It was an interesting week in international football. World Cup qualifiers all over the world meant so much to so many and for some it was exhilaration, for some it was agony.
The week started with the possibility of France, Portugal and Argentina all in danger of missing out on South Africa 2010. The South Americans have scraped through and the two European sides now face the play-offs.
Big countries missing out
The interesting thing for me is the big countries who won’t be at next year’s World Cup. The biggest surprise for me has been England’s opponents in group six Croatia.
Croatia struggle in qualification
In recent years the Croat’s have proved difficult opponents for everybody they have played. They have good technical ability and seemed to have a good mentality but something has gone badly wrong for Slaven Bilic’s side. Injuries to key players haven’t helped their cause.
The likes of Arsenal striker Eduardo and Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric have missed crucial fixtures. Croatia on their day are definitely a better side than the Ukraine but its the Ukraine who face a crucial play-off. The Ukraine are currently ranked 25th in the UEFA rankings and are likely to face a seeded team. Two other teams that have surprised me by their poor performance during the qualifiers were Turkey and the Czech Republic. Both sides looked strong in Euro 2008 and would have hoped for second place in their group at least.
No delight for Turkish
The Turkish might of had European champions Spain to contend with but they would of been hoping to challenge for second place and a play-off place. Instead they finished four points behind group dark-horses Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Turkish made the semi-finals of Euro 2008 and looked to be progressing. Unfortunately for the fans and coach Fatih Terim the team have underperformed and he has acknowledged that the displays haven’t been good enough by resigning from his position as coach.
Rada Czech’s out as his side struggles
The Czech Republic were favourites for group three. Their opponents Slovenia, neighbours Slovakia, Poland, Northern Ireland and San Marino were hardly frightening. Yet the Czech’s finished third in the group behind Slovenia and group winners Slovakia. Their fans will be doubly sick with the fact that neighbours Slovakia have qualified for the first time since the two countries became separate nations.
The Czech Republic had a successful way of playing in recent times involving giant striker Jan Koller. The veteran striker retired from international football but was called up to again due to poor results in the qualifying campaign. He played in just one game, the defeat to Slovakia and retired again. They haven’t been able to find another way to play.
Koller is the countries top goalscorer but like a lot of his colleagues is well past his best. That’s the problem for the Czech’s the flow of talent isn’t as good as it once was. The defeat to Slovakia also saw the end of Karel Rada’s reign as Czech Republic coach.
The surprise qualifiers
Its a surprise to me to see Slovakia qualify for the World Cup, especially from a group which also contained the Czech Republic. Its a great achievement for the Slovaks and head coach Vladimir Weiss, whose son Vladimir is in the national team squad. They have a good mixture of experience and youth in their squad. One of their brightest stars is Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik, who is being linked with some of the bigger European clubs.
Serbia qualified from a group that contained European giants France. The French slipped up and the Serbians took advantage. They have a very talented squad with players in the Premier League League, La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga. Their defence is marshaled superbly by Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic.
In attack their main threat is Valencia’s towering striker Nikola Zigic. The 6ft 8 striker impressed on loan at Racing Santander last season and has returned to the Mestalla a player renewed. Their first World Cup as an independent nation could be a very interesting one.
The play-off hopefuls
The European teams in the play-offs will fall into two categories the seeded and the unseeded. The seeding will be decided on each countries current world ranking. Based on current rankings the teams who will be seeded will be Russia, France, Greece and Portugal.
The unseeded teams will be Ukraine, Slovenia, Bosnia and Republic of Ireland. This system seems to be harsh on the smaller nations and looks like its tailored to suit the powerhouses of international football. However I think any of the unseeded sides could cause a shock. Ireland have made a big improvement in recent months and Bosnia have some very dangerous players. The Bosnians biggest threat is of course Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko.
Whatever the outcome of these play-offs next year’s World Cup promises to be exciting and intriguing. Its unlikely that an underdog will win the World Cup but the likes of Serbia could cause a few upsets along the way. The addition of new qualifiers only adds to the sense of occasion and intrigue.
- Soccer News Like
- Be the first of your friends!
