Today we have the ninth round of the twenty-third Dugout-Online World Cup Qualification cycle. All the matches kick-off at 18:00 GMT.
World Cup Qualifying:
Group A
Their latest
win secured
Slovenia's participation in the World Cup.
Ireland vs. Bangladesh
South Africa vs. Greece
Group B
We have an interesting situation in Group B. The top two each have only one match left to play -
Bulgaria will play today, while
Serbia skip this round and play on Thursday. Both,
Estonia and
India can still catch the top two.
Colombia vs. Bulgaria
India vs. Estonia
Group C
This group is still fairly close, and chances are
Albania (the reigning World Champions) will not be defending their title.
Turkey vs. Albania
Bolivia vs. Austria
Group D
Unlike
Malta and
Canada,
United States of America still have both qualification games left to play - one win, and their participation in the World Cup would be secured.
United States of America vs. Israel
Rep. of Montenegro vs. Malta
Group E
Things are still pretty open in Group E. This is
Hungary's last round, and they pretty much need a win in order to stay in a qualification position.
Italy vs. Hungary
Latvia vs. France
Group F
The eighth round
draw was plenty enough for
Netherlands to secure their participation in the World Cup. After their eight round
win China are almost there, they just need a point and they will qualify as well.
New Zealand vs. Chile
Czech republic vs. China
Group G
With their latest
win,
Romania secured their participation in the World Cup. While
Germany and
Iceland could both still catch them, the two play against each-other in the last round.
England vs. Iceland
Germany vs. Scotland
Group H
Australia did a good job
defeating Japan in the eighth round. Though they skip this round, no one can catch them today.
Norway vs. Peru
Sweden vs. Japan
Group I
Brazil and
Bosnia and Herzegovina will be going to the World Cup from Group I.
Group J
No goals fell in the eighth round of Group J. Since they skip this round,
Thailand are in trouble, and need to hope that results will again be lacklustre.
Croatia vs. Uruguay
Venezuela vs. Argentina
Group K
This group is still fairly open. Since
Belgium play their last match today, they need a positive result.
Spain skip this round, and will play their last game on Thursday.
Mexico vs. Belgium
Algeria vs. Switzerland
Group L
Lithuania are the only team that can still catch the top two. But, their chances of accomplishing that, are minuscule.
South Korea vs. Moldova
Lithuania vs. Slovakia
World Cup Under-21 Qualifying:
Group A
With their latest
win,
Bolivia (the reigning U21 World Champions) secured their participation in the 23
rd U21 World Cup.
Since
Belgium drew, and since this is their last round, they will be staying at home this season.
Finland are technically the only team that can still catch
Ireland, it's just that their chances are not overly good.
Finland vs. Bolivia
Ireland vs. Belgium
Group B
Switzerland will go to the 23
rd U21 World Cup. The second place is still undecided - though the eighth round
win allowed
United States of America to have a bit of a breathing room.
Netherlands vs. Switzerland
Slovakia vs. Scotland
Group C
Brazil and
Albania will go to the U21 World Cup from Group C.
Brazil vs. Albania
Canada vs. Uruguay
Group D
With their latest
win,
Portugal secured their place in the 23
rd U21 World Cup.
Turkey and
Mexico are still fighting for the second position. But since each team only has one match left to play,
Turkey definitely have the advantage.
Australia vs. Mexico
Rep. of Montenegro vs. Portugal
Group E
Excellent eighth round
win for
Slovenia. And since the top two only have one match left,
Slovenia's chances of moving into top two are not that bad.
Israel vs. Serbia
Iceland vs. Slovenia
Group F
The eight round games made the situation in Group F even closer. Since
Poland skip this round, chances are excellent they will drop down the table. This is the last round for
Algeria, and anything but a win will be a bad result.
Latvia vs. Algeria
Japan vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Group G
Amazingly, with their eighth round
win,
Greece are back in the fight for a qualification position (though their chances are still negligible).
Croatia vs. Greece
France vs. New Zealand
Group H
Romania will be going to the U21 World Cup.
Pretty much the only team that benefitted from the two wight round draws was the one that didn't play it -
South Korea remained second.
South Korea vs. Peru
Lithuania vs. Romania
Group I
Estonia will be going to the 23
rd U21 World Cup, but the second place is still in question. There are three teams still in the fight. And while it might seem
South Africa are in a weak position, they are the only team (of the three) that will play both of the remaining games.
Estonia vs. Austria
South Africa vs. Italy
Group J
India got their first point, and it was against
Denmark. Instead of securing their position,
Denmark are now in danger of losing it.
Of the four vying for the two qualification positions,
Bulgaria are the only team with one match left to play.
Denmark vs. China
Argentina vs. India
Group K
We saw two close matches in the eighth round, with
Germany the only team that
won. Since
Norway play their last game today, and since
Germany skip this round, things could change completely by Thursday night.
Spain vs. Norway
Russia vs. Bangladesh
Group L
The two away teams (
Hungary and
Thailand) won in the eighth round, resulting in a switch of positions. Since one of the teams that
lost was
Sweden, and since today is their last qualification round, they no longer have a chance of moving up into second place.
Thailand vs. England
Malta vs. Sweden 
World Cup Under-19 Qualifying:
Group A
While
Bosnia and Herzegovina managed to
defeat China in the last round, it was not by enough -
Iceland and
China will be going to the U19 World Cup from Group A.
Group B
Nothing is clear in Group B yet. Tough, since
Croatia and
Denmark wach have only one qualification match left,
Malta are (theoretically) in the best position.
Malta vs. Estonia
Israel vs. Denmark
Group C
Brazil will be going to the 23
rd U19 World Cup, but the second place is still up for grabs -
Spain defeated Canada in the eighth round, and moved up from fourth to second. Since today is
Spain's last qualification round, they need a win in order to have a chance of staying second.
Brazil vs. Spain
Canada vs. Bangladesh
Group D
United States of America will be going to the U19 World Cup from Group D.
Slovakia needed a win, but all they got was a
draw. And since
Rep. of Montenegro and
Lithuania play against each-other today, there is no way for
Slovakia to move higher than third.
United States of America vs. Peru
Lithuania vs. Rep. of Montenegro
Group E
With their latest wins (
4-0 and
0-3),
France and
Italy secured their place in this season's U19 World Cup.
France vs. Italy
Colombia vs. Mexico
Group F
Playing with only ten players cost
Austria dearly. And since they
lost to
Hungary, the result was also pretty bad for
Australia (who skipped the eighth round). This is
Austria's last qualification round, and another loss would pretty much doom them.
Hungary vs. Venezuela
Australia vs. Austria
Group G
Slovenia will be going to the U19 World Cup, and the second place could be decided tonight. This is
India's last qualification match, and since they play against
Chile, a win would mean
India will be joining
Slovenia at this season's U19 World Cup. But if they don't, things will become interesting for the middle three teams.
Chile vs. India
Netherlands vs. Uruguay
Group H
The two eight round draws (
0-0 and
1-1) were a good result for
Switzerland (the reigning U19 World Champions), as they remained in second.
South Africa needed a win in order to still have a chance of catching the second. Unfortunately, all they got was a draw, and the one point was not enough for them to remain in the competition (even if they win today, the best they can do is keep the fourth place).
Albania vs. South Korea
Switzerland vs. South Africa
Group I
Poland will be going to the U19 World Cup.
This is
Belgium's last qualification round, and all they need to ensure they'll be going to the U19 World Cup, is get a positive result.
Belgium vs. Ireland
Russia vs. Greece
Group J
Portugal will be going to the U19 World Cup, and the second place could be decided tonight.
Finland vs. Bulgaria
Japan vs. Algeria
Group K
Bolivia had an unfortunate eighth round
game. They needed a win against
Sweden, but what they got was a loss. Now
Bolivia are in trouble. This is their last match, and they need to win in order to have a chance.
Norway vs. Bolivia
Sweden vs. Czech republic
Group L
With two draws (
2-2 and
1-1) in the eighth round, things are still fairly open in Group L.
Germany and
Turkey each only have one game left to play, while
England and
Serbia still have two.
Argentina vs. Turkey
England vs. Serbia 
World Cup Under-17 Qualifying:
Group A
Croatia and
Romania have enough of a lead that they ensured, they will be going to the 23
rd U17 World Cup.
Romania vs. Croatia
Bulgaria vs. Slovakia
Group B
We had an interesting last round in Group B. While we've known for a while that
Denmark will be going to the U17 World Cup, the second place was still up for grabs.
Venezuela and
Moldova played against one another, and their game ended in a
draw. Since that was the prerequisite for
Uruguay to have a chance, the second match between them and
Denmark was also important. But, since
Uruguay lost, the one point was plenty enough for
Venezuela to stay second.
Group C
Switzerland and
Chile will be going to the U17 World Cup from Group C.
Chile vs. Switzerland
Bangladesh vs. Canada
Group D
Their eighth round
win ensured
Algeria will be going to the U17 World Cup. The second place is still fairly open, only
Iceland have no chance of moving up there.
Colombia vs. Austria
Hungary vs. Algeria
Group E
Greece are the only team remaining that still have a chance of catching up with the top two - just not a good one.
Serbia vs. Greece
Turkey vs. Russia
Group F
Even though they didn't play in the eighth round, things went well for
Spain, and they officially became the first team to qualify for the 23
rd U17 World Cup from Group F.
Israel are the first team to
lose against
Malta. An unfortunate result for them, since they needed a win to keep in front of
Bolivia.
Bolivia are the only one of the three (
Bolivia,
Israel, and
Japan) that will play both remaining qualification matches.
Spain vs. Japan
Bolivia vs. Malta
Group G
With their latest
win,
Sweden ensured their participation in the U17 World Cup.
South Africa, even though they are currently second, are in danger of losing their qualification spot. They
drew against
Australia, and since this is their last game,
Australia have a chance of catching them.
Australia vs. Czech republic
South Korea vs. South Africa
Group H
Finland and
United States of America no longer have a chance of catching the top two.
New Zealand vs. United States of America
Norway vs. Scotland
Group I
Lithuania's excellent
victory against
England (the reigning U17 World Champions), ensured they will be going to the U17 World Cup this season. The
Estonians were supremely unlucky in their eighth round match,
losing to
Argentina. While
Estonia still have a chance of moving up into second, it's not a terribly good one.
Argentina and
Ireland have no chance of catching up to the top two, and will be staying at home this season.
England vs. Estonia
Ireland vs. Lithuania
Group J
Their last
win ensured
Bosnia and Herzegovina will be going to the U17 World Cup.
France and
Rep. of Montenegro no longer have any chance of catching up with the top two.
Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. China
Mexico vs. Rep. of Montenegro
Group K
Netherlands lost their last chance for catching up with the top two - their game against
Slovenia ended with
0-1. That game ensured
Slovenia will be going to the 23
rd U17 World Cup.
This is
Italy's last match. Can they get at least a point and finish this season on a positive note?
Latvia vs. Netherlands
Poland vs. Italy
Group L
Brazil will go to the U17 World Cup and we could get the decision of who the second team will be today. This is
Portugal's last qualification match. If they get a positive result, they will be the ones going to the U17 World Cup. But if they lose, they'll need to wait and see what
Belgium can do against
Peru in the last round.
Belgium vs. Portugal
Albania vs. Peru 