Now that’s what you call a good Friday!
Let me just say I am thrilled that Colombia will be back at the World Cup. For those of you that believe Belgium is an overrated dark-horse, take a close look at the South Americans. I think you’ll like what you see.
But here are the top five things we learned from Friday’s World Cup qualifiers.
Townsend is an international calibre player
He is just 22 years old, but the road to Wembley was a long one for Andros Townsend.
The London native returned to Tottenham this summer after a successful loan spell at QPR, and was expected to spend much of the season on the bench. That has not been the case, and he earned his first England cap in what really was a crucial qualifier for the Three Lions.
Sick of being criticized for his conservative approach, Roy Hodgson opted for the improving Spurs man instead of the always reliable James Milner. It was the best decision the England manager has made in months.
Townsend did not look out of place for a second. He tormented Montenegro, opening up space and creating chances, which England eventually capitalized on. And fittingly Townsend capped a dominating evening with a quality goal of his own.
Belgium is ready for the big stage
The Red Devils have quickly become the most hyped team since Colombia in the buildup to USA ‘94.
The South Americans had a disastrous tournament and while the bookies have made Belgium the fifth favourite to lift the Jules Rimet trophy in Rio next June, you’ve got to think this team has to lose big first, before they can succeed.
But Friday’s ticket punching win in Zagreb showed just how solid and mature this group of young, internationally inexperienced Premier League stars has become.
Croatia was dominated for 89 minutes. There was just one moment throughout that entire game where Belgium were poor; in failing to clear the ball that led to Niko Kranjcar’s goal.
Apart from that, the visitors were fantastic. They held great shape off the ball leaving the Croatians with very little space to exploit. This game was nowhere near as close as the final score would indicate.
Portugal loves the thrill of the playoffs
How else can you explain why Portugal have subjected their qualifying efforts to the lottery of a playoff qualifier?
Not for the first time since Euro 2012, Portugal failed to put the game away when given the opportunity. Israeli keeper Dudu Aouate deserves all the credit for earning Israel a historic draw in Lisbon, but the Portuguese will always be expected to solve the stellar goalkeeping of an inferior opponent. And so they should be.
The playoff pot is not nearly as lopsided as previous years and without the chance of drawing Bosnia, manager Paulo Bento should be worried.
Mexico has life
It wasn’t a relieving victory by any means, but Raul Jimenez has booked a place forever in Mexican folklore and El Tri should indeed lock up a top four place after Tuesday’s final test in Costa Rica.
Jimenez scored one of the best goals of 2013 and admits he was forced to try to spectacular attempt after he “had badly controlled the ball” from Fernando Arce.
To finish third and qualify automatically, Mexico must beat Costa Rica away and Honduras must lose in Jamaica by a combination of three or more goals. El Tri will only miss out on the chance of playing in Brazil this June if they lose in San Jose and Panama beats the U.S.
U.S. will need to be better
The Americans were fully deserving of topping the Hex, but their competition didn’t put up much of a challenge.
Friday’s win in Kansas City wasn’t do or die, but it left Jurgen Klinsmann with more than a few things to think about over the weekend.
Maybe Landon Donovan isn’t guaranteed a starting place in Brazil. America’s Icelandic hope Aron Johannsson was pretty disappointing in 72 minutes of his first international start. And you don’t have to search hard to find several fan tweets complaining that Friday’s win wasn’t worth the price of admission.
The competition will be much stiffer in June. America will have to be better.
Missed Friday’s action? Join James Sharman and I Sunday night at 6pm ET on Sportsnet 360. We’ll have all the highlights!