The final round of European World Cup qualification finished on Tuesday, with the most exciting and competitive region of qualifiers having contributed nine teams to the 2014 World Cup. Goals from Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard helped England beat Poland 2-0 at Wembley Stadium in a game with huge importance, which helped England avoid the tragedy of 1973.
Happy Lions: England booked their ticket to Brazil
Back then, England needed to beat the same opponent, Poland, to reach the 1974 World Cup finals in West Germany. Instead, Poland won the World Cup berth after a 1-1 draw against Sir Alf Ramsey’s team. The manager who led England to heir 1966 World Cup glory was subsequently sacked. The Three Lions suffered the same misery in the 2008 European qualifiers when they needed only a point against Croatia but screwed it up dramatically with a 3-2 defeat.
Luckily, England channeled the pressure well this time and outmaneuvered the Polish side whose World Cup dreams had already evaporated before this match. With England now on board, everyone will pay attention as the famous WAGs sun themselves on the beaches of Brazil!
Belgium finished their group with a 1-1 draw in Wales and booked their ticket to Brazil as one of the unbeaten teams in their group along with Spain, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and England. Alongside fellow group leaders Russia and Bosnia, there are now nine European nations to have confirmed their qualification.
The play-off horror: can France make its way to Brazil?
Aside from them, the eight best group runners-up will contest in the play-offs next month. The draw date is scheduled for 21 October and it looks like France will face a tough tie as they now sit 25th in the FIFA rankings, meaning they will be listed with three other lower ranking nations. The worst case scenario would be a clash against Portugal, which means either Cristiano Ronaldo or Franck Ribéry will have to sit out the World Cup.
In contrast, Uruguay’s future is much brighter as they will go through the play-offs to reach the World Cup with a clash against lowly Jordan the only likely barrier to their qualification.
