World Cup Qualifying: Clean Sweep For England, Two Fight for Group Six Crumbs

England has enjoyed a fantastic run of success in this World Cup qualifying stage, joining the Netherlands and Spain as guaranteed starters after reaching the magic total of 24 points.  It is now impossible for any other team in Group Six to overtake.

The moment of triumph for England came courtesy of a 5-1 victory over Croatia yesterday (September 9).

There is now a battle between Croatia and Ukraine for the vital 2nd place slot.  Whichever of these teams manage to finish 2nd will have another chance to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Croatia are currently ahead of Ukraine by two points but with only one match remaining (an away game against Kazakhstan) they can only pick up a maximum of three more points, which would take their total to 20.

If by some chance Croatia should lose this match, then Ukraine has the opportunity to get in front, needing only a win over Andorra in the October 14 match to make it happen.  If Croatia draw with Kazakhstan then Ukraine would also need to get at least a draw against England to remain in contention.

But if Croatia does beat Kazakhstan this would mean that Ukraine would need to win both of the remaining matches, which would give them a boost of six points taking their total to 21, getting them across the line by the barest margin.

The most likely scenario is that Ukraine will beat Andorra easily and then either lose or draw to England.   Croatia should technically be expected to either win or draw against Kazakhstan, but as it is an away game in a potentially hostile environment it may be a wise move to refrain from betting on the outcome of this one.