FIFA World Cup: Finalists Complete

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Brazil 2014 LogoBy Alphonsus E.W

 

On Tuesday night, it was a festival of football across the world as the remaining six World Cup slots were confirmed.

In Cairo, the Pharoahs of Egypt beat the Black Stars of Ghana 2-1 but the Ghana qualified on a 7-3 aggregate after beating their hosts 6-1 in the first leg in Accra. Though Amr Hassan and Gedo gave the Pharaohs brief hope, Kevin-Prince Boateng killed the game as he scored in the dying embers of the game to ensure that Ghana would appear at their third World Cup finals.

The last African representative at the Mundial was confirmed in Algiers as the Desert Fennecs of Algeria beat the Stallions of Burkina Faso 1-0, the solitary strike coming from Majid Bougherra.

But the real fireworks were in Europe as four teams booked their place in Brazil. Romania drew 1-1 with Greece in Bucharest, ensuring that Greece qualified on a 4-2 aggregate. In-form Olympiakos striker, Konstantinos Mitroglou’s goal was cancelled by an own goal from Vasilis Torosidis.

France overturned a 0-2 deficit from the first leg in Kyiv to triumph 3-0 on the night with goals from Karim Benzema, Mamadou Sakho, and an own goal from Oleg Gusev. This was the first time that a team was overcoming a two-goal deficit in a European World Cup Qualifier.

Croatia beat Iceland 2-0, Bayern Munich striker Mario Mandzukic and Darijo Srna scoring on the night.

But by far, the biggest game of the night was at the Friend’s Arena in Solna, Sweden as the Selecao of Portugal paid a visit to the Blagult of Sweden. Billed as a clash between two of the biggest games in world football, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the game turned out to be a hugely enthralling and entertaining contest.

At the end of the 90 minutes, it was the Selecao that triumphed 3-2 and 4-2 on aggregate to book their place at the World Cup finals in Brazil. A brilliant hat trick by that man Cristiano Ronaldo ensured that the heroics of his counterpart from Sweden, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who scored a fantastic brace on the night was to be in vain. Here is the full list of countries that have qualified for Brazil 2014 World Cup;

Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil (Host Country), Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Honduras, Iran, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Portugal, Russia, South Korea, USA, Spain, Switzerland.

The last play-off game would be decided on Wednesday evening as Uruguay take a healthy 5-0 win to Amman to face Jordan for a spot i

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