Italy and the Netherlands
became the first European teams to qualify for next year's World Cup, and the
United States, Costa Rica and Argentina also grabbed spots in the field on
Tuesday night.
Giorgio
Chilellini scored in the 51st
minute and Mario Balotelli converted
a penalty kick in the 54th, giving Italy a 2-1 come-from-behind win over the
Czech Republic at Turin. Goalkeeper Gianluigi
Buffon made his 136th international appearance, matching Fabio
Cannavaro's Italian record.
Robin Van Persie's goals in
the 49th and 53rd minutes lifted the Netherlands to a 2-0 win at Andorra. The
Oranje (7-0-1), a three-time World Cup runner up, won Group D.
The
newcomers joined host Brazil and Asian nations Australia, Iran, Japan and South
Korea in the 32-team field for the World Cup, which kicks off June 12.
No comments:
Post a Comment