FIFA World Cup 2014: Germany, Belgium through to finals

No major upsets as 14 of 32 berths fill up for mega event in Brazil.

PARIS:

Three-time champions Germany, Belgium and Switzerland reached the World Cup finals from Europe, while England and Spain edged closer to Brazil.

Germany booked their place with a convincing 3-0 win over the Republic of Ireland to move to 25 points in Group C. Belgium beat Croatia 2-1 to top Group A and make the finals for the first time since 2002. Switzerland, meanwhile, reached the finals for the third time after a 2-1 win over Albania to assure them of top spot in Group E.

Goals by Sami Khedira, Andre Schuerrle and Mesut Ozil confirmed Germany’s place in Brazil. “All in all, we’ve done well in qualifying,” said Germany coach Joachim Loew. “The team has done  its duty with eight wins out of nine games.”

Striker Romelu Lukaku scored the two first-half goals that took Belgium through. Lukaku found the target in the 16th and 38th minutes with Niko Kranjcar hitting a late consolation for Croatia who must now hope to make the finals via the play-offs.

Meanwhile, second-half goals from Xherdan Shaqiri and Michael Lang gave Ottmar Hitzfeld’s Switzerland victory in Tirana and an unassailable 21 points at the top of Group E.



The three join Italy and Netherlands who had already made sure of qualification. The nine group winners qualify for the finals while the eight best runners-up will play off for the remaining four spots.

Del Bosque demands more from Spain

Spain manager Vicente del Bosque was far from happy with his side’s display despite the fact that they moved to within just a point of sealing qualification for next year’s World Cup with a 2-1 win over Belarus.

Second-half goals from Xavi and Alvaro Negredo put the hosts in command before a late consolation from Sergei Kornilenko halved the deficit for Belarus.

“The game followed the guide we expected beforehand,” said del Bosque.

“We didn’t have penetration in our play, but the most important thing is that we won.”

Hodgson wary of wounded Poland

Manager Roy Hodgson warned England not to take Poland lightly in their final World Cup qualifier next week after they took another stride towards Brazil with a 4-1 win over Montenegro.

Debutant Andros Townsend was England’s match-winner, helping to create Wayne Rooney’s 48th-minute opener before killing off Montenegrin hopes of a comeback with a fine late strike.

The victory preserved England’s lead at the top of European qualifying Group H and means they can secure a berth at next year’s tournament in Brazil if they overcome Poland on Tuesday.

Colombia seal berth with impressive fightback

Colombia pulled off an amazing fightback to reach the World Cup for the first time since 1998, rallying from 3-0 down to snatch a 3-3 draw against 10-man Chile in a six-goal thriller.

Striker Radamel Falcao was the hero for the home side, keeping his cool to convert two late penalties as Colombia grabbed the point they needed to be certain of qualifying for next year’s finals.

Qualified Teams

Europe

Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland

Asia

Japan, Australia, Iran, South Korea

South America

Brazil, Argentina, Colombia

Concacaf

United States, Costa Rica

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13^th, 2013.

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