The pressure of spring matches

The last weekend in March and April Fools day presented some of the continental heavyweights with uncomfortable tests which may have a lasting effect on their quest to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa as other teams edge closer to the finals.
Saudi Arabia came from behind to stun their hosts Iran with 2 late goals in the Azadi Stadium. The 2-1 defeat resulted in the dismissal of Iranian manager Ali Daei.
Farhad Tadjiev made the most of Uzbekistan’s numerical advantage with a hat-trick as the home side enjoyed a 4-0 win against 10-man Qatar.
Morocco got off to a poor start in their 3rd round matches losing 2-1 at home to Gabon, while Togo, who were ordered to play their home fixture in Ghana, replied with a 1-0 triumph over Cameroon.
Bosnia and Herzegovina did the double over Belgium winning 4-2 away and 2-1 at home while Finland finished off Welsh hopes with a 2-0 victory in Cardiff. The Czech Republic suffered a blow losing 2-1 at home to neighbours Slovakia, and Kazakhstan came unstuck losing 5-1 at home to Belarus. Poland who had lost 3-2 in Northern Ireland returned home to run riot against San Marino handing them a 10-0 humiliation.
Bolivia provided the world with the biggest shock of the round as they thrashed Maradona’s Argentina 6-1 in La Paz with Botero Joaquin grabbing a hat-trick.
A 3-1 defeat away to Honduras with Carlo Costly scoring twice cost Sven Göran Eriksson his job as Mexico manager.
The effect of these and other results on the rankings can be seen at http://www.rankfootball.com

Watch highlights from the Bolivia v Argentina match:

Early action in 2009

The year began in Uganda where the hosts lifted the 2009 CECAFA Cup with a 1-0 win over Kenya in the final. Tanzania, who had earlier suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Somalia, finished third by beating Burundi 3-2.
The stage then moved to Asia and the 2011 Asian Cup qualifiers where Indonesia and Thailand held their hosts Jordan and Oman respectively to goalless draws and Japan narrowly defeated Yemen 2-1 at home while Vietnam having beaten Lebanon 3-1 at home found themselves on the wrong end of a 6-1 drubbing in China. The United Arab Emirates were far too strong for Malaysia and returned home with a 5-0 win under their belts, but were brought down to earth a week later with a 1-0 home loss to Uzbekistan. Indonesia kept another clean sheet earning a point at home to Australia while Oman enjoyed a 1-0 victory in Kuwait and Japan fell to a single goal in Bahrain.
In the 2009 UNCAF Cup hosts Honduras who started with a weak 2-1 win against Belize reached the semi-finals where they were beaten 1-0 by eventual winner Panama and had to settle for 3rd place after a 1-0 win over El Salvador who had also started badly only managing a 1-1 draw against Nicaragua. The Nicaraguans shocked Guatemala with a 2-0 victory to claim 5th place and the last spot in the 2009 COCCACAF Gold Cup (Samuel Wilson, pictured above, scored both goals). In the final Costa Rica, who had eased past Panama with a 3-0 win in their group match, failed to break the deadlock and lost to the Panamanians on penalties.
Many teams began their year with international friendly matches in February. The reports can be accessed in Score. There were also World Cup qualifiers in which Bahrain continued their run of good results and ascent in the football rankings with a 1-0 win in Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia lost by the same result in North Korea. Mexico suffered a blow, losing 2-0 in the USA. Among friendly matches the historic 1-0 triumph of Norway in Germany was the most notable.