European Championship Qualifying - Tuesday saw a further 23 qualifiers take place after the 24 held on Friday and Saturday. 14 teams (9 group winners, and 5 runners-up)
are looking to join the hosts (Poland and Ukraine), and joining Germany, who qualified Friday, are Spain and Italy who ensured top spot in their respective groups.
Group A: Turkey drew 0-0 in Austria to move two points clear of Belgium with two to play in the battle for second place behind Germany. Both sides still have to play Germany once, although Turkey will have home advantage.
Group B: Tuesday's results left this a four way battle, with first placed Russia drawing 0-0 at home to second-placed Ireland. Slovakia missed the chance to join Russia on points when they crashed 0-4 at home to Armenia who overtake them in third spot on goal difference, with Ireland one point ahead in second. With the two top sides still having a game against easybeats Andorra to come, Russia's trip to Slovakia, and Armenia's trip to Ireland will likely be the crucial games.
Group C: Italy's 1-0 win at home to Slovenia clinched top spot, with Serbia favoured for second after struggling past the Faroe Islands 3-1, although Estonia and Slovenia are still in the running.
Group D:France remain top, but only by one point, after being held 0-0 away to Romania, and Bosnia-Herzegovina overcame Belarus 1-0. Both of those sides should end Romania's chances with expected wins on October 7th, meaning the table decider will be played between the two in Paris on October 11th.
Group E: Holland all but guaranteed top spot with a 2-0 win at Finland, meaning Sweden have only a mathematical chance of topping them following their 5-0 win over San Marino. Hungary's 2-0 win at Moldova keeps them level with Sweden, but they are a game, and a lot of goal difference, behind. If Hungary can take the three points at home to Finland, Sweden will need to beat either Finland away or the Dutch at home.
Group F: Croatia moved top with a 3-1 win at home to Israel, while Greece was held 1-1 at Latvia to drop a point behind, although they now cannot finish worse than second. Greece host Croatia in their next match.
Group G:
England, like the Dutch, moved close to clinching their group when they won 1-0 at home to Wales in an uninspiring performance. A draw in Montenegro in their last match will be enough for top spot, although Montenegro would still need to win at Switzerland if they beat England to wrest it from them. Switzerland's 3-1 win over Bulgaria renews their hopes of pinching second place, with their other match away to Wales.
Group H: Denmark's 2-0 home defeat of Norway, looks the pair on 13 points with Portugal who weren't in action. Although Portugal will be favoured on pedigree, they could easily finish third. They host Iceland, then travel to Denmark, with the Danes other match away to Cyprus. Norway only have one match left, but should take three points at home to Cyprus.
Group I: Defending champions Spain booked their place in the finals and maintained their perfect record in qualifying with a 6-0 win over Liechtenstein. Scotland moved to within two points of the Czech Republic with two to play, after defeating Lithuania 1-0. Scotland travel to Liechtenstein and Spain, so one point for the Czechs from matches at home to Spain and away to Lithuania may be enough to get them second.
Asian World Cup Qualifying - an impressive 3-1 win away to Saudi Arabia left Australia well placed in Group D after earlier beating Thailand. South Korea, Japan and Iran are all on four points after a win and a draw in their respective groups, as the first round of qualifying gets underway for the major Asian sides ahead of the 2014 World Cup.
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