November 21 – Uruguay became the 32nd and final country to reach next year’s World Cup finals on Wednesday at the predictable expense of Jordan. But the underdogs returned home with their heads held high.
After being trounced 5-0 in the first leg of the intercontinental playoff, Jordan, who had managed to get that far against all odds, gained a moral victory by securing a 0-0 draw in Montevideo against the 2010 World Cup semifinalists who are 64 places above them in the rankings.
FIFA vice-president Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein, who heads the Jordanian FA, said the result was “an achievement to be proud of” with the focus now switching on the Asian Cup qualifiers.
Uruguay joined hosts Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador and Chile as South America representatives next June after wrapping up a playoff programme that earlier saw Mexico qualify with a 4-2 win in New Zealand for a 9-3 aggregate score.
The 32 qualifiers next year’s world cup are as follows:
Africa: Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria
Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, South Korea
Europe: Belgium, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland, Spain
North & Central America & Caribbean: Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, United States
South America: Argentina, Brazil (hosts), Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Uruguay
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