World Cup qual - Winners and losers

Eurosport - Tue, 09 Jun 07:12:00 2009

We look back at the weekend's World Cup qualifying action and pick out the best and worst of the crop.

2009 Bulgaria-Ireland Richard Dunne - 0

GOOD WEEKEND

John Terry

Delivered a captain's performance for England in Kazakhstan, making a crucial early block and keeping his head throughout a tricky first half before Fabio Capello's men eased to a 4-0 win.

Scotland

Their chances improved without even playing a match. Iceland lost to the Netherlands, while Macedonia and Norway drew, leaving George Burley's side favourites to finish second in Group 9.

Netherlands

The deadly Dutch have cruised through an easy group to become the first European side to qualify for South Africa 2010. Early goals from Nigel de Jong and Mark van Bommel were enough to defeat Iceland.

Richard Dunne (pictured, left)

The big defender's powerful header against Bulgaria earned the Republic of Ireland a point that keeps them firmly in the Group 8 mix, as Giovanni Trapattoni continues to work his magic for the men in green.

John Toshack

Any realistic hope of reaching the finals has long gone, but David Edwards's goal in Azerbaijan secured a morale-boosting win for the youngest Welsh side to line up in a World Cup qualifier.

Asian giants

No surprises as Japan, South Korea and continental newcomers Australia booked their tickets to the World Cup finals over the weekend. Just one automatic place remains, with Saudi Arabia favourites to get it.

BAD WEEKEND

Theo Walcott

The winger's long-awaited return to the England side proved a damp squib as he was nullified by Kazakhstan. On the upside for Walcott, his half-time replacement Shaun Wright-Phillips fared little better.

Croatia

It could have been worse, but Saturday's 2-2 draw against Ukraine means everybody's favourite dark horses are in real danger of failing to qualify, seven points behind Group 6 pace-setters England.

France

Another win for Serbia (who play Faroe Islands on Wednesday) means Raymond Domenech's side could be eight points off the pace in Group 7 going into the summer break.

Egypt

The African champions have not been to the World Cup since 1990 and might have to wait four more years. They continued to make a mess of a relatively easy group, losing 3-1 to Algeria on Sunday.

San Marino

Even by their modest standards, the Most Serene Republic of San Marino have had a nightmare recently. Saturday's 7-0 thrashing by Sloavkia came hot on the heels of a 10-0 drubbing by Poland.

Alex Chick / Eurosport

Comment 1 - 19 of 39

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  1. sylvaleneugwuibe - that's beacuse it's­ Eurosport not Afrosport.

    Give these guys a break on­ the Larsson thing, nobody is suggesting that his a­ loser.

    From yipyipyerp, on Mon 8 Jun 1:15PM

  2. besides, its says BAD WEEKEND, not loser... losing ur­ brother would make ur weekend very bad i would think­ (and maybe a bit more than a weekend)...

    From dodger, on Mon 8 Jun 1:06PM

  3. Though it doesn't actually say "looser"­ it just says "bad weekend", i do think there­ has been a lack of consideration to the larsson family­ and yahoo/eurosport should remove the comment and place­ an apology instead.

    From moomin16, on Mon 8 Jun 1:05PM

  4. it doesnt make him a loser, just someone who has lost­ something extremely close to him... may yahoo meant­ that...

    From dodger, on Mon 8 Jun 1:05PM

  5. biggest loser of the week is Alex Chick / Eurosport

    From liam, on Mon 8 Jun 1:04PM

  6. I read it as Larsson is a loser BECAUSE of the defeat­ and then on top of that was his tragic news not that he­ was a loser because of the tragedy. I hope i read it­ right or else it is in bad taste.

    From JASON, on Mon 8 Jun 12:51PM

  7. Larsson and his family deserve an immediate apology.­ How does this make him a loser? Our thoughts are with­ you King Henrik

    From Black47, on Mon 8 Jun 12:47PM

  8. Gutter Journalism at its very best!

    From Segun, on Mon 8 Jun 12:45PM

  9. Come on Scotland... yay!!

    From Marie, on Mon 8 Jun 12:45PM

  10. Why is there very scant or no mention of the goings-on­ in the African, South America, etc qualifying matches?­ There is a lack of comprehensive coverage of events­ inconsistent with the title of the article. S. O.­ Emmanuel

    From sylvaleneugwuibe, on Mon 8 Jun 12:43PM

  11. The guy who wrote this should apologise for the Larsson­ comment. Very bad taste.

    From Fergie, on Mon 8 Jun 12:41PM

  12. Who is the script writer,Jonathan Ross?

    From Perry Neeham, on Mon 8 Jun 12:39PM

  13. ALEX CHICK, YOU ARE A F***N DISGRACE :((((( CUT THE MAN­ SOME SLACK INSTEAD OF CALLING HIM A LOSER!!!

    From gooner4reel, on Mon 8 Jun 12:37PM

  14. This is terrible journalism, surely an apology to­ Henrik Larsson and his family is in order.

    From Gareth, on Mon 8 Jun 12:34PM

  15. Larsson's inclusion is disgraceful. Shocker. You­ really have not got a clue.

    From Peterorange, on Mon 8 Jun 12:33PM

  16. to the editor...
    maybe you don't mean to imply that­ larson is a loser by personality, but this is written­ in such a way to imply that this is exactly the case.­ This should really of been thought through with more­ detail before publishing, bad move yahoo......

    From Josh B, on Mon 8 Jun 12:32PM

  17. I feel the Larsson comment is in extreme bad taste

    From pjhstarwars, on Mon 8 Jun 12:32PM

  18. This is a joke how could a man losing his brother be­ classed as a loser the person who wrote this should be­ sacked then they would be a loser
    ps did paul parker­ write this?

    From Peter B, on Mon 8 Jun 12:22PM

  19. Why is Larsson a looser then? For leaving the squad­ 'cos his brother had passed away?

    From BozinT, on Mon 8 Jun 12:06PM
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