When Asia Plays Football and World Cup Qualifiers

This Weekend's World Cup Qualifiers and "When Asia Plays Football"
World Cup Qualifiers

Spain's hat-trick hero

Europe
Matchday 3 of the Europe World Cup Qualifiers saw Netherlands defeated Andorra 3-0 while Germany thrashed Ireland 6-1. England thumped San Marino 5-0 in a game where Wayne Rooney, wearing the armband in place of the suspended Steven Gerrard, scored two goals alongside Manchester United teammate Danny Welbeck who also grabbed a brace. Spain won 4-0 against Belarus, with Barcelona forward netting a hat-trick. Italy played Armenia and emerged as the victors with a 3-1 scoreline. Juventus midfielder Andra Pirlo, Daniele de Rossi, Pablo Osvaldo got onto the scoresheet for the Azzurri.

Cristiano Ronaldo and his team left the game in great disappointment

Russia produced a strong defensive display to secure a 1-0 victory over Portugal in Moscow. The only goal of the game came from Alexander Kerzhakov. Portugal are now 2nd place in Group F behind Russia.
South AmericaArgentina defeated Uruguay 3-0 with Lionel Messi drilling home two goals to complement Sergio Aguero's goal. Uruguay, last season's Copa America champions, managed to attack only through counters, and defended much of the game. Chile, who will play the Argentines on Tuesday, lost 3-1 to Ecuador. Bolivia drawed with Peru with both teams scoring a single goal. Colombia recorded a 2-0 home win over Paraguay.
North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF)
Eddie Johnson scored two goals against Antigua in the United State's  2-1 victory. The United States are 2nd in Group A, with Guatemala, who defeated Jamaica 2-1, in 1st. The US need a win over the Guatemalans to secure a spot in the final phase of World Cup Qualification. Mexico thumped Guyana 5-0 with goals from Andres Guardado, Javier Hernandez, Oribe Peralta Morones and Angel Reyna Martinez. Guyana defender Charles Pollard scored an own goal to give Mexico their fifth goal. Canada bagged a 3-0 win over Cuba and Costa Rica scored the only goal in their match against El Salvador to move into 2nd of Group B. Meanwhile, Panama remain at the top of Group C despite a 0-0 draw with Honduras. The Canadians are hot on Panama's heels with the same 10 points. However, Canada are inferior in goal difference
Asia
No qualifiers were played in Asia this weekend, while matchday 4 kicks-off on Tuesday. Qatar meet Uzbekistan and Oman plays Jordan. Australia travel to Doha to face Iraq and the Koreans will battle Iran.
Africa
Africa did not stage their World Cup Qualifiers this week due to the qualifiers in the African Nations Cup. ESPN announced that "The deciding African Nations Cup qualifier between Senegal and Ivory Coast in Dakar had to be abandoned amid chaotic scenes with home fans rioting as their team faced missing January's finals in South Africa." The Africa Nations Cup finals will be played in January.
When Asia Plays Football
by editor Wong Yang