World Cup Qualifiers - Wednesday 10th September 2008

Group 6
Croatia 1 vs 4 England



I think thats all that needs to be said

Scott

I Initially felt it was a good idea to gave Euro 2012 to Poland and Ukraine as it would be the first major tournament in eastern Europe, it would boost the game in eastern Europe and both countries had a good tradition with the strong Polish teams of the 70s and 80s and the great Dynamo Kiev sides under Lobanovsky and also Ukrainians had made huge contributions to the Soviet national team. However, although construction of the stadiums are going well in Ukraine, it's going badly in Poland and the necessary infrastructure improvements aren't being made and there are the political problems with the Polish FA. Things don't look like they'll be sorted any time soon and a decision on whether the tournament can go ahead in Poland/Ukraine will have to be made soon.

Football is the most popular sport in South Africa, a lot of stadiums are in place with new ones being built and the transport infrastructure is fine. The big concern about South Africa is the level of crime as it is a violent place.

Brazil has one of the most vibrant and glorious football traditions but they have a lot of problems as many of the stadiums are antiquated and need extensive upgrading, the infrastructure is poor and there is a lot of crime and violence. They still have six years to prepare for the World Cup, but right now, I wouldn't be optimistic about the tournament being a success.

Neither the USA or Japan had much of a football tradition prior to hosting the World Cup, but both hosted good tournaments and being host provided a huge boost to football's popularity in those countries, helping to grow the game globally. Football's not massively popular in Austria or Switzerland but Euro 08 was one of the best tournaments, at least on the field.

European World Cup Qualifiers - Saturday 11th October 2008

Group 9:
Scotland 0 vs 0 Norway

Belgium - Spain 1-2
They deserved at least a point and got ripped off by the referee , that second goal was never offside from Fellaini

Slovakia - Poland 2-1
i checked the results ten minutes before the end when it was 0-1 and i thought it was over Qualification chances for Slovakia
But two goals in a minute and they are still in the running for the first two spots

Polish Scum

1. Slovakia 4 3 0 1 8 5 9
2. Poland 4 2 1 1 6 4 7
3. Slovenia 4 2 1 1 5 3 7
4. Northern Ireland 4 1 1 2 5 4 4
5. Czech Republic 3 1 1 1 2 2 4
6. San Marino 3 0 0 3 1 9 0