Norway 1 - Switzerland 1; Iceland 2- Albania 1; Slovenia 2 - Cyprus 1

Albania came home to rainy Tirana, but it would be their opponents Iceland who truly rained on their homecoming.  Iceland won a throw-in that led to disastrous results for the Albanian defense.  The throw in was headed three times by Iceland players inside the box, and eventually the ball came to Birkir Bjarnason's feet for a tap-in opener.  Barely more than ten minutes later, Alban Meha nutmegged his marker with his ball across the box, and his teammate Edgar Cani tapped home the equalizer to revive Albania's hopes for eventual victory.

Odise Roshi nearly curled a ball in from the half-circle ten minutes after the restart, but Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson was up to make a desperate sliding save to push aside for a corner kick.  Roshi nearly scored on a later occasion as well, but he flashed a laser just wide.  Iceland drew a free kick from inside the half-circle with ten minutes to play.  Gylfi Sigurdsson bent the ball over a four-man wall and off the inside of the near post, giving Iceland a 2-1 lead late in the match.  Iceland hold on to win 2-1 and leap into second place in Group E.

Switzerland came to Bern in first place after having won their two matches in September, but their opponents today were Norway, the nominal top seed in the group.  Norway nearly took a lead at the quarter hour when a flicked header by Brede Hangeland nearly found its way into the net, but a diving two-palmed stab by Swiss goalkeeper Diego Benaglio prevented the goal.  Benaglio saved Vegard Forren's header off the resulting corner kick, pumping up the crowd his heroics.  Tranquillo Barnetta nearly gave Switzerland the opener, but his header bounced away off the far post.  The half ended 0-0.

The second half was less lively but actually produced all the goals.  A Swiss corner kick was flicked on from the near post by Granit Xhaka to a double-marked Mario Gavranovic, who maneuvered his back leg to push the ball goalward and in on short notice.  Norway were not looking to be defeated on the night, however, so they equalized off a corner kick two minutes on.  Hangeland rose above every marker with a mighty jump, and he headed home to give his team the equalizer.  Norway almost scored on a deep throw-in that was allowed to bounce, but Benaglio saved yet another Forren header to preserve the tie.  Norway truly wanted the victory, and they had a counterattack with one minute left in the match that nearly proved decisive.  The initial two-versus-one was turned away, but the clearance fell to Tarik El Younoussi.  El Younoussi fired a ball the crashed into the far post and out from twenty-five yards.  Norway and Switzerland play to a hard-fought 1-1 draw that is sure to leave a bitter taste in the mouths of the Norwegian players.

Slovenia came to Maribor with no points in their campaign but hope that a date with visiting Cyprus would prove fruitful.  With only seven minutes left in the first half, a Zlatko Dedic cross was a bit behind Tim Matavz, but Matavz took the opportunity to gather the ball on a spin, dumping his defender in the process before firing home for a 1-0 Slovenia lead.  The half would end 1-0 to the home side.

In the second half, Matavz continued his goal scoring.  A long free kick was headed back to his feet, so he decided to have a go, so he slotted home for his second of the night.  A inswinging free kick soon thereafter nearly provided a third, but Cypriot goalkeeper Tasos Kissas majestically flew through the air to knock the ball to safety.  A box-to-box break by the Cypriots led to a goal from the top of the box by substitute Efstathios Aloneftis, giving the visitors hope with seven minutes to play.  Slovenia's Bostjan Cesar was ejected for a second yellow in minute 89, but Cyprus ran out of time.  Slovenia win 2-1 to claim their first points.

Switzerland 7 pts +4
Iceland 6 pts +2
Norway 4 pts -1
Albania 3 pts -1
Slovenia 3 pts -2
Cyprus 3 pts -2

Goals
Iceland
Birkir Bjarnason 18
Gylfi Sigurdsson 81

Albania
Edgar Cani 29

Switzerland
Mario Gravanovic 79

Norway
Brede Hangeland 81

Slovenia
Tim Matavz 38, 61

Cyprus
Efstathios Aloneftis 83

Match Reports:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1784027/index.html
http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Switzerland-held-1-1-by-Norway-in-WCup-qualifier-3944052.php
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1784262/index.html
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1784324/index.html

Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i6KRpHXNhU (Iceland v. Albania)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZcM8Tp0_v4 (Norway v. Switzerland)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzU6SnFfMe4 (Slovenia v. Cyprus)