'Ireland2 - 1Italy

I can't wait to watch Maradona's Argentina vs Peru

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

Uingereza wamepigwa bao na Ukraine...Gademmm!!!

Ukraine 1-0 England

Rob Greene is sent off complicating things for England.​

Pain for Fabio Capello after England's own goal.​

Rooney looks dejected as their 100% record is broken.​

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

Group A race goes to the wire ​

Cameroon fans are thrilled with the Indomitable Lions' revival​

The battle to grab Group A's sole ticket to the 2010 World Cup will be decided on
the final round of matches after Cameroon and Gabon won their matches on Saturday.

Resurgent Cameroon stayed top of the group of African qualifiers after outclassing
Togo 3-0 in Yaounde.

Gabon stayed one point adrift after beating Morocco 3-1 in Libreville.

Midfielder Geremi Njitap scored at the second attempt of a penalty to give the
Indomitable Lions a half-time advantage.

Their Togolese opponents were led by Emmanuel Adebayor but the Manchester
City striker was substituted 15 minutes after the break.

Further goals from Jean Makoun and Achille Emana gave Cameroon a 3-0 cushion.

Makoun netted off a pass from Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto'o, who dribbled
past four defenders, and Emana beat overworked goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale
with a low drive.

A Cameroon side transformed by the mid-year arrival of French coach Paul le
Guen have 10 points, Gabon nine, Togo five and Morocco three.

The results mean Togo, shock qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup in Germany,
will not qualify for next year's competition in South Africa.

The Indomitable Lions cannot be overtaken if they triumph on 14 November in Rabat.

Hicham Mahdoufi conceded an own goal on the stroke of half-time to give Gabon the lead.

They home side extended their advantage during the second half through Eric
Mouloungou and Daniel Cousin before Adel Taarabt snatched a late consolation goal.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/8300965.stm

 

[KGM]

Jamani mtagwa vipi, anapigana saa ngapi? Naona tumemtenga kabisa hata thread yake humu ndani hamna?

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

Egypt maintain World Cup hopes ​

Egypt beat Zambia to keep their World Cup hopes alive​

African champions Egypt secured a 1-0 win away to Zambia on Saturday to maintain their chances of qualifying for next year's World Cup in South Africa. The Pharaohs secured the crucial away victory in Chililabonbwe thanks to a second-half strike by Hosny Abd Rabou.​

The victory means the fight for Group C's sole ticket to the tournament in South Africa will down to the wire.​

The Pharaohs are now equal on ten points with group leaders Algeria.
The Egyptians were running out of ideas when Sayed Moawad found Rabou lurking close to the edge of the penalty area in the 70th minute, and his powerful shot flew into the top corner.​

The win moves Egypt level with Algeria on 10 points at the top of Group C, but Algeria has played a game less and can stay three points clear if it beats Rwanda at home on Sunday.​

Egypt plays Algeria in a decisive match at the Cairo International stadium next month.​

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/8300908.stm​

 

[Mvina]

Jamani mtagwa vipi, anapigana saa ngapi? Naona tumemtenga kabisa hata thread yake humu ndani hamna?

Ukiona kimya kama hivi ujue yupo home bado anamalizia maandalizi yake...

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

US qualify for SA 2010 by beating Honduras​

SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras - American players danced in the locker room and swigged some bubbly, With a thrilling victory on a hot and humid night in Central America, the U.S. soccer team earned a trip to South Africa and another chance to impress at the World Cup.

Conor Casey scored his first two international goals in the second half, Landon Donovan added another and the United States clinched its sixth straight World Cup berth with a game to spare by rallying to beat Honduras 3-2 on Saturday night.

"It never gets old, that's for sure," Donovan said. "After what most of us would say was a very disappointing 2006 World Cup, we now have a chance at redemption."

In one of the most thrilling end-to-end matches the U.S. has played in many years, the Americans took a 3-1 lead before Honduras closed on Julio Cesar De Leon's second goal of the game in the 78th minute.

Carlos Pavon had a chance to tie following a hand ball in the penalty area by Jonathan Spector. Pavon stood over the ball ahead of his penalty kick, and U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard worried.

"You try not to think about all the negative stuff, but it's inevitable," Howard said. "You just think, `Where did it all go wrong?'"

Pavon put his penalty kick over the crossbar in the 87th minute, Then, 2 minutes later, he fired high on an open header.

"Thank you," Howard said to himself.

And just a few minutes later, he heard the final whistle, securing the berth. The Honduran crowd, which had been respectful during the playing of the U.S. anthem, applauded even though it was disappointed.

"I was relieved. I was thankful," Howard said. "I feel like I'm in the prime of my career, and the thought went through my head this week that I certainly didn't want to miss this opportunity."

Coming off a first-round elimination at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the United States (6-2-1) is first in North and Central America and the Caribbean with 19 points and assured of one of three automatic berths that to go to the top finishers in the region.

Mexico (6-3) also clinched Saturday and has 18 points following a 4-1 victory over visiting El Salvador. Costa Rica (5-4) moved into third with 15 points after winning at home against Trinidad and Tobago.

Honduras (4-4-1), seeking its second World Cup appearance and first since 1982, has 13 points and dropped into fourth. If the Catrachos are still in that spot after the final match at El Salvador on Wednesday, they would meet the No. 5 nation from South America in a playoff. Costa Rica closes against the U.S. at Washington's RFK Stadium.

"You don't want to go into the last game leaving anything to chance," Donovan said. "As we see around the world, in qualifiers today. anything can happen in one soccer game and we didn't want to leave that opportunity open."

Honduras has been in turmoil since a June military coup, but the crowd was united behind its team. It had been 8-0 at home in qualifying and had been undefeated in 17 games at San Pedro Sula since June 2003.

"We're very proud," U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. "We understand the responsibility we have every time we step on the field for our fans, for our country."

He said the team had extra emotion because the win came three years and one day after the death of former U.S. assistant coach Glenn Myernick.

"I think he would have been proud of us tonight," said Bradley, who replaced Bruce Arena after the 2006 tournament.

Fans started filling the stadium about 5 1/2 hours before kickoff, the stands separated from the field by a running track and high barbed wire.
De Leon put Honduras ahead in the 47th minute when he curved a free kick over a five-man defensive wall and to the right of leaping Howard from one yard outside the penalty area after a foul by Oguchi Onyewu.
That set off sustained boisterous cheering and jumping that made Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano shake, but the sellout crowd of about 40,000 was silenced when Casey tied it in the 55th.

Onyewu sent a long pass downfield, and Charlie Davies nodded it across the area to Casey, who outjumped defender Maynor Figueroa and outmuscled goalkeeper Noel Valladares for his first goal in 15 international appearances.

"It's always strange when you score and it's silent," Casey said. "You're always wondering, `Did I score or not score?"

David Suazo nearly put Honduras ahead in the 65th, one minute after entering, but Howard made a leaping fingertip save. Casey then gave the U.S. the lead a minute later when he split two defenders, took a pass from Donovan and scored from 16 yards.

Plagued by injuries that injured required surgery on both knees, Casey has been in and out of the national team. He had not scored in 14 previous international games.

"It's been a long time coming over the years – the injuries and whatnot," he said.

Donovan, who set an American record with his 10th assist of the year, extended his U.S. scoring record on a 21-yard free kick in the 71st minute, his 42nd international goal. It was if the air had been sucked out of the stadium.

Maurcio Sabillion nearly tied it in the 82nd, putting a bicycle kick over the crossbar and causing Howard to scream at his defenders.
Then came the frantic finish.

"This was a culmination of a long learning process," Donovan said. "We played a mature, experienced, hard-fought 90 minutes."

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/11/us-beats-honduras-us-socc_n_316557.html​

 

[Lucchese DeCavalcante]

In a night of drama in World Cup qualifying, Germany, Italy, Serbia, Denmar, the Ivory Coast and Chile all secured safe passage to the 2010 finals in South Africa, while others will have to wait another four years after their dreams were shattered.
UEFA QUALIFICATION

AP
Denmark's Jon Dahl Tomasson fights for the ball with Sweden's Mikael Nilsson

A long-range strike from Jacob Poulsen secured Denmark's passage to the finals as they narrowly defeated neighbours Sweden 1-0 to leave the Group One qualification hopes of Lars Lagerbäck's side in the balance.
The breakthrough came as Poulsen's low drive from 25 yards, after a Nicklas Bendtner lay-off, bounced beyond Isaksson's ineffectual dive to break the midfielder's international duck and put his side in front.
Portugal re-ignited their qualification hopes, climbing above Sweden into second place in the group with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Hungary.
Hungary were level on points with Portugal going into the game at the Estadio da Luz, but two goals from Simao either side of Liedson's header have left the visitors needing a small miracle to qualify. Cristiano Ronaldo limp off in the 25th minute tonight - meaning the Real Madrid star will surely be a major doubt for Wednesday's crunch qualifier against Malta.
Two goals in as many minutes from defender Philippe Senderos teed up a comfortable 3-0 victory against Luxembourg to see Switzerland in pole position in Group Two, three points above second-placed Greece.
Arsenal centre-half Senderos netted in the sixth minute to put his side ahead, before repeating the feat two minutes later as the Swiss took control of both the match and their hopes of a place in South Africa. Benjamin Huggel made it three after 22 minutes, and the hosts were unable to muster a response.
Switzerland must wait until Wednesday's home clash with Israel to book their place at the 2010 World Cup finals, despite securing their sixth win in qualifying.
Greece could yet steal top spot from Switzerland, after Theofanis Gekas hit four goals in a 5-2 defeat of Latvia. Gekas' opener after four minutes was cancelled out by two Maris Verpakovskis strikes.
But a Gekas penalty, after Giorgios Samaras was brought down, brought Greece level - and his third goal of the night put the hosts in front. Celtic forward Samaras then scored with a clever overhead kick 17 minutes from time - and Gekas tapped in his fourth to complete the victory.
Greece require a win over Luxembourg in Athens on Wednesday to secure their play-off place - and a favourable result could see them qualify automatically, if Israel can win in Switzerland.
Israel recorded their fourth win of the campaign in the penultimate round of matches with a 3-1 defeat of Moldova to keep their play-off hopes alive.
Elyaniv Barda struck twice, either side of a David Ben Dayan goal, as Israel established a three-goal cushion at Ramat Gan national stadium before Denis Calincov's late consolation for the visitors.
Slovenia all but assured themselves of at least a play-off place in their World Cup qualifying bid after winning away to Group Three leaders Slovakia.
Valter Birsa's 56th-minute strike from the edge of the box and Nejc Pecnik's late breakaway strike earned the visitors victory which means they need only to beat San Marino - bottom of the group having lost all nine games, scoring one goal and conceding 44 - to assure themselves of second place and push for top spot.
Slovakia, meanwhile, must win in Poland to assure themselves of an automatic presence in South Africa, while the result also meant the Czech Republic's 2-0 win over the Poles counted for little.
Second-half goals from substitute Tomas Necid and Jaroslav Plasil earned Ivan Hasek's team the three points after forward Milan Baros was denied by an offside flag before the interval.
But they still trail Slovenia by two points and must therefore beat Northern Ireland at home in Wednesday's final game and also rely on San Marino - beaten 5-0 in Maribor in August - springing one of the all-time great shocks.

AP
Miroslav Klose celebrates his winning goal upside down

In Group Four, Miroslav Klose scored the only goal of the game in the 34th minute to ensure Germany's passage to the 2010 finals with victory in Russia.
The visitors weathered early and late storms and rode their luck after Jerome Boateng was sent off on his debut in the 69th minute. Joachim Low's side held on to open up an unassailable four-point lead at the top of the group with one game remaining, leaving Guus Hiddink's Russia with the consolation of a place in the play-offs.
Finland made sure of third place with a 2-1 home victory over Wales in Helsinki. Craig Bellamy's first-half equaliser was his 17th for his country, and he is now Wales' fifth highest all-time scorer. The hosts led early on through Roni Porokara, and grabbed a late winner from defender Niklas Moisander in a barely half-full stadium in the Finnish capital.
Azerbaijan moved off the bottom of the table courtesy of their first win of the qualifying campaign - 2-0 over Liechtenstein in Vaduz. Vagif Javadov and Elvin Mammadov were the men on target in the second half.
Spain remain on course to complete a perfect record in World Cup qualifying Group Five as they made it nine wins from nine with a 2-1 victory over Armenia in a rain-drenched Yerevan today.
In a clash between a Spanish side who had already secured their spot in next year's finals and an Armenia team whose outside hopes of going to South Africa had vanished long ago, it was the European champions who came out on top thanks to Juan Mata's second-half penalty.
Mata coolly slotted home what would prove to be the winning goal from the spot in the 64th minute, just six minutes after Armenia had stunned their visitors by equalising through Robert Arzumanyan. Spain had earlier taken the lead with a brilliant goal from Cesc Fabregas midway through the first half.
Bosnia-Herzegovina beat Estonia 2-0 in Tallinn to ensure they will finish second in the pool and face a play-off for a World Cup berth. Edin Dzeko and Vedad Ibisevic were the men on target for Miroslav Blazevic's side.
Emile Mpenza's double earned Belgium a 2-0 victory over Turkey in Brussels, in a result that condemned 2002 World Cup semi-finalists Turkey to qualification heartache. Ukraine moved into pole position to make the play-offs and potentially join England at the World Cup next summer after ending the Three Lions' 100% World Cup Group Six qualifying record with a 1-0 victory of Fabio Capello's side.
England were always on the backfoot following the 15th minute dismissal of goalkeeper Robert Green for a professional foul on Artem Milevskiy and, although Andriy Shevchenko smashed the resulting penalty off the post, Serhiy Nazarenko's shot diverted into the net off Ashley Cole to win it 1-0.
The result sees Ukraine jump above Croatia, who did not play today, into second place in Group Six. Both teams have one game left to play, with Ukraine strongly favoured as they travel to play group whipping boys Andorra on Wednesday.
Croatia face a Kazakhstan side thrashed 4-0 today in Belarus. Timofei Kalachev scored twice for the hosts with Maksim Bordachev and Leonid Kovel also getting on the scoresheet.
The result was vindication for home coach Bernd Stange's decision to omit several big-name players, including Stuttgart star Alexander Hleb, brother Vyacheslav and BATE Borisov midfielder Igor Stasevich, in an attempt to look to the future.

AP
Serbia's Nikola Zigic celebrates his strike

Serbia booked their place in next year's finals with a 5-0 thrashing of ten-man Romania in Group Seven.
Nikola Zigic put the home side in front after 37 minutes and Marko Pantelic, Zdravko Kuzmanovic and a double from Milan Jovanovic - all in the second half - completed the rout. A miserable night for Romania was completed by a red card for captain Cristian Chivu in the 84th minute.
The win puts Serbia four points clear of France, with Raymond Domenech's side forced to acccept a place in the play-offs after also winning 5-0 against the Faroe Islands.
Andre-Pierre Gignac, who had scored his first goal for France against the Faroes in the 1-0 victory last year, set Les Bleus on their way with a first-half brace and William Gallas extended their lead shortly after the break. Late goals from Nicolas Anelka and substitute Karim Benzema put the icing on the cake and helped ease the pressure on under-fire coach Raymond Domenech.
Roman Wallner converted a penalty 10 minutes from time as Austria defeated Lithuania 2-1 to secure third place in the group. Marc Janko fired the hosts into a 16th-minute lead but Marius Stankevicius levelled for the visitors after 66 minutes.
Alberto Gilardino's last-minute equaliser broke Republic of Ireland hearts and ensured Italy will finish top of Group Eight and be able to defend their World Cup next year in South Africa
Sean St Ledger's 87th minute header looked to have won the game for the Irish at Croke Park, but Gilardino took advantage of poor marking to make it 2-2 as time ran out in the Group Eight clash. Ireland, who claimed a play-off spot by virtue of the draw, had taken the lead through Glenn Whelan's eighth-minute strike, but Mauro Camoranesi levelled with 26 minutes to go.
Ireland's only challengers for a play-off place, Bulgaria, wrote themselves out of the story earlier in the evening as they went down to a heavy 4-1 loss in Cyprus.
Constantinos Charalambides' early brace put the hosts in the ascendancy and, although Dimitar Berbatov halved the deficit on the stroke of half-time, second-half goals from Michalis Constantinou and Stathis Aloneftis sealed the rout.
Montenegro won their first World Cup qualifier, beating fellow strugglers Georgia 2-1. Andrija Delibasic scored the winner on his debut after Georgia's Vladimir Dvalishvili cancelled out Radoslav Batak's opener.
SOUTH AMERICAN QUALIFYING
While Chile are celebrating their return to the World Cup for the first time since 1998, the story from CONMEBOL centres around the soap opera that is Diego Maradona's Argentina.
They looked dead and buried when Peru's Hernan Rengifo equalised in injury time to cancel out a goal from Gonzalo Higuain. But Martin Palermo, back after a decade in the wilderness, poked home from a yard out in rain-wracked conditions in Buenos Aires. Maradona celebrated the 2-1 win in comedic style in sliding on his belly in the mud.
Argentina stay fourth but must play Uruguay on Wednesday and their opponents are celebrating their own late show after a 90th minute penalty from Diego Forlan saw off Ecuador for a dramatic 2-1 win.
Chile demolished Colombia 4-2 in Medellin, and now head to South Africa after a win that kills off Colombian hopes.
Venezuela too are now out, having been beaten by already-qualified Paraguay. A 2-1 win cemented Paraguay's place in second of the qualifying group.


AFRICAN QUALIFYING
Didier Drogba came off the bench to secure Ivory Coast a place in the World Cup finals with a 1-1 draw against Malawi on Saturday. The Ivorian captain scored the equaliser just two minutes after his introduction and helped secure a second successive World Cup trip for the west Africans.
The Group E result made sure the Elephants would join Ghana and hosts South Africa in next year's tournament but the battle for three remaining berths from the region hang in the balance.
Cameroon stayed one point ahead of Gabon in Group A after dispatching Togo 3-0 in Yaounde, former Chelsea midfielder Geremi scoring seconds after missing a first half penalty before Jean Makoun and Achille Emana added second half goals in the rout.
Gabon ended Morocco's slim hopes of qualification with Hull City's Daniel Cousin among the goal scorers as they destroyed the north African's 3-0. Cameroon and Gabon will both play their last qualifiers away next month.
African champions Egypt kept alive their hopes of qualification alive with a 1-0 away win in Zambia, which moves them level on 10 points with Algeria. Hosni Abd Rabou scored with a thunderous long-range effort in the 69th minute to give Egypt a 1-0 win in Chililabombwe.
Algeria are expected to restore their three-point lead when they host bottom-placed Rwanda in Blida on Sunday, setting up a potentially thrilling deciding match in Cairo between Egypt and Algeria next month.
WORLD CUP PLAY-OFF
Salman Isa wasted the best of several second-half goal-scoring opportunities for Bahrain as New Zealand battled to a 0-0 draw in their Asia/Oceania World Cup qualifier playoff first leg on Saturday.
Marshalled by Blackburn Rovers captain Nelsen, the All Whites defended well and while they were exposed from time to time by the speedy Bahrainis, Paston was truly tested only three times.
The advantage may now have shifted towards Oceania champions New Zealand, who are seeking to make the finals for the first time since 1982.

 

[Belo]

Ferdinand bado anaendelea kuwa kimeo, asipoangalia Capelo atampiga chini

 

[Richard]

Mimi ntasikitika iwapo Argentina itashindwa kufaulu kwenda South Africa.

Niliangalia mechi ya jana na ikiwa Argentina itacheza mchezo iliocheza jana basi itafungwa na Uruguay.

Lionel Mesi ajijitahidi kutafuta vyumba lakini washambuliaji walikuwa butu kabisa.

Argentina walifunga goli lao la kwanza baada tu ya kuanza kipindi cha pili na mshambuliaji Gonzalo Higuain ambae katika kipindi cha kwanza alikosa goli la wazi baada ya kuchongewa "cross" na mshambulaji wa pembeni Di Maria.

Ni huyuhuyu Pablo Aimar ndie alimtengenezea pasi ingine ambayo safari hii Higuain anaechezea timu ya Real Madrid ya Spain, aliitosa wavuni na kuamsha shangwe za wa-Argentina.

Tatizo Argentina wakaanza kubweteka na kuanza kulinda goli na kukosa dira hasa pale walipokuwa wakishambuliwa wachezaji wa Peru wakiongozwa na Norbato Solano aliewahi kuchezea timu ya Newcastle ya Uingereza walikuwa wakijaribu bahati yao na ndipo Mshambuliaji Hernan Rengifo akaukwamisha mpira wavuni kwa kichwa baada ya "cross" ya winga.

Uwanja mzima wa Antonio Vespucio Liberti ambao ulijaa watu zaidi wa 45,000 ulipatwa na ukimya mkuu kwa kujua kwamba Argentina kwa mara ya kwanza haitakwenda South Africa.

Ndipo kukiwa kumesalia sekunde chache mpira uishe mshambuliaji Martin Palermo ambae amekuwa nje ya timu hiyo kwa miaka kumi akaukwamisha mpira kimiani baada ya kuukuta mpira wa chini ndani ya eneo la hatari.

Palermo anachezea timu ya Boca Juniors na aliingizwa acheze badala ya wachezaji wengine maarufu Calros Tevez wa Manchester City ya Uingereza na Sergio Aguero wa Athletico Madrid ya Spain.

Siku ya jumatano Argentina itacheza mechi yake muhimu na Uruguay na mapaka sasa ina pointi mbili zaidi ya Ecuardor.

Moja ya timu zifuatazo nnategemea kunyakua kombe la dunia mwakani South Africa.

1. Brazil
2. Germany
3.Spain
4.Holland
5.Ghana
6.Russia