“Despite coming in for plenty of criticism from European and American journalists, Africa’s high-stakes, winner-takes-all World Cup qualifying system once again threw up an enthralling set of matches. The most remarkable result was Ghana’s whopping 6-1 win over Egypt, and “BaGhana BaGhana” confirmed their tickets to Brazil yesterday in Cairo. There has always been something special about the Black Stars. What gives football its meaning in England is largely its representative capacity: fans rally around a club, of their city, of their class, seeing the team and the institution as a projection, in many ways, of themselves. This is almost always a regional, not national, phenomenon. Since England was the coloniser rather than the colonised, national representation through football was largely unnecessary. Even today, very few English people identify with the national team. We’ll support them, sure, but we don’t see ourselves in them (thank God).” Africa is A Country

“1) Individualists ready to break out in Brazil? Is there something in the air? Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic both lived up to the hype in Stockholm, spectacularly so, and there’s something that doesn’t happen in overcooked modern football all that often. Their determination to wring every last desperate drop from their talent, in the hope of dragging their team single-handedly to the World Cup finals, was a joy to behold. More of this, please! Could it be that a few of this generation’s great individualists have decided the time is right to break ranks, shake off the tactical shackles, and stamp their name all over the 2014 finals? It’s statistically viable, if nothing else. The last two tournaments have been all about great teamplay, while a harsh observer – sorry Zizou, apologies Original Ronaldo – might argue that there hasn’t been a truly great one-month one-man residency at a finals since Roberto Baggio nearly took Italy all the way in 1994. …” Guardian

“It was the denouement of a World Cup qualifying campaign that had begun 26 months and 18 matches earlier with a 9-0 drubbing of Nepal in Amman. Now, only Uzbekistan stood between Jordan and a game against the fifth-best side in South America for a place at Brazil 2014. And the game against the Uzbeks had gone to penalties.” World Soccer

“It’s four hours to the game, and none of us have tickets. The match is a friendly between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the first in 37 years. The last time the two countries played each other, Afghanistan won 1-0. After the match, the country’s then-president Daoud Khan planted a kiss on the team captain who scored the winning goal. Two years later, Daoud Khan was killed in a communist coup, which also marked the death of modern sports in Afghanistan. Two years after that, the former captain fled to Germany, where he still drives a taxi. Today, the two countries are uneasy neighbors: Kabul blames Islamabad for fueling the Taliban insurgency; Islamabad blames Kabul for the same. Artillery shells and rockets are fired across the disputed border on a regular basis.” SI

“Iceland have never qualified for a major tournament. They have always had to sit and watch their bigger, stronger Scandinavian siblings go to the ball. And it has not been much fun. Their best performance so far, the closest they have come to qualification, was when they were squeezed out by one point for a play-off spot for Euro 2004. Squeezed out by Berti Vogts’ Scotland. But this time things are different. Iceland are on the brink of a World Cup play-off place, second in Group E. Tonight they travel to Norway knowing that a win would send them into the final round.” Independent

“Raul Jimenez etched himself into Mexican soccer lore on Friday night, as his bicycle kick golazo in the 85th minute gave Mexico a crucial 2-1 win over Panama, boosting the once-fragile World Cup hopes for El Tri. Here are my three thoughts on a tense match at Estadio Azteca…” SI (Video)

“In the few minutes it’ll take you to read through Elliott Turner’s recent piece on the latest allegations surrounding Qatar’s World Cup preparations, you’ll experience a series of emotions ranging from outright disgust to Zach de la Rocha-inspired rage, with a pair of paragraphs near the end sure to provoke even the least politically-minded individual…” Futbol Intellect

“Middle Eastern investors have adopted a new strategy of buying low and selling high with a series of acquisitions of second and third tier European soccer clubs. In the most recent acquisition, Saudi Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad, the billionaire former president of Saudi Arabia’s most successful club Al Hilal and founder and chairman of the publicly-listed Saudi Paper Manufacturing Group, the largest paper tissue manufacturer in the Middle East, bought a 50 per cent stake in Sheffield United with the aim of helping the club graduate from the third league to England’s Premier League.” The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer

“Although South Africa feels like it was just yesterday, today marks one year until the opening game of World Cup 2014. Brazil is gearing up to host the 20th FIFA World Cup, with the first game in Sao Paulo on 12th June 2014, and qualifiers have been taking place around the world this last week as the road to the finals heats up. Let’s take a quick look at some of the teams who’ll be there, some who are out already, the bookmaker’s early favourites to lift the trophy and any dark horses listed as outsiders you might wish to get on early.” Just Football