ENGLAND MAKE IT SEVEN

 

 

Well out 2010 UEFA qualifying Group 6 camapaign started against Andorra, nd in the end I walked out at halftime with the match still goalless at the Olympic Stadium(Barcelona). We did go on to win 2-0 though. If you'd have told me back then that we'd still have a 100% record six games in then I wouldn't have believed you. However, Fabio has indeed since shown what all the hype is about and now the part-timers come to Wembley with us already closing in on a spot in South Africa. This time round, we switched to a straight 4-4-2. Terry and Lescott in central defence, Lampard and Becks in centre mid, Gerrard left mid, Rooney and Crouch up front.

It wasn't long before the inevitable started. A Johnson cross to Rooney in the 4th minute, 1-0 England. After that though, Andorra continued to go all-out defence despite the fact that I didn't want to go to the toilet as it seemed that England could get another goal at any second. Goal number 2 came in the 29th minute when Walcott set up Lampard who stuffed it in the corner. The Three Lions seemed to step down a gear round about that time but at this point I had no complaints. Another Johnson cross to Wayne did me nicely though, the United assasin getting his second goal of the night with hope of a hat-trick. Half time and it was job done already.

Fabio clearly thought so, and that meant Wayne didn't get a chance to complete his hat-trick. England certainly seemed to be cruising their way through the second half though, though outgoing Andorran goalie Koldo Alvarez did come up with an impressive save. Sub Defore then gave Andorra another taste of reality, being set up by another Johnson cross in the 73rd minute to join the party and them picking up the rebound of a Becks free kick in the 76th minute for his second. Crouch then took advantage of a dropped ball from the goalie in the 81st minute to complete our biggest win in three years and our biggest competitive win in ten.

Elsewhere, well Croatia were given the night off and the Ukraine vs Kazakhstan game had no meaning whatsoever for England fans. So we remain top of UEFA qualifying Group 6 and increase our lead over the Croatia(and everyone else) to ten points, though Croatia now have a game in hand. The Confederations Cup hasn't even started yet and England are inches away from booking their tickets to South Africa. It ultimately comes down to Belarus vs Croatia. For the Croats it's their game in hand, for Belarus, it means potentially free pint over here. If Belarus win that game, then the Three Lions are off to South Africa without having to kick another ball.

In UEFA qualifying Group 9, well Scotland were again given the night off but there was a match that was relevant to their fate with Macedonia facing Iceland at the City Stadium. Aco Stojkov opened the scoring for the home side early on. Macedonia maintained their superiority in the second half and barely seemed threatened throughout the match. Filip Ivanovski got his country's second goal, sealing a result which has left Macedonia fans in a confident mood. Scotland remain second in the group though and on course for the playoff mixer. However Macedonia have become their biggest threat, level on points with the Scots, though George Burley's men have a +1 goal difference advantage. And a game in hand.

In UEFA qualifying Group 4, Wales were also given the night off, but for their fans, the match between Finland and Russia at the Olympic Stadium(Helsinki) was worth noting. Alexander Kerzakhov opened the scoring for the Russians before half time. Kerzakhov then got his second goal after half time before Konstantin Zyrianov got Russia's third goal. Pretty straightforward and expected win for Guus Hiddink's team, still looking for the easy way to South Africa. Wales in the meantime remain 4th in the group, now six points behind Russia and the playoff mixer, and the Russians have a game in hand. Closing the gap is still doable for the Welsh but tricky.

In UEFA qualifying Group 3, Northern Ireland were another team given the night off, along with their entire group, NI remaining on course for the playoff mixer with three games left to play with their main rivals having a game in hand. In UEFA qualifying Group 8, the Republic of Ireland also had the night off along with the rest of their group. That leaves the men in green still on course for the playoff mixer but like NI, their main rivals each have a game in hand while the men in green have three games left to play. I can't remember the last time that England was the only one of the "home nations" in action for an international date - hopefully it'll prove worth it for them.

So finally we come to the playoff mixer. Currently in this virtual group are Hungary, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Russia, Bosnia, Croatia, France, Republic of Ireland and Scotland. The main team of interest for me in that bunch is Scotland. However, not playing in the last couple of rounds has just put them in deeper trouble, three points behind 8th place France and a playoff spot. As for the other British teams in the mixer, well they're not doing so badly. Northern Ireland are down to 2nd place, six points clear of the Scots, and on course for the playoffs. The ROI are down to 5th but also six points ahead of the Scots and on course for the playoffs.

So, we still have England on course for South Africa and the two Irish teams on course for the playoffs. Nice.

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