© EuroFootball.com
After playing eighteen European zone qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup in Germany on Saturday, 6 more European teams secured their tickets to the World Cup. Besides the host Germany and Ukraine who had already secured their tickets a bit earlier, Netherlands, England, Portugal, Italy, Poland, and Croatia also qualified.
Group I
Netherlands national team achieved an important victory against their main competitors, the Czechs, securing a ticket to the final tournament. In the middle of the first half, Czech Tomas Rosicky missed an 11-meter penalty, and a few minutes later, Rafael van der Vaart of "Hamburger SV" led the visitors ahead, with Barry Opdam doubling the lead six minutes later.
By defeating Finland 1-0 on Saturday, Romanian footballers ascended to the second place in the group, with the Czech team in third place, one point behind and still having one more match against Finland.
Group II
Ukraine lost two points at home by playing a 2-2 draw with the Albanian team, despite falling behind after two Albanian goals in the final minutes. However, a goal in the 86th minute allowed them to secure at least one point.
Denmark earned a 1-0 victory against European champions Greece and still has good chances to finish second in their group and advance to the playoffs.
Turkey, with 20 points, has real chances of finishing second in the group, followed by Denmark with 19 points and Greece with 18 points.
In the final games, Turkey will play away against Albania, Kazakhstan, who played a goalless draw with Georgia on Saturday and secured their first points, will host Denmark, and Greece will play at home against Georgia.
Group III
In a dramatic and unexpected way, Portugal secured a ticket by defeating Liechtenstein 2-1 at home. Despite trailing after a Liechtenstein goal in the first half, the hosts managed to turn the game around.
Russia secured an easy victory by crushing Luxembourg 5-1 on Saturday. They will fight against Slovakia for the second place on Tuesday, as Slovakia narrowly defeated Estonia.
Group IV
An intense battle for tickets is taking place in the fourth group. Israel leads with 18 points, having defeated the Faroe Islands 2-1 yesterday, while Switzerland and France both have 17 points after playing a 1-1 draw on Saturday. Ireland, in fourth place with one point less, secured a 1-0 victory over Cyprus away.
Group V
A 1-0 victory against Slovenia secured Italy a spot in the World Cup. Norway's footballers have good chances to finish second in the group after defeating Moldova with a narrow 1-0 victory. Slovenia is already three points behind.
Belarus surprisingly won with a 1-0 score against Scotland, ending their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup.
In the last round, Norway will face Belarus, and Slovenia will play against Scotland. Italy will play against Moldova in unimportant matches.
Group VI
In this group, England and Poland secured their spots in the World Cup - regardless of the outcome of the last round, both teams will qualify: one as the group winner and the other as one of the two best second-placed teams.
On Saturday, England defeated Austria with a successful penalty by Frank Lampard. The English team finished the match with ten players after Real Madrid defender David Beckham received a red card in the 59th minute.
In other group matches, Wales defeated Northern Ireland 3-2 away.
Group VII
A 2-0 victory against Lithuania allowed Serbia to maintain the top spot in the group. Serbia and Montenegro are leading by two points ahead of Spain, who defeated Belgium 2-0 on Saturday.
Bosnia and Herzegovina also have a chance to fight for the second place in the group after trouncing San Marino 3-0 on Saturday. However, their possibilities are diminished by the fact that Spain, who has one more point, will play against San Marino in the last group match, while Bosnia will face the group leaders, Serbia.
In the final group match on Tuesday, the Lithuanian team will meet the Belgian squad at the Vėtra Stadium in Vilnius.
Group VIII
Croatia secured their ticket to the World Cup by defeating Sweden 1-0 at home on Saturday, thanks to Dario Srna's only goal. Even if they lose the last match against the Hungarian team, the Croatian players will qualify as one of the two best second-placed teams in the groups.
Similarly, Sweden secured a direct spot in the World Cup by avoiding the playoffs, even if they lose to Iceland, who have only four points, in the final group match.
In unimportant matches on Tuesday, the Maltese footballers will host Bulgaria, who defeated Hungary 2-0 on Saturday.
