One-by-one: The Eliminations

Teams eliminated from the 2014 World Cup:

 East Timor – 02/07/2011 – lost to Nepal in Asian 1st round

 Afghanistan – 03/07/2011 – lost to Palestine in Asian 1st round

 Cambodia – 03/07/2011 – lost to Laos in Asian 1st round

 Macau – 03/07/2011 – lost to Vietnam in Asian 1st round

 Mongolia – 03/07/2011 – lost to Burma in Asian 1st round

 Pakistan – 03/07/2011 – lost to Bangladesh in Asian 1st round

 Sri Lanka – 03/07/2011 – lost to Philippines in Asian 1st round

 Taiwan – 03/07/2011 – lost to Malaysia on away goals in Asian 1st round

204 teams entered.

196 teams are still in the 2014 World Cup.

Laos through after thriller, first win for US Virgin Islands

Asian 1st round, 2nd leg:

 Burma 2-0 Mongolia  (2-1 on aggregate)

 Laos 6-2 Cambodia  (8-6 on aggregate, after extra time)

 Macau 1-7 Vietnam  (1-13 on aggregate)

 Pakistan 0-0 Bangladesh  (0-3 on aggregate)

 Palestine 1-1 Afghanistan  (3-1 on aggregate)

 Philippines 4-0 Sri Lanka  (5-1 on aggregate)

 Taiwan 3-2 Malaysia  (4-4 on aggregate, Malaysia win on away goals)

CONCACAF 1st round, 1st leg:

 US Virgin Islands 2-0 British Virgin Islands

The climax of the opening round of qualifying in Asia produced a thrilling game between Laos and Cambodia.   With Cambodia 4-2 up from the first leg, Laos needed just half an hour to wipe out the deficit and go ahead on away goals.  Cambodia scored right on half-time to take a 5-4 aggregate lead but Laos scored twice early in the second half to go 4-1 up on the night and 6-5 up on aggregate.  Laos appeared to be going through to the next round but Cambodia found the net again with 15 minutes to go to level the tie and send the game to extra time.  But they couldn’t build on that comeback and it was Laos who took the lead once again early in extra-time and another goal in the second period finally put the tie beyond doubt.

The Philippines stormed into the next round with a crushing 4-0 win over Sri Lanka – their first-ever World Cup victory.  Phil Younghusband was on the scoresheet twice as the Azkals set up a second round meeting with Kuwait.

Vietnam’s Cong Vinh Le scored four times, adding to his hat-trick in the first leg, as his side crushed Macau 7-1 to complete a 13-1 aggregate victory.  Qatar will present a much sterner test in the next round.

Burma overturned a one goal deficit from the first leg to beat Mongolia 2-1 on aggregate, Mai Aih Naing scoring the winner with five minutes remaning.

Malaysia were given a scare by Taiwan, only scraping through on away goals.  In a frantic first half, Malaysia led twice only to pegged back by the home side, the second equaliser coming from the penalty spot just before half time.  Taiwan then had a penalty saved with half an hour remaining before being awarded a third penalty with 15 minutes.  That one was converted, giving Taiwan a 3-2 lead on the night and putting them just one goal away from the greatest moment in their footballing history.  But Malaysia were able to hold on until the end and will meet Singapore in the next round.

Palestine and Bangladesh both progressed with draws against Afghanistan and Pakistan, respectively, having won their first legs.  It was a double celebration for Palestine as they were playing a World Cup match at home for the first time.

With the first round complete, the second round line-up looks like this: (MJ Rankings in brackets)

Thailand (106) v Palestine (139)

Lebanon (177) v Bangladesh (134)

China (42) v Laos (171)

Turkmenistan (140) v Indonesia (107)

Kuwait (72) v Philippines (119)

Oman (99) v Burma (166)

Saudi Arabia (84) v Hong Kong (150)

Iran (29) v Maldives (136)

Syria (77) v Tajikistan (115)

Qatar (73) v Vietnam (126)

Iraq (55) v Yemen (97)

Singapore (120) v Malaysia (93)

Uzbekistan (70) v Kyrgyzstan (171)

United Arab Emirates (81) v India (132)

Jordan (66) v Nepal (125)

The scheduled dates for the second round ties are July 23 and 28.

First win for US Virgin Islands 

The US Virgin Islands defeated neighbours the British Virgin Islands 2-0 to earn their first ever World Cup victory.  Alderman Lesmond and Reid Klopp scored the goals which saw them end a run of five World Cup defeats in which they only scored once and conceded 35 goals.  The British Virgin Islands are still awaiting their first victory in World Cup competition, though they came close in their 2010 campaign, drawing twice with the Bahamas, who progressed on away goals despite playing both legs at home.  That was a major improvement on the British Virgin Islands’ first World Cup qualifying tie back in 2000 when they were crushed 14-1 on aggregate by Bermuda.  Their manager for that tie was a very young Andre Villas-Boas…

Cambodia and Mongolia earn first-ever World Cup wins

Asian 1st round, 1st leg:

 Afghanistan 0-2 Palestine  (played in Tajikistan)

 Bangladesh 3-0 Pakistan

 Cambodia 4-2 Laos

 Malaysia 2-1 Taiwan  

 Mongolia 1-0 Burma  

 Nepal 2-1 East Timor

 Sri Lanka 1-1 Philippines  

 Vietnam 6-0 Macau  

Cambodia and Mongolia both earned their first ever victories in the World Cup as qualifying got underway in Asia.

Cambodia won at the 15th attempt, beating Laos 4-2 in Phnom Penh.  Laos took an early lead and were still ahead at the break but four goals in 17 minutes in the second half – three of them for Cambodia – put the home side in control.  Samel Nasa’s second goal of the game shortly before the end  made it 4-2 and Cambodia will be favourites to progress to the next round and a meeting with China.

Mongolia had failed to win their previous 10 World Cup qualifiers, their only draw coming against Bangladesh in 2001, but a single goal just after half-time was enough to see off 10-man Burma.  Oman await the winners in the next round.

Nate Burkey came off the bench to give the Philippines a valuable away goal against Sri Lanka.  A goalless draw in Manila on Sunday will be enough to the Azkals to progress to a second round clash with Kuwait.

The top seeds in the first round, Malaysia, could only manage a 2-1 win over Taiwan, with a late away goal giving the visitors hope of an upset ahead of the second leg in Taipei.  The winners will play Singapore in the next round.

Nepal, managed by former Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea defender Graham Roberts, edged to a 2-1 win over East Timor in Kathmandu.  The second leg will also be played there on Saturday, meaning the losing team will be the first to be eliminated from the 2014 World Cup.  The winners will face Jordan next.

Afghanistan and Palestine travelled to Tajikistan for the Afghans’ “home” leg of their tie.  Palestine won 2-0 to put them on the verge of a second round meeting with Thailand.

Bangladesh scored in the opening minute of their South Asian derby against Pakistan, on their way to a 3-0 victory, played out in a torrential downpour.  Lebanon await the winners in the second round.

One team virtually guaranteed a place in the next round is Vietnam, who enjoyed a comprehensive 6-0 win over Macau – Cong Vinh Le scoring a first-half hat-trick.

All the second legs will be played this weekend, as well as the opening legs of the CONCACAF preliminary ties featuring the Turks & Caicos Islands and the Bahamas, and the US Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands.