World Cup would be the last update but it's not

It almost is.

UEFA
Group One: The Czech Republic took down Finland 3-0 to move into second with 27 points, two ahead of Romania. I guess no one's going to be driving on Mikael Forssell Boulevard anytime soon.

Group Two: Turkey, Denmark, and Greece all won - giving Turkey the spot in the playoffs by one point and bouncing both the Danes and the defending European champs.

Group Three: Slovakia and Russia drew 0-0. The Slovak coach called it the "worst 90 minutes of my life," which is funny since it meant his team qualified for the playoffs on goal difference. Could they meet the Czechs? Would that not be totally awesome?

Group Four: France's no-duh win over Cyprus (4-0 despite a lack of Henry and Trezeguet) gave them the group as Switzerland and Ireland played to a goalless draw at Lansdowne Road. The Swiss move into the playoffs.

Group Five: Was already sealed, but a 3-0 win by Scotland over Slovenia, coupled with a Norwegian defeat of Belarus, ensured that Norway's place in the playoffs would not resort to tiebreakers. The Scots moved into third place, which doesn't help them now but could come in handy for the next European qualifying.

Group Six: England finally looked good and won the group by taking down Poland 2-1. The Poles go through as one of the two best runners-up anyway.

Group Seven: Serbia's defeat of Bosnia meant even a 6-0 trouncing of San Marino left Spain in the playoffs. With just a single goal allowed in ten qualifying games - even if this wasn't the strongest group - the Serbians could be a scary sleeper in Germany.

Group Eight: Sweden won and Croatia drew but it didn't matter. Croatia wins the group on tiebreaker, and both go through as Sweden's 8-0-2 record makes them one of the two best runners-up.

So the playoffs are based on the FIFA World Rankings and are seeded. Though new rankings come out on the 19th, September's will apparently be used, giving us this:

#4 Czech Republic vs. #45 Slovakia
#8 Spain vs. #38 Switzerland
#12 Turkey vs. #37 Norway

Czechs-Slovaks! Can you imagine the atmosphere for this game? And if the Slovaks win? Sign me up to watch. Please let a non-PPV channel carry this one.

AFRICA
Settled on Saturday.

ASIA
Well, guess what. A 0-0 draw sends Bahrain through on away goals. Think Uzbekistan is wishing they never said anything? Bahrain will play...

CONCACAF
...Trinidad and Tobago. In an exciting final day, Guatemala pounced on Costa Rica 3-1, but two goals from Stern John sent T&T past Mexico 2-1 and into a playoff for a spot in Germany. The U.S. topped the group by beating Panama, as they beat Mexico 3-2 on goal differential in the two games played between the sides.

CONMEBOL
A 1-0 win over Argentina kept Uruguay a point ahead of Colombia and sent them into a playoff for the second straight time. Uruguay's opponent in 2001? Australia. Uruguay's opponent in 2005? You guessed it.

A mere five spots left, meaning 27 are clinched. And they are!

Europe (14 bids, 11 set)
Ukraine
The Netherlands
England
France
Poland
Sweden
Serbia and Montenegro
Croatia
Italy
Germany
Portugal

Africa (5 bids, 5 set)
Togo
Ghana
Ivory Coast
Angola
Tunisia

Asia (4.5 bids, 4 set)
Iran
Japan
Saudi Arabia
South Korea

CONCACAF (3.5 bids, 3 set)
United States
Mexico
Costa Rica

CONMEBOL (4.5 bids, 4 set)
Brazil
Argentina
Ecuador
Paraguay

Interesting indeed. Man, I can't wait for the draw. But first, the playoffs!