Spain, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Uruguay each took a positive step toward qualifying for next year's World Cup finals by winning their playoff matches on Saturday.
Only Trinidad and Tobago and Bahrain, the smallest nations left in the running, were stalemated in a 1-1 draw at Port-of-Spain.
Luis Garcia scored three times for Spain in a 5-1 rout of Slovakia.
PHOTO: AFP
Vladimir Smicer scored the lone goal in the Czech Republic's 1-0 victory over Norway, while the Swiss topped 2002 semifinalist Turkey 2-0 and Uruguay edged Australia 1-0.
Fernando Torres also scored for Spain at the Vicente Calderon stadium by converting a penalty, and substitute Fernando Morientes added the fifth goal.
Spain is trying to qualify for the World Cup finals for the eighth straight time.
Although Spain is one of soccer's traditional powerhouses, the team has a poor record in international championships. The Spanish won the 1964 European Championship but have not been past the quarterfinals of the World Cup since 1950.
Slovakia, which is trying to get there for the first time since the breakup of Czechoslovakia, finished the match with nine men after Marian Had was sent off for protesting. Slovakia coach Dusan Galis was also red carded.
Smicer, left unmarked in front of the goal, beat Norway goalkeeper Thomas Myhre from 8m in the 32nd minute. Karel Poborsky set up the goal with a cross from the right at Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo, Norway.
The Czechs have never qualified for the World Cup finals, but Czechoslovakia reached the quarterfinals in 1990 -- three years before it split from Slovakia.
"We came here to try to win or at least score and we managed to fulfill both," Smicer said. "Now we have to take a rest and prepare for the second leg."
Philippe Senderos and Valon Behrami scored a goal each for Switzerland.
Senderos scored first with a glancing header off a free kick from Ludovic Magnin in the 40th minute, and Behrami added the insurance in the 86th at Stade de Suisse.
The Swiss last played in the World Cup finals in 1994. Turkey reached the semifinals three years ago in South Korea and Japan.
Dario Rodriguez scored the lone goal for two-time World Cup champion Uruguay in the 35th minute.
Four years ago, Australia won 1-0 at home in the first leg but lost 3-0 in Uruguay.
In the Caribbean, Bahrain's Salman Ali Ghuloom Ali knocked in a header in the 72nd minute and Trinidad's Christopher Birchall scored from 45m in the 77th.
The second legs are scheduled for Wednesday, with the winners claiming the five remaining berths.
The 27 teams already qualified for the World Cup are: Croatia, France, England, Germany (host), Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Serbia-Montenegro, Sweden, Ukraine from Europe; Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay from South America; Angola, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo, Tunisia from Africa; Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea from Asia; and Costa Rica, Mexico, United States from CONCACAF.
international FRIENDLIES
England and Brazil each won friendly matches Saturday, with the English getting two late goals to beat Argentina 3-2 and the five-time World Cup champion Brazilians routing the United Arab Emirates 8-0.
Also, France drew 0-0 against visiting Germany and Italy beat the Netherlands 3-1 as many of soccer's powerhouse teams began warming up for next year's World Cup finals with friendlies while 10 others began playing for the final five berths in Germany.
Michael Owen scored both late goals for England and had another ruled out for offside with the score at 0-0 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Newcastle striker equalized in the 86th and then jumped to meet Joe Cole's cross for the winner in the second minute of injury time.
It was Owen's third goal in three games against Argentina.
"It was cracking excitement, so much more to it than a friendly," Owen said. "Even when they scored, their fans and their players were going mad."
Wayne Rooney also scored for England, while Hernan Crespo and Walter Samuel scored for Argentina.
Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira substituted more than half of his starters in Abu Dhabi after halftime to observe players and scored seven of its goals in the second half. Substitutes Juninho and Fred each scored twice. Kaka, Adriano, Lucio and Cicinho added the others.
In other friendly results on Saturday, it was: Scotland 1, US 1; South Korea 2, Sweden 2; Bulgaria 6, Georgia 2; Finland 2, Estonia 2; Belarus 3, Latvia 1; South Africa 2, Senegal 3; Liechtenstein 1, Macedonia 2; Ivory Coast 2, Romania 1; and Portugal 2, Croatia 0.
The Netherlands lost their first match since coach Marco van Basten took over in July 2004. Italy got goals from Alberto Gilardino and Luca Toni, while Netherlands defender Ron Vlar netted an own-goal. The Netherlands scored through Ryan Babel.
"We still have a few games to play before the World Cup and that's a good thing," Van Basten said.
"They put pressure on our back line, and then we didn't have enough courage in the counters."
France drew 0-0 with Germany at Stade de France, extending coach Raymond Domenech's unbeaten run to 17 matches. In a match of few chances, Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger had the best opportunity in the 53rd minute when he ran onto Michael Ballack's defense-splitting pass, forcing goalkeeper Gregory Coupet into a smart save.
"Two solid teams, who both wanted to win the match," Domenech said. "They were more dangerous on the counterattack, but we were solid and didn't show any weakness. Tactically we were very mature and this is interesting."
In Coimbra, Portugal, Armando Petit scored from a free kick and Pedro Pauleta added the second against Croatia.
In Glasgow, Josh Wolff gave the Americans the lead and Andy Webster equalized. Wolff scored with a penalty in the ninth minute before 26,708 at Hampden Park.
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