Crunch time for hopefuls in race to South Africa

By James Whelan

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

THE final round of group qualifying matches tonight will see some of Europe’s top sides desperately clinging on to their World Cup hopes.

Switzerland, Greece, Slovakia and Slovenia head into tonight’s games still hoping to reach South Africa automatically.

A host of play-offs also remain to be decided.

In Group Two, Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld is taking nothing for granted with his side requiring one point from their home clash with Israel tonight to qualify for the World Cup finals.

The Swiss will qualify automatically for the finals unless they lose to Israel and Greece beat Luxembourg.

Hitzfeld knows the job has to be finished against Israel before they can celebrate.

"We still haven’t qualified," said Hitzfeld. "We still have an extremely complicated match to contend with. Israel are far stronger in attack than Luxembourg."

Former European champions Greece also have an outside chance of overtaking group leaders Switzerland.

Theofanis Gekas scored four goals to inspire Greece to a 5-2 win over Latvia on Saturday – a victory that boosted their hopes of securing a place in the play-offs.

The four goals by Gekas moved him alongside Wayne Rooney as joint top scorer in European qualifying with nine.

In Group One, Portugal are expected to make light work of Malta in Guimaraes, even without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ironically, given that they are potential opponents of Ireland’s in the play-off stage, Cork referee Alan Kelly will take charge of this clash.

Malta have lost all but one of their eight games so far without scoring a goal. Real Madrid winger Ronaldo had insisted he was fit to start against Hungary, despite spraining his ankle during the Champions League win over Marseille.

Denmark, meanwhile, can afford to relax against Hungary, having qualified for their first major finals in six years.

Sweden must beat Albania in Solna and hope Portugal cannot defeat whipping boys Malta to stand any chance of securing second place.

This campaign will also see former Celtic striker Henrik Larsson call time on his career, at the age of 38.

"It’s probably over now," said Larsson, who had initially retired in 2002, but returned to international action two years later. I’m 38 years old now and I no longer have the motivation to play for Sweden after the match against Albania."

In Group Three, Slovakia captain Robert Vittek has promised his side will bounce back from their defeat to Slovenia to seal a place in the World Cup finals tonight.

Slovakia blew a great chance to guarantee a trip to South Africa at the weekend, but can still top Group Three with a win in Poland in perhaps the biggest European showdown tonight. If they slip up again, Slovenia can overtake them with a win against minnows San Marino and condemn Slovakia to the play-offs.

But Vittek said: "We will perk up and win in Poland. Qualification will be ours."

In the group’s other match, the Czech Republic and Northern Ireland face each other knowing only a win will keep alive their extremely faint hopes of a play-off spot – those hopes rest on San Marino claiming their first point of the qualifying campaign.

In Group Six, Croatia coach Slaven Bilic has to cope with an injury crisis as his side know even victory over Kazakhstan will probably not be enough to secure a World Cup play-off place.

Even if Bilic’s side win against Kazakhstan in Astana they will still be looking for Andorra to defeat Ukraine, an unlikely prospect for a side which has conceded 33 goals in nine straight qualifying defeats.

Meanwhile Lionel Messi is convinced Diego Maradona’s Argentina will beat Uruguay in Montevideo tonight and book the final automatic South American berth in next summer’s finals (live on Sky Sports 11pm).

The Charruas and the Albicelestes will go head to head to decide who clinches qualification. A draw would see Argentina progress directly assuming Ecuador do not beat Chile in Santiago by more than five goals. Any sort of win for Ecuador would see them progress to a play-off with a CONCACAF nation at the expense of either Argentina or Uruguay.

Diego Maradona’s Argentina will play in South Africa if they win or draw, barring an extraordinary performance by Ecuador at already-qualified Chile, while defeat could eliminate them should Ecuador win. Uruguay must win to overhaul Argentina.

Messi said: "We’ll play at the World Cup. We are risking everything in the last qualifier. I trust in my national team."

Maradona has already announced that Gonzalo Higuain and Martin Palermo, who scored the goals in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Peru, will not start together, with the Real Madrid striker looking the more likely to start. Maradona said: "Palermo and Higuain together? No. One or the other. They will play together only if we need to score to win."

Uruguay boss Oscar Tabarez, meanwhile, will send his side out with a do-or-die attitude.

"Winning is what matters," he said. "We respect Argentina, but we need the three points."

Diego Forlan, who scored a penalty winner in added time in the crucial 2-1 win in Ecuador on Saturday, admitted he is shocked that Argentina have not already qualified.

"Argentina are one of the best teams in the world, but there are no advantages on the field. Tomorrow’s is the match I’ve always dreamt of. I want to play at the World Cup and it is up to us."

Costa Rica and Honduras compete for direct qualification for next summer’s World Cup in tomorrow’s final CONCACAF qualifiers. Costa Rica travel to the United States needing to win to avoid going into a play-off with a South American side.

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Wednesday, October 14, 2009