Sean O'Conor
After the long months of shadow-boxing and now forgotten qualifiers, it is at last down to the wire.
It is now officially time to start worrying and making or canceling plans for summer 2006 as the doors to Germany have started to close.
Nine of the 32 slots in the finals have now been filled and most nations have only two games remaining in which to book their tickets to the finals or in the case of European teams, to two-legged play-offs.
Those who can already pack their bags to join hosts Germany are Brazil, Argentina, the USA, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Ukraine. But that leaves twenty three tickets still unclaimed and a whole gaggle of nations desperate to grab them.
After the past week's action, things became a lot clearer across the football globe and the final showdowns have now been marked out:
The fifty-one European nations who entered the qualifying campaign have still only produced one definite qualifier in Ukraine, who will showcase European Footballer of the Year Andriy Shevchenko in next year's finals. The remaining places are still very much up for grabs with several countries in contention and no more than 180 minutes left to play.
The eight group winners will qualify plus the two second-placed teams with the best records. The remaining six second-placed teams will be drawn into three two-legged play-offs to decide the remaining three places.
In group one the Netherlands should be assured of top spot now a four-point gap has opened up after the Czechs slipped to a 2-0 loss away to Romania on Saturday, bringing the Carpathians within two points of their East European rivals.
The Dutch should confirm their place in Germany with a win at home to Macedonia in their final qualification game on the 12th of October, though face an awkward trip to Prague four days earlier.
The fight for second spot in group two (Ukraine having qualified already) gets even hotter after Turkey, 3rd in the 2002 World Cup, breathed life into their dying hopes with a 1-0 win in Kiev. The Turks can still be pipped however by either Greece or Denmark, who both have a game in hand and square off in Copenhagen on the 8th of next month for what should be a thrilling cup tie.
In group three Portugal look all but certain to win 1st place after Slovakia dropped four crucial points in games against Liechtenstein and Latvia. The second spot should hang on the winner-takes-all game between Slovakia and Russia in Bratislava on the 12th of October.
The big showdown in group four between Eire and France saw the former World Cup holders, fielding 1998 veterans Zinedine Zidane and Patrick Vieira, steal three points from their immediate rivals following a twenty-yard moment of genius from Thierry Henry in the 67th minute. Previously Ireland's 'shock and awe' tactics had got no further than an Andy Reid free-kick that struck a post. The Republic now slip to fourth in the group two points behind Israel and three behind France and Switzerland with two games to play.
Group five sees Italy a full five points clear at the top following Norway's shock 1-2 home reverse to Scotland, who can still amazingly grab second if they win their last two matches and Norway slip up away to Belarus or at home against Moldova. Slovenia can still make it too despite the blow of losing 2-3 at home to Norway, who are now level on points with them, two above the Scots.
In group six the Poles ensured themselves at least a play-off place after beating Wales 1-0 but can still be leapfrogged by England, who lost humiliatingly by the same scoreline in Belfast to Northern Ireland. The Ulstermen are in raptures after beating England for the first time since 1972 and winning in Belfast for the first time since since 1927.
In group seven Spain missed the chance to go top as they stumbled to a 1-1 draw with their nearest rivals Serbia in Madrid. With two games to play this group's qualifying places are still very much up for grabs with the afore-mentioned nations, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Belgium all in contention.
The last European group - group eight - is now a tussle between Sweden and Croatia after Juventus' Zlatan Ibrahimovic produced a brilliant solo goal in the second minute of injury time to knock out the Hungarians in Budapest, leaving the Magyars' coach and former World Cup winner Lothar Matthaus in a self-confessed "state of shock". A point separates the top two sides, who now meet in Zagreb on the 8th of October to decide who goes through automatically to the finals.
Africa has the simplest qualifying system in that only the five group winners go through and there are no half-places to worry about. As it stands it looks like those five will be Togo, Ghana, Cameroon, Angola and Tunisia.
Togo will make their first finals appearance and edge out 2002 stars Senegal if they avoid defeat away to Congo in Brazzaville next month in their final game whilst Angola will join them in making history and leave another African superpower Nigeria on the quayside if they win away at bottom team Rwanda, who have claimed a paltry five points in nine games.
Cameroon spectacularly seized the initiative of group three from Didier Drogba's Cote D'Ivoire, whose capital Abidjan had turned into one giant party in expectation of a win that would send the Elephants to the finals. Instead, the Indomitable Lions sent a nation into grief by winning 3-2 and are now a point clear with a game to go, reminding the watching thousands, including Chelsea's Jose Mourinho and Roman Abramovich, not to count any unhatched chickens again.
The Black Stars of Ghana are now all but qualified for their first World Cup finals too after their 2-0 win over Uganda in Kumasi. The Democratic Republic of the Congo can still dream however of overhauling Ghana's five goal lead in goal difference by beating South Africa in their final match and hoping the Cape Verde Islands can beat the group leaders at home.
Africa's group five should see the most exciting climax of this or any FIFA confederation's qualifying group when neighbours and keen rivals Tunisia and Morocco square off in Tunis on the 8th of October. Reigning African champions Tunisia lead the traditional powers of North African football by a point ahead of a winner takes all derby where the victors will head off to Germany and the losers leave with nothing.
World Champions Brazil have Ronaldo's retirement after the 2006 finals to contend with but can relax after Adriano confirmed he is the man to fill the great one's boots after scoring a hat-trick in a 5-0 mauling of Chile on the 3rd of September.
The seleçâo reinforced their awesome performance at this summer's Confederations Cup in the Brasilia qualifier and finally banished memories of their lethargic 3-1 loss to group leaders Argentina in Buenos Aires in June.
The Albiceleste join the World Cup holders in the Finals and Ecuador look odds-on to become the third qualifier despite making heavy weather of their 2-1 win over last-placed Bolivia in the high altitude of Quito.
Paraguay are now favourites to snatch the fourth spot after a crucial 1-0 win in Asuncion over group leaders Argentina, which means a win at home to eighth-placed Venezuela in their next match will send them to Germany. With only two games left to play, the battle for fifth and the prize of a play-off against Australia is now a three-way scrap between Chile, Colombia and Uruguay, who stole a march on Colombia with a crucial 3-2 win in Montivideo.
All will be clear after CONMEBOL's seemingly endless qualifying campaign concludes on the 8th and 12th of October.
North & Central America (CONCACAF)
The USA, for decades a football backwater, sealed qualification for their fifth successive finals after comfortably defeating their more respected rivals Mexico 2-0 in Columbus, repeating the scoreline when they dumped their neighbours out of the second round of the 2002 finals in Korea.
For the remaining two places on offer, Mexico only need a point from their three remaining games whilst third-placed Costa Rica have a three-point cushion over Trinidad & Tobago and Guatemala. In FIFA's generous treatment of one of the world's weaker regions, the fourth-placed nation out of six will have a further chance of reaching Germany courtesy of a two-legged play-off with either Uzbekistan or Bahrain from the Asian region.
Australia concluded their final match as an Oceanic nation before their move to the Asian confederation in their 2-1 win over the Solomon Islands in Honiara on September the 6th. The game completed a 9-1 whitewash over two legs and propelled the Socceroos into yet another play-off for a place in the finals.
Having lost to Uruguay last time around, Guus Hiddink's men are on course for a rematch over two games in November with the same team, who lie fifth in CONMEBOL at present, with Colombia and Chile in close attention.
The first confederation to finish its qualifiers ended in June with 2002 hosts Japan and South Korea booking their tickets along with Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Uzbekistan or Bahrain will play off on the 8th and 12th of October for the right to play CONCACAF's fourth-best team for a place in Germany. FIFA have ordered Uzbekistan's 1-0 win over Bahrain on the 3rd of September to be replayed following Japanese referee Toshimitsu Yoshida's incorrect awarding of an indirect free-kick to Bahrain following encroachment in the area during an Uzbekistan penalty kick.