Ready for the Euros

In the space of 5 days the remaining 4 spots for Euro 2012 were claimed while the rest of the world battled for World Cup participation. The Republic of Ireland took 9-man Estonia apart 4-0 before securing a place in Poland and Ukraine with a 1-1 draw in Dublin while Croatia who had already destroyed the hopes of Turkey 3-0 settled for a goalless home draw and Portugal thumped Bosnia and Herzegovina 6-2 in Lisbon.

Lebanon excelled in the world rankings by shocking their Kuwaiti hosts 1-0 and stunning South Korea 2-1 in Beirut while a goal in Oman left Australia on the losing side and Japan fell by the same result in North Korea. China’s 4-0 win in Singapore was soured by Iraq’s 3-1 comeback in Jordan as signalled the end of the road for the Chinese.

Argentina bounced back from a disappointing 1-1 home draw against Bolivia to win 2-1 in Colombia while Paraguay and Peru lost 2-0 away to Chile and Ecuador respectively.

Tanzania were stunned 1-0 at home to Chad and Sao Tome & Principe earned a 1-1 draw in Congo while Ethiopia were held to a goalless draw at home to Somalia and Burundi lost 1-0 in Lesotho.

Puerto Rico slammed 4 past St Lucia in Castries and Belize struck twice away to Saint Vincent & the Grenadines while Canada fired blanks in St Kitts & Nevis. Trinidad & Tobago lost 2-1 in Guyana and Haiti were defeated by a single goal away to Antigua and Barbuda.

Spain remain top of the rankings despite losing 1-0 in England and needing a last-minute goal to draw 2-2 after trailing by 2 goals in Costa Rica.