sweden

Australia 1-0 Denmark

Goals: J. Kennedy

Switzerland 0-1 Costa Rica

Goals: W. Park

Portugal 3-1 Cameroon

Goals: R. Meireles (2), Nani – P.Webo

Holland 4-1 Ghana

Goals: D. Kuyt, R. Van der Vaart, R. Van Persie – A. Gyan

SWEDEN v ALBANIA
If one of the major world soccer upsets happen, in that Malta hold Portugal to a draw, or a win, then Sweden could revive their faint hopes of getting a place in World Cup 2010. The defeat on Saturday to Denmark, was something they could have ill afforded. They needed the win to guarantee them at least second place, but the defeat has left them in World Cup ruins. Despite having the upper hand for most of qualification, they now find themselves one point behind Portugal.

Not even the win, which they should be able to achieve against Albania may be enough. The coin has well and truly been flipped, and now they have to rely on the Portugal match, while trying to concentrate on beating Albania well. Only a victory for Sweden and a defeat or draw for Portugal will get them to South Africa. The two defeats they have suffered at the hands of neighbours Denmark, will probably be coming back to haunt them on Wednesday. Group One could be an interesting group to follow on Wednesday, but it could all be a little too late for the Swedes.
Sweden to win: 1/5 at Paddy Power
Draw: 6/1 at SkyBet
Albania to win: 14/1 at Expekt

GROUP ONE

In a surprisingly tight Group, Denmark have done their chances of qualifying for the World Cup no harm at all, leading the way by three points going into the final two matches. That simply does not guarantee anything though with the remaining fixtures and points standings in the group. The biggest surprise has been Portugal’s lack of form, managing to only win three of their eight matches so far. They have been contained by the other three main contenders well, and are now under severe pressure against what many will see as their less illustrious combatants.

Remaining Matches
October 10th
Denmark v Sweden
Portugal v Hungary

October 14th
Portugal v Malta
Denmark v Hungary
Sweden v Albania

DENMARK
In pole position at the moment, but they do have two tough matches to close out the group though, firstly against Sweden, who they managed to beat 1-0 away, and then at Hungary, with whom they ran out a goal-less draw in their first qualifying game. They realistically only need one point to book at least a runner’s up spot, but one win will secure the top spot for definite. A win for Denmark against Sweden will mean that Cristiano Ronaldo can only hope for a runner’s up spot, providing Portugal can win their last two games of course. Sweden and Denmark have quite tight defences, but Denmark should have the end in scoring. It will be a close one.
Denmark to win: 16/11 at Expekt
Draw: 9/4 at Coral
Sweden to win: 2/1 at Paddy Power

SWEDEN
The figure of ex Inter Milan, and now Barcelona’s Zlatan Imbrahimovic may have been striking some fear in to Italian teams and now Spanish clubs, but he hasn’t contributed anything of note for his country for a long time now. They will need him to step up to the plate in order to help get them a place in the World Cup. A win in their next match against Denmark would put them on equal points with the Danes, but the Swedes have a much easier final game. That would effectively put Sweden favourites to top the group. A draw would kind of suit both teams, but if Sweden can turn over Denmark, then that keeps Portugal’s slim dreams alive.

PORTUGAL
Have surprisingly struggled throughout the qualification process, not something you would expect from a team full of attacking quality. Perhaps they have simply been outworked rather than outclassed, but a 0-0 home draw against Albania, isn’t the way to get through a qualification group. They managed to beat Albania away, Hungary and Malta, but if you take away the four goals they hit in their opening game against the Maltese, then the Portuguese have only found the back of the net six times. That simply isn’t good enough. The game against Hungary is the crucial one for Portugal, as their final game should be a guaranteed maximum points against Malta. Their only defeat has come against Denmark, and due to the fact that they have already beaten Hungary, they will still be dreaming. Their qualification hopes though do not rest in their own hands. Positive results for Denmark and Sweden will see the nation without much to cheer come next summer.
Portugal to win: 2/11 at Victor Chandler
Draw: 6/1 at Stan James
Hungary to win: 17/1 at Expekt

HUNGARY
Hungary have made a good resurgence into European football, and were sitting comfortably in second place before the last round of matches, where they fell 1-0 at home to Portugal. While that could have very well been Portugal’s lifeline, it was a kick in the teeth for the Hungarians who are looking to return to the world stage. They do have a big chance for revenge as they travel to Portugal in what should be an entertaining, if not edgy game. Both teams need a win, and cannot afford to lose. A defeat for either would effectively, but not mathematically, put them out of the qualification race. This is the crucial game for the Hungarians, and have a tough finish to the group.

ALBANIA
Possibly a bit more understated than their position states, as they have proved to be a pain against the top teams. They have gained stubborn draws against Sweden, Portugal and Denmark. The two losses suffered against Hungary did them in though.

MALTA
Poor Malta, the only team in Europe not to have scored a qualifying goal. They could take some pride in the fact that they are certainly not the leakiest defence though (calling San Marino!)

WHAT IS LIKELY TO HAPPEN
Sweden desperately need the points more than their neighbours. Denmark and Sweden play out a draw, despite Sweden desperately needing the points more than their neighbours. The draw will suit the Danes more than the Swedes, but the Swedes cannot afford to lose. The Swedish do have the cushion of playing Albania at home in their final game, so that should get them the four points which leaves them on 19pts. Portugal with their two wins will also end up on 19 points and that will lead to confusion in the standings, and will likely come down to goal difference to see who clinches the runner’s up spot. Both games between Sweden and Portugal have ended in 0-0 draws. Hungary are left wanting with the defeat to Portugal, and have nothing to play for when they face Denmark, giving the Danes a comfortable position to get the point they need to win the group.

Host: Sweden
Winners: Brazil
Runners-up: Sweden
Third Place: France
Fourth Place: Germany
Top Goalscorer: Just Fontaine (France)– 13 Goals
Participants: 16 (Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Czechoslovakia, England, France, Hungary, Mexico, Northern Ireland, Paraguay, Scotland, Sweden, USSR, Wales, West Germany, Yugoslavia)

1958 seen Scandinavia embrace the World Cup for the first time in the tournaments history as Sweden were granted the opportunity to host the finals. 35 games were played in total with nearly a million fans attending the matches throughout the tournament. Although the home nation did their very best to get behind their country, they couldn’t drive their team towards what would have been their first World Cup title but came ever so close. Sweden surpassed as expectations by reaching the final but succumbed to a 5-2 defeat in the final to Brazil who evidentially won their very first World Cup title.

There were a few new entries for the 1954 World Cup. The Soviet Union took part in their début World Cup while all of the British Isle’s participated in the finals with England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all making the cut for Sweden 1958.

The format of the tournament was changed slightly. There was still 16 teams competing in four groups of four but for the first time countries played each other at least once with a draw equally a sharing of the spoils instead of the usual Extra-time policy. However, some a tad strange for the modern day fan was their level points policy. If second and third were to finish on the same amount of points then a play-off match would be needed to decide who went through instead of modern rules which say it would go down to goal difference and head-to-head results.

Final:

Sweden 2 – 5 Brazil – Råsunda Stadium ~ 51,800 Attendance

Goalscorers:

Sweden – Liedholm, Simonsson

Brazil – Vava x2, Pele x2, Zagallo

Third Place Play-Off:

West Germany 3 – 6 France

Group 1

Denmark have set the standard in Group 1 after maintain  an unbeaten qualifying record to date. With six games gone, Denmark have notched up five victories and a draw to put themselves in the driving seat in terms of finishing the group on top. Their main competition for that one and only automatic qualifying spot would appear to be Hungary, which does come as a surprise seeing as Portugal are also in the group.

The Portuguese have endured a dreadful qualifying campaign and they now go into their four remaining fixtures knowing they have to win them all if they are to stand any chance of overhauling the seven point deficit and dethroning Denmark at the top. With their current form, that does look unlikely and they may have to settle for second at best. Even that looks uncertain with Portugal four points behind Hungary. Qualification is now out of there hands and they will need others to do them a favour as they bid to get their qualification dreams back on track.

Portugal aren’t the only country battling it out for second spot though. Sweden are also vying for a chance to make the play-off’s and they find themselves level on points with Portugal and also needing other results to go their way. Albania and Malta make up the remainder of the group but with both playing eight games already, they cannot qualify for the World Cup as they cannot make up the point difference.

Group 1 is still wide open and it really would take a brave punter to call how this group will finish. Denmark are the obvious favourites to qualify after enforcing a healthy lead at the top but there are three sides playing a tug-of-war battle for second place. The last few games should be very interesting indeed.

Key Game: 09/09/2009 – Hungary V Portugal

Group 1 Matches:

05/09/2009 – Hungary V Sweden
05/09/2009 – Denmark V Portugal
09/09/2009 – Albania V Denmark
09/09/2009 – Malta V Sweden
09/09/2009 – Hungary V Portugal
10/10/2009 – Portugal V Hungary
10/10/2009 – Denmark V Sweden
14/10/2009 – Sweden V Albania
14/10/2009 – Portugal V Malta
14/10/2009 – Denmark V Hungary

World Cup Qualification Europe Group 1