Will Australia Be the First Team to Qualify For the 2010 FIFA World Cup?

We head into another international week, and this one could be of great significance. Australia could be the first team to qualify at this early stage. For Australia to secure qualification next week, the following (realistic) scenario has to happen:

Japan beats Bahrain

Uzbekistan beats Qatar (or draw)

Then

Australia beats Uzbekistan

Bahrain draws against Qatar

Then the table will look like this:

                     P          Pts

Australia        5          13

Japan             5          11

Qatar             6          5

Bahrain          6          5

Uzbekistan     6          4

Since the third place team behind Australia is eight points behind, but has only two fixtures left, it is impossible for Australia to finish below second. Thus, next week Australia has a fair chance of being the first country to qualify for the World Cup

. If not, they’ll have to wait until June to be absolutely guaranteed.