© EuroFootball.com
Selections for the 2006 World Cup in the European zone took place on Wednesday with six matches involving the first four groups. The most interesting games took place in Group 3 - Latvia hosted Russia at home, Slovakia played against Liechtenstein, while in the other groups the teams practically without hopes of advancing further played.
Russia and Latvia took third and fourth places respectively in their Group 3 before their match, so both teams needed victories to catch up with the leading teams Portugal and Slovakia and revive their hopes of taking the first or second position.
Latvia, seeking a second consecutive entry into the international final tournament, took the lead in the sixth minute with a goal by V. Astafjevs, but the Russians did not give up and equalized the score through V. Astafjevs in the 20th minute. The match ended in a draw, so both teams shared a point.
Nevertheless, despite these draws, Russia still has the same three points difference from Slovakia, as Liechtenstein unexpectedly held the Slovaks to a goalless draw at home, delighting Portugal, who maintained the first position.
Small hopes of traveling to the World Cup in Germany are also raised by Romania, who defeated Andorra with two goals from A. Mutu and are now two points behind the Czech Republic and three behind Group 1 leaders the Netherlands. Finland also achieved victory in this group, defeating Macedonia away. A. Jeremenko scored two goals for Finland, while P. Roiha added one.
In Group 2, Georgia defeated underdog Kazakhstan after a hard-fought battle where G. Demetradze scored twice, but Georgia remained in sixth place. In Group 4, Cyprus, shaken by an aviation disaster, convincingly beat the Faroe Islands with a three-goal margin.
The next World Cup European zone qualifying matches will take place on September 3 and 7, and the group tournaments will end with two matches on October 8 and 12.
Group 1
North Macedonia 0 - 3 Finland
8' [0 - 1] Aleksei Eremenko Jr.
45' [0 - 2] Aleksei Eremenko Jr.
87' [0 - 3] Paulus Roiha
Romania 2 - 0 Andorra
29' [1 - 0] Adrian Mutu
41' [2 - 0] Adrian Mutu
Group 2
Kazakhstan 1 - 2 Georgia
20' [1 - 0] Daniyar Kenzhekhanov
51' [1 - 1] Georgi Demetradze
83' [1 - 2] Georgi Demetradze
Group 3
Latvia 1 - 1 Russia
6' [1 - 0] Vitalis Astafjevs
26' [1 - 1] Andrey Arshavin
Liechtenstein 0 – 0 Slovakia
Group 4
Faroe Islands 0 - 3 Cyprus
39' [0 - 1] Michalis Konstantinou
78' [0 - 2] Savvas Konstantinou (11m.)
90' [0 - 3] Krassas Asimakis
45' Eleftheriou Lufteris (Cyprus) sent off
