Match Schedule: September 2013

September 2013 marks the beginning of the home stretch for qualifying for Brasil 2014.  Asia will feature one elimination with the playoff between Uzbekistan and Jordan taking place.  Africa will feature nine eliminations and seven teams advancing into round three.  South America could very well see Argentina qualify and both Paraguay and Bolivia given the boot.  Europe is sure to see at least nine eliminations of its own with a group leader or two clinching an early berth.  Even North America could witness some clarity with Jamaica teetering on the verge of elimination and the United States of America close to booking flights to Brasil next summer.

All times are given in Central Time (GMT-5).

6 September 2013
Faroe Islands at Kazakhstan 10:00 Astana
Luxembourg at Russia 10:30 Kazan
Uzbekistan at Jordan 11:00 Amman
Armenia at Czech Republic 11:00 Prague
Zambia at Ghana 11:00 Kumasi
Cyprus at Norway 12:00 Oslo
Andorra at Turkey 13:00 Kayseri
San Marino at Ukraine 13:00 Lviv
Hungary at Romania 13:00 Bucharest
Wales at Macedonia 13:00 Skopje
Denmark at Malta 13:00 Ta' Qali
Lithuania at Latvia 13:10 Riga
France at Georgia 13:15 Tbilisi
Slovakia at Bosnia and Herzegovina 13:15 Zenica
Spain at Finland 13:30 Helsinki
Netherlands at Estonia 13:30 Tallinn
Albania at Slovenia 13:30 Ljubljana
Iceland at Switzerland 13:30 Bern
Croatia at Serbia 13:45 Belgrade
Montenegro at Poland 13:45 Warsaw
Greece at Liechtenstein 13:45 Vaduz
Bulgaria at Italy 13:45 Palermo
Austria at Germany 13:45 Munich
Portugal at Northern Ireland 13:45 Belfast
Sweden at Ireland 13:45 Dublin
Moldova at England 14:00 London
Belgium at Scotland 14:00 Glasgow
Ecuador at Colombia 15:30 Barranquilla
Bolivia at Paraguay 17:30 Asuncion
Venezuela at Chile 19:30 Santiago
Honduras at Mexico 20:30 Mexico City
United States of America at Costa Rica 21:00 San Jose
Jamaica at Panama 21:00 Panama City
Uruguay at Peru 21:30 Lima

7 September 2013
Botswana at South Africa 8:30 Durban
Ethiopia at Central African Republic 8:30 Brazzaville, Congo
Liberia at Angola 10:00 Lubango
Malawi at Nigeria 10:00 Calabar
Congo at Niger 10:30 Niamey
Gabon at Burkina Faso 10:30 Ouagadougou
Equatorial Guinea at Sierra Leone 11:30 Freetown
Tanzania at Gambia 11:30 Bakau
Morocco at Cote d'Ivoire 12:00 Abidjan
Azerbaijan at Israel 12:45 Ramat Gan
Cape Verde at Tunisia 13:45 Rades
Uganda at Senegal 14:00 Marrakesh, Morocco

8 September 2013
Mozambique at Zimbabwe 8:00 Harare
Namibia at Kenya 8:00 Nairobi
Libya at Cameroon 9:30 Yaounde
Rwanda at Benin 10:00 Porto-Novo
Democratic Republic of Congo at Togo 10:30 Lome
Lesotho at Sudan 12:00 Omdurman

10 September 2013
Jordan at Uzbekistan 9:00 Tashkent
Guinea at Egypt 9:00 El-Gouna
Israel at Russia 10:00 Saint Petersburg
Liechtenstein at Lithuania 10:30 Marijampole
Sweden at Kazakhstan 11:00 Astana
Denmark at Armenia 11:00 Yerevan
Finland at Georgia 12:00 Tbilisi
Switzerland at Norway 12:00 Oslo
Turkey at Romania 13:00 Bucharest
Bulgaria at Malta 13:00 Ta' Qali
Bosnia and Herzegovina at Slovakia 13:15 Zilina
Northern Ireland at Luxembourg 13:15 Luxembourg
Slovenia at Cyprus 13:30 Nicosia
Scotland at Macedonia 13:30 Skopje
Estonia at Hungary 13:30 Budapest
Netherlands at Andorra 13:30 Andorra la Vella
England at Ukraine 13:45 Kyiv
Latvia at Greece 13:45 Piraeus
Ireland at Austria 13:45 Vienna
Czech Republic at Italy 13:45 Turin
Poland at San Marino 13:45 Serravalle
Germany at Faroe Islands 13:45 Torshavn
Serbia at Wales 13:45 Cardiff
France at Belarus 14:00 Gomel
Albania at Iceland 14:00 Reykjavik
Mali at Algeria 14:30 Blida
Ecuador at Bolivia 15:00 La Paz
Colombia at Uruguay 17:00 Montevideo
Peru at Venezuela 18:55 Puerto La Cruz
Costa Rica at Jamaica 19:00 Kingston
Mexico at United States of America 19:06 Columbus
Panama at Honduras 20:00 Tegucigalpa
Argentina at Paraguay 20:40 Asuncion

Northern Ireland 1 - Russia 0

Belfast was the site of this month's only FIFA World Cup qualifier as Russia came to play hosts Northern Ireland.  The match was originally scheduled for 26 March 2013, but the snow postponed the match on that occasion, forcing the match to be rescheduled.  Northern Ireland defender Gareth McAulay snuffed out two early Russian goalscoring opportunities with well-timed tackles in his own penalty area, but it was clear that Russia would be the side to hold the majority of possession.  Alexander Ayunkov soon thereafter had to save Russia with two blocked shots in the same sequence.  Russia dominated possession, but Northern Ireland created the best chance of the half so far off a quick restart.  Jamie Ward took the ball up the center of the pitch and unleashed a blast from twenty-one yards that crashed flush into the far post with the rebound ricocheting off a Russian defender and back to the goalkeeper.  Northern Ireland soon thereafter found a goal when a long ball bounced over Niall McGinn's head.  McGinn ran the ball down and got a cross off as the ball was about to go over the end line.  Martin Paterson made a strong run into the box and rose to meet the ball with his head before Vasili Berezutskiy, crushing a goal and giving the hosts a 1-0 lead.  Northern Ireland took the 1-0 lead into their locker room.

Paterson continued to be dangerous in his lone striker role in the second period, but he was only able to add more offsides violations to his goal from the first period.  The second half was much less action-packed than the first, and Russia did not have the proper attitude to mount a comeback.  The rain that began to fall in the last five minutes could not dampen the lively crowd as Northern Ireland looked to close out their first victory in their past fourteen competitive matches.  They would see out the end of the match quite easily, and Northern Ireland deservedly win 1-0.

Portugal 14 pts +6
Russia 12 pts +6
Israel 11 pts +7
N. Ireland 6 pts -3
Azerbaijan 4 pts -6
Luxembourg 3 pts -10

Goals
Northern Ireland
Martin Paterson 43

Match Reports:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=2152393/index.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2393753/Northern-Ireland-1-Russia-0-Martin-Paterson-stuns-Fabio-Capello-Michael-ONeill-claims-win.html

Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haLKfr39Rr4