UEFA World Cup Qualifying 2013 Results: Recapping Friday's Playoff Matches

Eight European national teams are competing for four remaining spots in the 2014 World Cup and Friday's action certainly helped clarify which sides have the advantage.

Each playoff features two legs with both squads getting a home match. Amazingly, none of the road teams were able to earn a win on the first day, although one earned a draw. This will make things interesting when they return home.

Although every squad is still alive in the competition, some are in better shape than others. With the next set of matches set for Tuesday, Nov. 19, a few coaches will have work to do in the coming days.

Here is a look at the results from Friday's UEFA qualifying battles.

Home	Score	Away
Iceland	0-0	Croatia
Greece	3-1	Romania
Ukraine	2-0	France
Portugal	1-0	Sweden

Iceland 0, Croatia 0

While this match finished in a draw, Croatia really should have won this match. The visitors held possession for 68 percent of the match and were responsible the only six shots on goal.

Additionally, Iceland had to play a man down for much of the match after Olafur Ingi Skulason was sent off in the 50th minute. 

However, goalkeeper Hannes Thor Halldorsson kept the ball out of the net to keep the score tied and so Iceland head into the second leg with a chance to win. Poor defense had been a problem throughout qualifying, but the back line stepped up when needed this time around. 

Now the matchup will head back to Croatia, although this is not a guaranteed win, as noted by Paul Carr of ESPN:

Although Croatia will hardly be disappointed with a road draw, Igor Stimac's side missed a golden opportunity to take an advantage in the playoff and it might come back to hurt the Croats.

Greece 3, Romania 1

Although Greece had been known as a defensive team throughout qualifying, it was the offense that carried the squad in this match.

Kostas Mitroglou got the home team on the scoresheet early with a beautiful volley in the 14th minute. Of course, Romania got the equalizer right away in the 19th minute with a header by Bogdan Stancu from a set piece.

Unfortunately for Romania, this was the last good moment for the rest of the match.

Two minutes later, the Greeks regained the lead with some more great passing from Vasilis Torosidis to Dimitrios Salpingidis right in front of the net. That score stood until the 66th minute when Mitroglou came through again.

Bleacher Report Football had the right idea at this stage:

Although Romania remains in contention, it will be tough to come back against this strong defensive squad the next time the two sides play. Greece only allowed four goals in 10 World Cup qualifying matches, so getting at least two on Tuesday will be a challenge.

Ukraine 2, France 0

In what was easily the most surprising result of the day, Ukraine put France in a scary situation with a 2-0 victory in the first leg.

After a scoreless first half, Roman Zozulya gave Ukraine the lead with a strong move in the box to score in the 61st minute. His side then added to the lead when Laurent Koscielny fouled Zozulya in the penalty area. 

Andriy Yarmolenko scored from the spot in the 82nd minute to make it 2-0.

Of course, the action did not stop there. Koscielny earned a late red card for hitting his opponent, while Olexandr Kucher was also sent off after getting his second yellow. 

This late aggression could make things interesting in the second leg as France tries to make up this deficit. Everyone knew the one-time world champions would have a tough time qualifying in a group with Spain, but the struggles in the playoff have people concerned.

Still, there is plenty of talent on this roster, especially on the attack led by Franck Ribery. All hope is not lost for a possible World Cup appearance, but France will have to perform better at home than on the road.

Portugal 1, Sweden 0

When Portugal needs someone to make something happen, there always seems to be a safety net in Cristiano Ronaldo.

The two sides were scoreless for much of the match, but the Real Madrid star came through in the 82nd minute by going all out on a cross from Miguel Veloso. Ronaldo's diving header from close range was the only goal of the match.

Portugal actually had a lot of chances in this clash, but couldn't take advantage of the opportunities. In fact, the score was the only one of Ronaldo's seven shots even to be on target.

Meanwhile, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was held in check for most of the match. Of course, his scoring ability makes Sweden a serious threat in the return battle on Tuesday.

Going forward, Portugal will likely not be able to rely on the one-goal advantage to get through. Instead, the visitors should remain aggressive to score at least one more and ensure a trip to Brazil.

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