Loading ...Sep 10 2008
WCQ Update: Russia Downs Wales (UEFA, Group 4)
Qualification Process
Europe qualifies 13 teams to World Cup 2010 in South Africa. There are 53 countries in the confederation. They are divided into nine group - eight with six teams, one with five teams. The winners of each group qualify for the World Cup. The second place teams are then ranked 1 to 9 based on how they did against the top five teams of their group (this is how the five and six team groups are evened out for tiebreaker purposed). The ninth ranked team is eliminated. The other eight teams are paired off t play a two-leg tie, the winner of each qualifying for South Africa.
Group 4
| Russia | 2 | 1 | Wales |
Pavel Pogrebnyak has been the forgotten man on the Russian team since Euro 2008, as his injury not only kept him out of the team, but it also allowed the focus to shift to Roman Pavlyuchenko (who assumed his position) and Andrei Arshavin. Coming on as a replacement today, Pogrebnyak score the winning goal with ten minutes left to lift the Russians over an upstart Wales team. Joe Ledley had pulled Wales even in the second half, giving Wales hope of a surprise point. Pavlyuchenko scored the match’s first goal from a penalty kick, coming just minutes after Wales’ Gareth Bale had a kick of his own saved.
Group Standings
| Rank | Country | GP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Russia | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Wales | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | Finland | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Azerbaijan | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | Liechtenstein | 1 | 0 |
Where They Stand
Russia is the team that can challenge Germany in this group, though a battle against Wales will not make those picking the upset feel any better about their changes. But a win in these qualifiers is a win, and Russia can sit back and hope Finland, the other of the group’s teams playing their first qualifier today, can take points from the group’s favorites.
Links
Russia 2-1 Wales
Russia deny brave Wales
WFP Related Posts
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