FIFA World Cup finals in reach for Spain, Swiss and Czechs

The Czech Republic, 1-0 winners in Norway, Switzerland, who overcame Turkey 2-0, and Spain, who thrashed Slovakia 5-1, are all well-placed to qualify at the halfway stage of the European play-offs for next summer's FIFA World Cup finals.

The Czechs may have been missing centre-forward Jan Koller in Norway but Karel Bruckner's side were buoyed by the return of Pavel Nedved, who came out of retirement for this crucial fixture, and played an important part on a night he won his 84th cap for his country. Despite the poor state of the pitch on a bitter Oslo evening, the Czechs soon began swarming down the left flank, where Nedved, Milan Baros and Vladimir Smicer all found their range right from the off.

They had the majority of possession and created the better chances and their dominance paid off on 31 minutes when Nedved fed a long ball to Karel Poborsky whose fine cross was met by Smicer, who calmly opened the scoring from eight yards out. The visitors then sat back and used their technical superiority to defend their lead, happy to wait for the opportunity to counter against a Norway team who will struggle to chase the game in the return leg.

In Bern, Switzerland maintained their unbeaten record in this campaign, dominating the match and emerging clear 2-0 winners over Turkey. Philippe Senderos and Valon Behrami were the scorers, and the margin of victory could have been wider had the Swiss enjoyed a little more luck in front of goal. Behrami's vital strike came a mere three minutes after he had made his appearance as a substitute.

The return leg may well prove a tough task for Turkey, who onlyonce managed two goals at home in this campaign - against lowly Kazakhstan. What is more, this was the first time that they had lost away from home, and once behind, they never looked like mounting a comeback. Admittedly, a number of their key players were missing, including Hasan Sas, Yildiray Basturk, Serhat Akin and Tolga Seyhan, who were all injured, and Newcastle midfielder Emre Belozoglu, who was suspended for the first leg of this tie.

Spain, in contrast, showed incredible prowess in front of goal and took their Slovakian opponents apart. The Spaniards surged into a 2-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes, thanks to a brace from the livewire Luis Garcia. A mistake from the Liverpool midfielder, however, allowed the Slovaks to get back into the game. His back-pass to Iker Casillas just after the break was intercepted and converted by Middlesbrough forward Szilard Nemeth.

World Cup betting game odds: Sports Interaction

World Cup Qualifiers Propositions:

Spain 1.28

vs Slovakia 9.00

DRAW 4.50

Norway 7.00

vs Czech Republic 1.07

DRAW 3.00

Switzerland 1.20

vs Turkey 4.00

DRAW 3.00

PREDICTION: Spain and the Czech Republic will eke out hard-earned 2-1 victories while Switzerland vs Turkey will end up in a 1-1 draw.

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tags: Soccer, World Cup, FIFA World Cup, 2006 World Cup, World Cup 2006, Spain, Slovakia, Turkey, Norway, Destination Germany, World Cup Soccer Soccer World Cup, Czech Republic