41. England has played one game more than both and only the group winner is certain to qualify. 42. England needs to win the game to stand any chance of overtaking Germany and reach the World Cup finals as group winner. 43. England has nine points from three games and Italy six from two, but only the group winner qualifies automatically. 44. Egypt must win its final two contests while Tunisia must lose both for Egypt to have a chance as the group winner. 45. European group winners qualify automatically with the runners-up drawn into two, two-leg playoff with the winners on aggregate qualifying. 46. Fluminense and Cruzeiro, the group winners in the first half of the tournament, already had assured a spot in the semifinals. 47. For the draw in Geneva, the eight group winners and runners-up will be divided into four pots based on a UEFA ranking. 48. Group Eight winner Russia hosts Finland, second place Scotland receives last place San Marino and Greece hosts the Faeroe Islands. 49. Group winners will play promotion-relegation matches against the last-placed teams in the four top groups. 50. Gunes came under fire after Turkey threw away a lead by conceding two late goals against Sweden in September, losing the chance to qualify as group winner. |