Internationals / Ben Lyttleton / 08 June 2009 /

Four teams confirmed their places in South Africa after this weekend's round of World Cup qualifiers but for many more, a nervous summer awaits before the next round of fixtures in September, writes Ben Lyttleton...

At least Portugal boss Carlos Queiroz can rest a bit easier, after his side beat Albania 2-1 thanks to a 93rd minute headed winner from defender Bruno Alves. A draw would have left Portugal nine points behind group leaders Denmark, who took a huge step to the tournament by beating local rivals Sweden 1-0 away.

That result has left Sweden with a mountain to climb - not only have they now dropped points at home to three of their group rivals, but Henrik Larsson is unlikely to face Malta on Wednesday, a game Sweden are [1.05] to win, after a family bereavement, while there is some consternation about why Kim Kallstrom, and not Zlatan Ibrahimovic, took and missed an early penalty for the hosts. Sweden are now [6.0] to qualify for South Africa.

Slovakia overtook Northern Ireland at the top of Group 3 with a 7-0 thumping of San Marino that served as a statement of intent to their rivals: they are now two points clear with a game in hand and still a long [1.85] to qualify. Croatia hit the post twice late on in their 2-2 draw against Ukraine in Group 6, and might yet regret it after Belarus thumped England's next opponents, Andorra, 5-1. Belarus are now third in the group but two points behind Croatia and with a game in hand. They are an interesting [4.1] to finish in the top two, with Croatia [1.02] with Ukraine [2.08].

Serbia strengthened their position at the top of Group 7 with a 1-0 win over Austria, to leave them five points clear of second-placed France, while Ireland saw off the threat of Bulgaria with a 1-1 draw in Sofia. In Group 9, Holland secured their spot in South Africa with a 2-1 win in Iceland, so they may not be fully focused on Wednesday's qualifier against bottom-of-the-table Norway. Egil Olsen's side are [9.2] to beat Holland, while the 0-0 draw is an attractive [14.5].

In South America, big guns Brazil and Argentina were both successful but in very different ways: Brazil won 4-0 in Uruguay, a superb victory that sent them top of Conmebol qualifying, while Argentina scraped an unconvincing 1-0 win over Colombia. It was a crucial result but the performance left under-pressure coach Diego Maradona with more questions than answers ahead of Wednesday's crucial match in Ecuador. Argentina are [6.6] to win the World Cup, but with Maradona still struggling to make the Messi-Aguero-Tevez partnership work in the self-imposed absence of Juan Roman Riquelme, it would be a dangerous move. Paraguay lost 1-0 to Chile but with Bolivia still to play, they should still have enough to qualify.

There could be some surprise names from the African qualifiers, not least Gabon, who followed up their win over Morocco with a 3-0 defeat of Togo. Cote d'Ivoire , who beat Guinea 2-1, won't have things all their own way, as their next opponents Burkina Faso, picked up their second straight win over Malawi. Tunisia and Ghana are also looking good to qualify.

In Asia, Australia, South Korea and Japan sealed their qualification spots while Saudi Arabia will play North Korea later this month for the other place up for grabs. And in Concacaf, a shock is on the cards after El Salvador, who last qualified for the World Cup in 1982, beat Mexico 2-1 to leave Javier Aguirre's new side with a major battle on their hands to make it. There are still six games left to play but with three losses from their first four games, it would take a brave man to back them to qualify.

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