Order was restored in Europe, but South American leaders Brazil and Argentina couldn't find the net on Wednesday as both were held to 0-0 draws in World Cup qualifying.
Defending champion Brazil was stopped at home by Colombia, but the five-time titlest still maintained its one-point lead over arch-rival Argentina, which suffered the same result at Chile.
PHOTO: AP
In their World Cup Asian Group 3 qualifying match, Palestine defeated Taiwan 1-0.
PHOTO: AFP
But it was Europe that drew most of the attention as Italy, France, the Netherlands and Portugal rebounded from last weekend's disappointing results to put themselves back in contention for spots in the 2006 World Cup finals.
Italy, which lost to Slovenia on Saturday, got two goals from Francesco Totti to edge Belarus 4-3.
PHOTO: EPA
The other three teams all came back from surprising draws to win Wednesday, with the Dutch erasing a one-goal deficit to beat Finland 3-1, France blanking Cyprus 2-0 and European Championship runner-up Portugal crushing Russia 7-1.
England also won, nipping Azerbaijan 1-0 on a goal from Michael Owen, while tiny Liechtenstein got its fourth point in five days by trouncing Luxembourg 4-0. On Saturday, Liechtenstein held Portugal to a 2-2 draw.
The one surprise in Europe involved perennial underachiever Spain, which was held to a 0-0 draw by Lithuania.
In other European matches, it was: Armenia 0, Czech Republic 3; Andorra 1, Macedonia 0; Denmark 1, Turkey 1; Kazakhstan 0, Albania 1; Ukraine 2, Georgia 0; Latvia 2, Estonia 2; Ireland 2, Faeroe Islands 0; Norway 3, Slovenia 0; Moldova 1, Scotland 1; Northern Ireland 3, Austria 3; Wales 2, Poland 3; Serbia-Montenegro 5, San Marino 0; Bulgaria 4, Malta 1; and Iceland 1, Sweden 4.
Thirteen European teams will join host Germany in the final tournament.
In another South American qualifier, Nolberto Solano scored the equalizer on a penalty kick as Peru held Paraguay to a 1-1 draw. Paraguay, which played in the last World Cup finals, stays third in the group with 16 points. Brazil leads the group with 20 points, followed by Argentina with 19.
The top four teams in the group will play in the World Cup finals, with the fifth-place team facing the Oceania champion for another berth.
In the CONCACAF region, Landon Donovan and Eddie Johnson carried the US into the final qualifying round in emphatic fashion, combining to score five goals in a 6-0 rout of Panama. Mexico and Guatemala also reached the next phase of the competition. Mexico blanked Trinidad and Tobago 3-0, and Guatemala beat Honduras 1-0.
Also, it was: Jamaica 0, El Salvador 0; St Kitts and Nevis 0, St Vincent and the Grenadines 3; and Canada 1, Costa Rica 3.
CONCACAF will send three teams to the final tournament in Germany. A fourth could qualify in a playoff with an Asian country.
In Asia, four more teams clinched spots in the final qualifying round -- North Korea, Bahrain, Japan and Uzbekistan. Saudi Arabia qualified on Saturday.
North Korea, which has not appeared in the World Cup finals since it reached the quarterfinals in 1966, beat Yemen 2-1.
Only three places remain in the final qualifying round, which will send four teams straight to the World Cup finals.
In other Asian matches, it was: Laos 2, Jordan 3; Qatar 2, Iran 3; Iraq 1, Uzbekistan 2; Singapore 2, India 0; Oman 0, Japan 1; Hong Kong 2, Malaysia 0; Kuwait 1, China 0; Thailand 3, United Arab Emirates 0; Tajikistan 2, Kyrgyzstan 1; Syria 2, Bahrain 2; Maldives 3, Vietnam 0; and Lebanon 1, South Korea 1.
Australia is close to a breakthrough in its push for greater participation in Asian soccer competitions, Aus-tralian Soccer Association chief executive John O'Neill said.
O'Neill said the Oceana confederation -- including Australia, New Zealand and Pacific nations like Fiji and Vanuatu -- was expected to accept invitations to enter teams in the Asian Cup of nations and the Asian Championships League club competition.
High-ranking officials in the Asian Football Confederation and the Oceania grouping have advocated the closer ties and will discuss proposals at a meeting in Malaysia next month.
"The sporting and economic future of Australian soccer lies in its integration with Asia," O'Neill told yesterday's Daily Telegraph newspaper. "There is nothing to stop us from playing regularly in the Asian Cup and Asian Champions League.
"I have had talks with AFC chairman Mohamed Bin Hammam and his response was very positive. We have already sounded out the domestic business community and television networks and their interest is immense."
Australia has set up a home away from home in London in a bid to give the Socceroos access to tougher competition than it gets in Oceania. A push into Asia would give the Aussies greater access to higher-ranked teams like World Cup semifinalist South Korea and Asian champion Japan.
The Socceroos this week qualified for the lucrative 2005 Confederations Cup in Germany with an 11-1 aggregate against Solomon Islands in a home-and-away series between the top two countries from the 2004 Oceania Nations Cup.
Despite its domination in Oceania -- which includes New Zealand and Pacific nations like Fiji and Vanuatu -- Australia's only appearance in soccer's quadrennial showpiece was in 1974.
The Australians failed at the final qualifying hurdle for France '98 and Korea-Japan 2002 by losing intercontinental playoffs against Iran and Uruguay.
The Oceania champion has to beat the fifth-ranked South American team in a playoff to reach the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
To reach the World Cup, O'Neill knows that Australia's national team needs better competition, more often.
Oceania is the youngest of FIFA's regional confederations and the only one that isn't guaranteed at least one automatic place at the World Cup.
Despite the push into Asia, O'Neill said Australia was committed to Oceania.
"We will never abandon Oceania, which would be nothing without Australia," he said.
Oceania's acting general secretary Tai Nicholas said the concept of increased competition between the neighboring regions had the confederation's full support.
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