Football | World Cup 2014

Football | World Cup 2014

[ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة]

Hostile Armenia reception awaits Bulgaria

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10 October 2013, 20:39 
Objects were thrown and a tirade of abuse from dozens of local fans was chanted when Bulgaria arrived at Yerevan Airport ahead of Friday's World Cup qualifier against Armenia.
Armed security forces formed a tight cordon to allow the players to get on the team bus through a smoke of red flares and deafening noise from the crowd.
Angry home fans booed the players and coaches. They also threw eggs, fireworks and other objects and cried 'Bulgarian gypsies'.
"If someone was aiming to scare the team ... I can tell you it wasn't achieved," visiting coach Luboslav Penev told reporters on Thursday.
"But I don't want to comment on things unrelated to football. There are people and commissions who deal with these issues."
In September 2012 Armenia filed a protest with soccer's ruling body Fifa about "poor officiating" and the treatment they received from the home team during a 1-0 qualifying defeat in Bulgaria.
Armenia finished the Group B match in Sofia with nine men after Swiss referee Stephan Studer sent off Marcos Pinheiro in the 73rd minute and Gevord Gazaryan four minutes later.
After the match Armenian fans said they were racially abused by home supporters.
Playoff hopefuls Bulgaria, who have not reached the World Cup finals since 1998, are second with 13 points from eight matches, seven behind Italy who have already qualified for next year's finals in Brazil.
Denmark are third on 12 points followed by both Czech Republic and Armenia on nine

Football | World Cup 2014

[ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة]

Jefferson Montero © Action Images

Ecuador closing in on third World Cup

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12 October 2013
                                                      
Striker Jefferson Montero scored in the first half to give Ecuador a 1-0 home win over Uruguay on Friday and edge them within a point of automatic qualification to the World Cup finals.
The result lifted Ecuador to third in the South American group, equal on points with Chile but with a superior goal difference and three ahead of 2010 semifinalists Uruguay.
With Argentina and Colombia having qualified, the other three teams are vying for the two remaining automatic tickets to Brazil with the team finishing fifth after Tuesday's final round qualifying for a playoff against Jordan for one more berth.
Ecuador are looking to reach their third finals in four World Cups in Brazil next year after missing out in 2010.
Montero ghosted in behind Maxi Pereira to steer the ball home from less than two metres as goalkeeper Fernando Muslera failed to cut out Antonio Valencia's low cross on the half hour.
The goal brought Uruguay out of their shell trying to manage their energy in the thin air at the Atahualpa in Quito, 2 800 metres above sea level.
The rest of the match went from end to end with chances for both teams and Ecuador goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez had trouble pushing out striker Luis Suarez's dipping free kick in first half added time.
The home side appeared to have scored a perfectly valid second goal 15 minutes from time that would have secured their victory before a nervy final quarter of an hour.
However, the linesman ruled striker Joao Rojas was offside though television replays showed the player was well onside when the ball was passed to him on the edge of the box.
Uruguay need a high-scoring win over Argentina in Montevideo on Tuesday to have a chance at the automatic qualifying berth and sending Ecuador or Chile, who meet in Santiago, to the playoff next month.