Azerbaijan 1 - Northern Ireland 1

Belfast was the site for the final Brasil 2014 match of 2012 with Azerbaijan paying a visit to Northern Ireland.  The miserable foggy night was indicative of the miserable fog that was to come for the hosts on headed chances.  The hosts nearly went ahead in the third minute when Niall McGinn's cross found Kyle Lafferty five yards from goal, but Lafferty blasted his header over the bar.  Two minutes later, the visitors found a goal via a wonder strike by Rauf Aliyev.  He was well marked and put under pressure from thirty yards, but he curled the ball around his defender and into the corner out of reach of the diving goalkeeper.    On the half hour, the hosts managed to hit three headers inside the box in succession only to see Craig Cathcart head wide with the goal at his mercy.  Azerbaijan took their 1-0 lead into the break.

The hosts remained in the ascendancy in the second period, but a well-hit cross by Shane Ferguson was inexplicably headed down wide of the net by Christopher Baird.  Northern Irish fans around the stadium surely must have felt that their side were going to lose until a free kick opportunity from just outside the box presented itself.  David Healy dribbled a simple shot around a six-person wall and into the net without much trouble, leaving the knowledgeable observer wondering how the wall could have been so poorly positioned.  The final whistle blew with the final score a 1-1 draw.

Russia 12 pts +8
Israel 7 pts +5
Portugal 7 pts +3
N. Ireland 3 pts -2
Azerbaijan 2 pts -4
Luxembourg 1 pts -10

Goals
Azerbaijan
Rauf Aliyev 5

Northern Ireland
David Healy 90+6

Match Reports:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1900961/index.html

Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdyrMR_-eWE

Montenegro 3 - San Marino 0

The crowd in Podgorica was expectant of a Montenegro victory over visiting San Marino and hopeful for the impending move by the home side to the top of Group H.  Montenegro opened their account just before the quarter hour with a one-two-one play from Vladimir Volkov and Filip Kasalica, but Volkov's chose to slot across the goal rather than shooting.  Luckily for him, Andrija Delibasic was at the far post for the simple tap-in and a 1-0 lead.  Seventeen minutes on, a Simon Vukcevic corner found a completely unmarked Mitar Novakovic at the back post.  However, rather than aim for the net, Novakovic headed down for Delibasic, who toe poke before his defender could slide tackle him, giving Montenegro a 2-0 lead they would take into the locker room.

Midway through the second half, Montenegro closed their scoring tab.  Luka Djordjevic passed off for Elsad Zverotic, who stopped the ball fifteen yards from goal, surveyed his options, and then swung hard enough to beat the goalkeeper on a dive for a three-goal advantage.  Blazo Igumanovic struck the woodwork with a free kick in stoppage time for Montenegro, but the outcome was not affected.  Montenegro win 3-0 to take first place in Group H.

Montenegro 10 pts +10
England 8 pts +10
Poland 5 pts +2
Moldova 4 pts -5
Ukraine 2 pts -1
San Marino 0 pts -16

Goals
Montenegro
Andrija Delibasic 14, 31
Elsad Zverotic 68

Match Reports:
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/world-cup-montenegro-beat-san-marino-leapfrog-england-194713293.html

Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y340U9GTIw

Full Match Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1axgZaUgEdw

Uzbekistan 1 - Iran 0; Qatar 1 - Lebanon 0

Doha was the site for Qatar's home match against Lebanon.  Qatar had defeated Lebanon 1-0 in the two teams' opening AFC Fourth Round fixture.  This match was a tale of two halves.  The first half saw the rise of Lebanon.  Abbas Ahmad Batwi fired a shot from the half circle that was plucked out of the air on the dive by Qatar goalkeeper Qasem Burhan, who had yet another vintage performance on this night.  Ahmad Zreik nearly sent a goal in from thirty yards, but once again Burhan was alert and rose to catch the ball.  The half ended 0-0.

The second half saw the fall of Lebanon.  Sebastian Soria made a solo run from the halfway line unmarked to a spot thirty-two yards from goal, from where he decided it wise to unleash an outside-of-the-boot swerve.  His shot left Lebanon goalkeeper Abbas Hassan rooted on his spot as the ball sailed into the back of the net.  Hassan made a crucial save mere moments later on a driven shot from Lawrence Quaye, but his offense could mount no charge on an equalizer.  Qatar win 1-0 to jump into a tie for second-place.

Tehran was the site of the rematch between visiting Uzbekistan and Iran.  The visiting White Wolves felt hard-done by the officiating in their home match against Team Melli on Matchday One, so they wanted to even the score on the road tonight.  Team Melli were without their usual support as the rain-drenched Azadi Stadium was filled to less than half-capacity.  Team Melli scored the opener through Mohammed Nori, but his goal was ruled back for offsides as his teammate Mohammed Khalatbari was blocking the goalkeeper's vision while in an offside position.  A fight nearly broke out when a felled Uzbek player had a ball back-heeled into his head by an Iranian player as he lay on the pitch.  Server Djeparov has his usual dangerous self for the White Wolves, and his free kicks caused havoc all night.  Iran were lackluster for the most part, and the first half ended in a tepid 0-0.

With twenty minutes to go, Djeparov stood over another free kick forty yards from goal.  The ball kept floating on a low line before dipping to hip level inside the six-yard box.  Ulugbek Bakaev ran onto the ball after getting goalside on his defender, giving himself an easy volley from three yards to give the White Wolves a lead.  Sanjar Tursonov nearly made it two to the good, but his effort inside the six-yard box was deflected off frame.  Iran scored another offside goal in stoppage time, leaving them to ponder what could have been.  Uzbekistan win 1-0 to move alone at the top of Group One.

Uzbekistan 8 pts +1
South Korea 7 pts +5
Iran 7 pts 0
Qatar 7 pts -2
Lebanon 4 pts -4

Goals
Qatar
Sebastian Soria 75

Uzbekistan
Ulugbek Bakaev 71

Match Reports:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1900130/index.html
http://boxscorenews.com/uzbekistan-stuns-iran-as-bakaev-nets-winner-in-afc-world-cup-qualifying-p50861-68.htm

Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nkLQ0PvDqg&feature=relmfu (Qatar v. Lebanon)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IznDusB2QUI&feature=relmfu (Uzbekistan v. Iran)

Full Match Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibv0OSdYhjA (Uzbekistan v. Iran)

Iraq 1 - Jordan 0; Japan 2 - Oman 1

Oman welcomed Group Two leaders Japan to Muscat in the hopes of finally breaking their duck against the Samurai Blue by recording a first win in their ninth match against Japan.  However, even a draw would see Oman skip idle Australia to move into second position in the group.  Oman had a golden chance ten minutes into the match when Ismail Al Ajmi's run down the right side of the box drew two defenders and the goalkeeper before laying a ball off in front of the empty net.  However, Fawzi Bashir missed the easy effort well over the goal.  Japan would punish Bashir's miss ten minutes later.  Japanese left back Yuto Nagatomo sent a weak cross from the left side of the box that somehow eluded all the Oman defenders in the area, allowing Hiroshi Kiyotake to score his first international goal to give Japan a 1-0 lead.  The visitors took that lead into the break.

With less than one quarter hour remaining in the match, Oman found their equalizer.  Ahmed Mubarak stood over a free kick from twenty-three yards.  Mubarak selected a low ball that rolled around the wall and curled into the far corner as it passed beyond the reach of multiple outstretched legs searching for a redirecting touch.  In the final minute, the crowd were stunned into silence.  Gotoku Sakai raced down the let flank and sent a ball into the box that was flicked on at the near post by Yasuhito Endo.  Shinji Okazaki was the beneficiary as the ball bounced to him for a tidy short-range put away and a road victory.  Japan win 2-1, guaranteeing themselves at worst a spot in the Asian fifth-place playoff with today's result.

Doha, Qatar was the home site for Iraq against Jordan.  This match was dominated by the two goalkeepers: Noor Sabri of Iraq and Amer Shafi of Jordan.  A whipped in cross was too much for Jordan forward Tha'er Bawab to handle as his header could not find the frame unmarked from ten yards.  Jordan right winger Khalil Bani Attiah preserved the tie later in the half as his last-ditch sliding block prevented an Iraqi shot from five yards.  Jordan had a good chance to go ahead near the end of the period, but Abdallah Deeb's dipping effort from outside the box was parried away on the short hop by Sabri.  The half ended scoreless.

In the latter portions of the second half, Shafi was called into action often.  He punched away a strong strike from substitute Amjed Rahdi.  With four minutes left, Iraq's Hammadi Ahmed took advantage of the time and space he had at the left side of the half circle by unleashing a ball that tailed away from a diving Shafi and into the Jordanian net.  Iraq held onto their new-found 1-0 lead for the remainder of the match to grab their first win of the campaign 1-0 over Jordan.

Japan 13 pts +11
Australia 5 pts 0
Iraq 5 pts -1
Oman 5 pts -3
Jordan 4 pts -7

Goals
Japan
Hiroshi Kiyotake 20
Shinji Okazaki 89

Oman
Ahmed Mubarak 77

Iraq
Hammadi Ahmed 86

Match Reports:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1900115/index.html
http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/soccer/story/Japan-beats-Oman-21-in-WCup-qualifier-20504303
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1900117/index.html
http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Iraq-beats-Jordan-1-0-in-2014-WCup-qualifier-4036526.php

Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjCh5aAwS5A&feature=g-all-u (Japan v. Oman)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50I9dCipWRE&feature=relmfu (Iraq v. Jordan)

Full Match Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYeRIiRV-Pw (Japan v. Oman)

CONCACAF Fourth Round Schedule

The final six teams in CONCACAF will face each other in a double round-robin that will see each team play ten fixtures over a nine-month period.  The top three finishers in this final group stage will progress directly to the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals in Brasil.  The fourth-place finisher will advance to an aggregate-scoring home-and-away playoff against the first-place finisher in Oceania.

The draw for the CONCACAF Fourth Round took place on 7 November 2012 in Miami Beach, United States of America.  Each of the ten originally scheduled matchdays were slated to have three games, but Matchday Six conflicted with Mexico's participation in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, so their match scheduled for that date was moved forward by two weeks in order to accommodate their busy schedule.

6 February 2013
United States of America at Honduras
Jamaica at Mexico
Costa Rica at Panama

22 March 2013
Mexico at Honduras
Panama at Jamaica
Costa Rica at United States of America

26 March 2013
Jamaica at Costa Rica
United States of America at Mexico
Honduras at Panama

4 June 2013
Mexico at Jamaica

7 June 2013
Honduras at Costa Rica
United States of America at Jamaica
Mexico at Panama

11 June 2013
Jamaica at Honduras
Costa Rica at Mexico
Panama at United States of America

18 June 2013
Panama at Costa Rica
Honduras at United States of America

6 September 2013
United States of America at Costa Rica
Honduras at Mexico
Jamaica at Panama

10 September 2013
Panama at Honduras
Costa Rica at Jamaica
Mexico at United States of America

11 November 2013
Costa Rica at Honduras
Panama at Mexico
Jamaica at United States of America

15 November 2013
Mexico at Costa Rica
Honduras at Jamaica
United States of America at Panama

Match Schedule: November 2012

Matchday Six of the AFC Fourth Round takes place in November, as do two matches in Europe.  The small slate of six games marks the end of Brasil 2014 matches until February 2013.

All times are given in Central Time (GMT-6).

14 November 2012
Japan at Oman 5:30 Muscat
Jordan at Iraq 7:00 Doha, Qatar
Lebanon at Qatar 8:45 Doha
Uzbekistan at Iran 10:30 Tehran
San Marino at Montenegro 11:00 Podgorica
Azerbaijan at Northern Ireland 13:45 Belfast