There were two surprising comebacks in one match, a repeat of recent history, and a cracking goal on TUE 13 JUN 2006. more...

FIFA's lengthy investigation into the violence amongst players and officials at the second leg of UEFA playoff 2 between Turkey and Switzerland on WED 16 NOV 2005 has resulted in severe penalties on all sides. Turkey must pay a fine of 200,000 Swiss francs [€129,000] and play their first six Euro 2008 qualifiers behind closed doors at neutral sites. Turkish players Alpay ÖZALAN and Emre BELÖZOGLU are suspended for the same six matches and fined 15,000 Swiss francs [€9,600] each. Switzerland's Benjamin HUGGEL was also suspended six matches and fined the same amount, meaning he will not be eligible for Germany 2006 unless Switzerland reach the third place match or the final. Turkey player Serkan BALCI and Switzerland physiotherapist Stephan MEYER were each suspended two games, and Turkey's assistant coach Mehmet ÖZDILEK cannot take part in any football related activities for a year. All punishments, other than those to Balci and Meyer, can be appealed to the FIFA appeals committee and then to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The final draw for the 2006 Men's World Cup paired up several well known opponents, starting in Group B, where for the second straight World Cup, England will face Sweden in the first round. In Group G, qualifying rivals France and Switzerland, who battled in UEFA Group 4, meet again. Brazil, Australia, and Japan, who regularly meet at Confederations Cup tournaments, are together again in Group F. But the consensus Group of Death is likely to be Group C, made up of Argentina, Côte d’Ivoire, Serbia-Montenegro, and the Netherlands. The tournament's opening match will be Germany-Costa Rica, FRI 09 JUN 2006 in München. more...

The CONMEBOL/OFC playoff between Australia and Uruguay went to overtime after both legs finished 1-0 to the home team. After thirty goalless minutes, it became the first time a Men's World Cup place was decided on penalties. Mark SCHWARZER saved two attempts, and John ALOISI scored the winner to send Australia into their first World Cup since Germany 1974. Elsewhere, Dennis LAWRENCE was the hero for the Soca Warriors as Trinidad-Tobago won the AFC/CONCACAF playoff 2-1 on aggregate over Bahrain, qualifying for the first time. In the UEFA playoffs, Turkey stormed back from a 3-0 aggregate deficit, but Marco STRELLER scored a second away goal as the final score ended up 4-4, Switzerland qualifying 2-0 on away goals. The Czech Rep dispatched Norway 2-0 on aggregate, and Spain won 6-2 on aggregate over Slovakia.

Crowd trouble at their last Germany 2006 qualifiers has led to FIFA sanctions for Serbia-Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Croatia. Rival fans threw objects – including ripped out seats – at one another during Serbia-Mont's home match against Bosnia-Herz in UEFA Group 7 on WED 12 OCT 2005, leading to a closed door ban for Serbia-Mont's first qualifier for Euro 2008. That nation was also fined €23,000 [US$27,000], with Bosnia-Herz fined €26,000 [US$31,000]. Croatia's Group 8 match against Hungary on the same day was also marred by crowd disturbances, leading to another €26,000 fine.

Shock second place finishers Slovakia, who eliminated Russia on the last day of the UEFA group phase, will have one more challenge to meet as they were drawn against Spain in the playoffs. The Czech Rep will face Norway, and one of three unbeaten teams from Group 4, Switzerland, will play Korea/Japan 2002 semifinalists Turkey. The matches will be played on SAT 12 NOV 2005 and WED 16 NOV 2005.

After 837 matches played and 2,441 goals scored [not counting Mirjalal KASIMOV's goal in the Great Annulled Match of SAT 03 SEP 2005], 27 of the 32 teams to compete at Germany 2006 are known. The other five will be the winners of the AFC/CONCACAF playoff between Trinidad-Tobago and Bahrain, the CONMEBOL/OFC playoff between Uruguay and Australia, and the winners of the three UEFA playoffs. Each of the three seeded teams – Czech Rep, Spain, and Turkey – will be drawn against an unseeded team – Norway, Slovakia, and Switzerland – in Zürich on FRI 14 OCT 2005.

There were three more places at Germany 2006 on offer in the UEFA group phase on WED 12 OCT 2005. more...

Six more slots on the Germany 2006 guest list were taken after the UEFA group phase matches on SAT 08 OCT 2005. more...

A quick summary of action around the UEFA group phase on WED 07 SEP 2005. more...

The first UEFA place at Germany 2006 was claimed in the UEFA group phase on SAT 03 SEP 2005. more...

A quick summary of action around the UEFA group phase on WED 17 AUG 2005. more...

A quick summary of action around the UEFA group phase on WED 08 JUN 2005. more...

A quick summary of action around the UEFA group phase on SAT 04 JUN 2005. more...

On FRI 29 APR 2005, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee handed down punishments for crowd trouble at 2006 Men's World Cup qualifiers in MAR 2005. Korea DPR must play at a neutral venue, with doors closed, against Japan on WED 08 JUN 2005 after unrest at AFC group B matches against Bahrain and Iran. Iran, in turn, must play Korea DPR on FRI 03 JUN 2005 with no more than 50,000 spectators in attendance. Six were killed in a crush at the exits at Iran's match against Japan on FRI 25 MAR 2005. Georgia, whose fans threw objects onto the field at UEFA Group 2 matches against Greece and Turkey, are to face the Ukraine on SAT 03 SEP 2005 and Kazakhstan on SAT 08 OCT 2005 behind closed doors. In addition, Korea DPR were fined 20,000 Swiss francs [US$16,700], Iran CHF30,000 [US$25,100], and Georgia CHF5,000 [US$4,200]. All of these decisions can be appealed.

A quick summary of action around the UEFA group phase on WED 30 MAR 2005. more...