© EuroFootball.com
On Saturday, in the 2006 World Cup European qualifiers, there were 21 matches played, where 62 goals were scored and no major upsets were recorded. The upcoming thirteen qualifiers will be played on Wednesday, June 8th.
In the first group, the Netherlands defeated Romania 2-0 at home and lead with 19 points, while the Czech Republic simply crushed Andorra by scoring eight goals and they are just one point behind the Dutch. In other matches, Macedonia defeated Armenia, leaving them in fifth place with slim chances. Therefore, the group winner seems to be decided on October 8th, when the Czech Republic will play against the Netherlands in Prague.
In the second group, Ukraine comfortably leads after defeating Kazakhstan 2-0 and surpassing Greece by five points, who played a draw against Turkey. Meanwhile, Albania defeated Georgia 3-2, climbing to the fifth position and equaling points with Denmark.
In the third group, Portugal won the leaders' duel by defeating Slovakia 2-0 at home and taking a three-point lead. Russia drew level on points with Slovakia by beating Latvia, while Estonia defeated Liechtenstein and moved up to fourth place.
In the fourth group, Switzerland took the lead by defeating the Faroe Islands 3-1, while Israel managed to recover from two missed goals and played a draw against Ireland. Ireland now shares the 3-4 positions with France.
In the fifth group, Italy still leads after a goalless draw against Norway, while Belarus and Slovenia drew, maintaining Italy's four-point advantage. Scotland achieved their first victory by defeating Moldova at home.
In the sixth group, Poland leads after a 3-0 victory against Azerbaijan, while England, not playing, is second. In the seventh group, Serbia and Montenegro share the lead with Spain after a goalless draw against Belgium, and Spain defeated Lithuania with a minimal result.
In the eighth group, Croatia defeated Bulgaria 3-1, while Sweden achieved a big victory against Malta. Hungary climbed to the third place after defeating Iceland.
Statistics:
Group 1
Armenia 1 - 2 Macedonia 28' [0 - 1] Goran Pandev (p.) 48' [0 - 2] Goran Pandev 55' [1 - 2] Edgar Manucharyan
Czech Republic 8 - 1 Andorra 13' [1 - 0] Vratislav Lokvenc 29' [2 - 0] Jan Koller 35' [2 - 1] Gabi Riera 38' [3 - 1] Vladimir Smicer 52' [4 - 1] Tomas Galasek (p.) 80' [5 - 1] Milan Baros 85' [6 - 1] Tomas Rosicky (p.) 87' [7 - 1] Jan Polak 90' [8 - 1] Vratislav Lokvenc
Netherlands 2 - 0 Romania 26' [1 - 0] Arjen Robben 46' [2 - 0] Dirk Kuyt
Group Standings: 1. Netherlands 7 6 1 0 16-3 19 2. Czech Republic 7 6 0 1 22-6 18 3. Romania 8 4 1 3 12-10 13 4. Finland 6 3 0 3 13-10 9 5. Macedonia 8 2 2 4 9-10 8 6. Armenia 8 1 1 6 5-17 4 7. Andorra 8 1 1 6 4-25 4
