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See you in Brazil
France, Portugal reach World Cup
By Korea HeraldPublished : Nov. 20, 2013 - 19:18
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a dazzling hat trick to lift Portugal into next year’s World Cup at the expense of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Sweden, and France came back in remarkable fashion to overtake Ukraine for a berth in the 32-nation field for next year’s tournament in Brazil.
Iceland failed to become the least populous nation to reach soccer’s top tournament, losing to Croatia on a thrilling final night of European qualifying.
Greece, Ghana and Algeria also earned berths, and Mexico took a 5-1 lead into the second leg of its playoff against New Zealand.
The final berth will be determined Wednesday night, when Uruguay defends a 5-0 advantage against Jordan. The draw is Dec. 6 at Bahia, Brazil.
Ronaldo’s second international hat trick gave Portugal a 3-2 win at Stockholm and a 4-2 aggregate victory.
“It felt complicated for a moment after they scored,” Ronaldo said. “We suffered a little bit and then, well, we scored two more goals.”
Ronaldo, who scored in Portugal’s 1-0 home win last Friday, scored off a pass Joao Moutinho in the 50th minute.
The 32-year-old Ibrahimovic tied the score in the 68th and put the hosts ahead 2-1 with a free kick three minutes later, leaving Sweden trailing on away goals. Goals by Ronaldo in the 77th and 79th minutes sealed the home-and-home, total-goals series for Portugal, which will be going to its fourth straight World Cup.
Sweden and Ibrahimovic will miss soccer’s top tournament for the second straight time.
“Of course I’m disappointed. I wanted to play the World Cup,” Ibrahimovic said. “We did our best. Unfortunately, we played against a better team ― better than us, no doubt.”
It was the 26th professional hat trick for Ronaldo, who has 23 for Real Madrid and one for Manchester United. His first three-goal game for Portugal was Sept. 6 at Northern Ireland.
“It just hurts right now,” Sweden coach Erik Hamren said. “It is a dream, an ambition that has died. It’s hurting for everyone.”
France overturned a two-goal deficit from the first leg and beat Ukraine 3-0 on goals by Mamadou Sakho and Karim Benzema followed by a 72nd-minute own goal by Oleg Gusev.
Les Bleus, the 1998 world champion, played with a man advantage after Yevhen Khacheridi was given a red card for fouling Franck Ribery in the 47th minute.
Sakho began the comeback in the 22nd minute with his first international goal, and Benzema tied the home-and-home, total-goals series in the 34th with his third goal in his last four matches for France.
France went ahead in Paris when Gusev, who entered in the 64th minute, turned in a cross under pressure from Sakho. Les Bleus qualified for their 10th straight major tournament.
“It’s the magic of football. Four days ago we were bad, very bad,” France coach Didier Deschamps said. (AP)
Iceland failed to become the least populous nation to reach soccer’s top tournament, losing to Croatia on a thrilling final night of European qualifying.
Greece, Ghana and Algeria also earned berths, and Mexico took a 5-1 lead into the second leg of its playoff against New Zealand.
The final berth will be determined Wednesday night, when Uruguay defends a 5-0 advantage against Jordan. The draw is Dec. 6 at Bahia, Brazil.
Ronaldo’s second international hat trick gave Portugal a 3-2 win at Stockholm and a 4-2 aggregate victory.
“It felt complicated for a moment after they scored,” Ronaldo said. “We suffered a little bit and then, well, we scored two more goals.”
Ronaldo, who scored in Portugal’s 1-0 home win last Friday, scored off a pass Joao Moutinho in the 50th minute.
The 32-year-old Ibrahimovic tied the score in the 68th and put the hosts ahead 2-1 with a free kick three minutes later, leaving Sweden trailing on away goals. Goals by Ronaldo in the 77th and 79th minutes sealed the home-and-home, total-goals series for Portugal, which will be going to its fourth straight World Cup.
Sweden and Ibrahimovic will miss soccer’s top tournament for the second straight time.
“Of course I’m disappointed. I wanted to play the World Cup,” Ibrahimovic said. “We did our best. Unfortunately, we played against a better team ― better than us, no doubt.”
It was the 26th professional hat trick for Ronaldo, who has 23 for Real Madrid and one for Manchester United. His first three-goal game for Portugal was Sept. 6 at Northern Ireland.
“It just hurts right now,” Sweden coach Erik Hamren said. “It is a dream, an ambition that has died. It’s hurting for everyone.”
France overturned a two-goal deficit from the first leg and beat Ukraine 3-0 on goals by Mamadou Sakho and Karim Benzema followed by a 72nd-minute own goal by Oleg Gusev.
Les Bleus, the 1998 world champion, played with a man advantage after Yevhen Khacheridi was given a red card for fouling Franck Ribery in the 47th minute.
Sakho began the comeback in the 22nd minute with his first international goal, and Benzema tied the home-and-home, total-goals series in the 34th with his third goal in his last four matches for France.
France went ahead in Paris when Gusev, who entered in the 64th minute, turned in a cross under pressure from Sakho. Les Bleus qualified for their 10th straight major tournament.
“It’s the magic of football. Four days ago we were bad, very bad,” France coach Didier Deschamps said. (AP)
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Articles by Korea Herald
