Spectacular end to Euro qualifiers

ED AARONS

JOHANNESBURG - It was a night of thrilling action and controversy as the final four European qualifiers were decided on Wednesday evening.

Viewers around the globe were treated to spectacular entertainment worthy of the finals themselves as the climax to the play-offs was played out in the cities of Donetsk, Maribor, Paris and Zenica.

In the end, Greece, Slovenia, France and Portugal booked their places in South Africa next year but you can bet you haven’t heard the last of the numerous debates created by events on the field.

The major talking point occurred at the Stade de France where Giovanni Trapattoni’s Republic of Ireland were denied an historic victory by Thierry Henry’s blatant double handball. The look of anguish on Irish keeper Shay Given’s face as he remonstrated with Swedish referee Martin Hansson was one of those iconic moments in sport that will live long in the memory and even the most patriotic Frenchman would have to feel some pity for their plight.

The whole escapade will once again reignite the debate over the use of video technology in football, especially with such a big prize on the line. But the fact is that 1998 winners France are on their way to the World Cup while Ireland’s players will have to wait another four years.

Things were a lot simpler for Portugal as they made sure of their fifth World Cup appearance. Faced with a tricky tie against Bosnia, the 2006 semifinalists booked their place thanks to a second half goal from Raul Meireles to break the hearts of their opponents. That means nine of the top 10 ranked nations in the world will be in South Africa, with only eighth-placed Croatia missing out.

Twelfth-ranked Russia are the next highest casualties from the qualifiers after their surprising defeat to Slovenia. With a population that is 140 million than their opponents, Guus Hiddink’s side were expected to breeze through to their first finals appearance since 2002 but Slovenia’s battling display was enough to see them through.

The challenge for Matjez Kek and his team will now be to see if they can fare better than their solitary appearance in Korea and Japan eight years ago. They lost all three games against Spain, Paraguay and South Africa but with the smallest population of all the 32 competing teams, they know things are likely to be tough again.

Greece will be another country desperate to avenge a poor performance in their only finals appearance after seeing off Ukraine on Wednesday. They lost all three games at USA 1994 to Argentina, Nigeria and Bulgaria, conceding 10 goals in the process, although with German Otto Renhagel at the helm this time, defensive-solidity should not be a problem again.

Over in Montevideo meanwhile, Uruguay made sure of their 11th finals appearance after a nerve-wracking 2-1 aggregate win over Costa Rica. That means that all of the seven nations who have won the famous trophy will be in South Africa come next June, although it would take a brave prediction to see the South Americans to add to their two previous titles.

So the invitations are in the post and the countdown is on – it should be one hell of a party when the whole thing kicks off in just over 200 days’ time.