Wrapping up my report on the qualifiers!

Sorry about that everybody, where was I? Ah yes, Italy's 2-0 victory over Malta! Striking in the 5th minute, it appeared that the Italians were well on their way to a thorough trouncing of their opponents! Instead, they seemed to be out of gas for most of the game after Mattia Destro's opener. Andrew Cohen's own goal in the 2nd minute of stoppage time of the 2nd half was really a stroke of luck for the Italians as they really didn't deserve anything more than their one goal lead. Then there was the highly anticipated match-up between Austria and Germany! Leading 0-1 at the half, nobody could really fault the Germans after Marco Reus' 44th minute goal. While Germany's next goal came through Mesut Ozil, it wasn't anything spectacular as he made it from the penalty spot in the 52nd minute. Austria's return though, from Zlatko Junuzovic just 5 minutes later was well worth the wait. While the Austrians went on to lose 1-2 to their guests, there were positive signs. Serbia v.s. Wales wasn't nearly as close a contest with a 3-1 scoreline by the half and a 6-1 hammering the final tally as the Serbians ran away winners. Sweden's victory over Kazakhstan in Malmo wasn't quite as emphatic though it was comprehensive with the Swedes drawing ahead in the 1st half before locking the game away in the 2nd. Romania's match with Andorra was a return to the emphatic as the hosts utterly obliterated their guests: 2-0 at the half, the Romanians were ahead 4-0 by the time the referee blew the final whistle. Hungary's loss to the Netherlands was a rare loss for a home side in this round of games though it was to be expected: 1-4 by the end for the Dutch. Jeremain Lens had a great night for the Dutch national team, striking in the 2nd and 52nd minutes. Balazs Dzsudzsak was good for the Hungarians as he converted from the spot in the 6th minute to tie things up. Bruno Martens gave the Dutch the lead again in the 18th. Then came Lens' second while Klaas Jan Huntelaar put his name on the scoring sheet in the 73rd minute completing a rather remarkable night for a Dutch team stil rebuilding from their Euro Cup falling apart. And how about that Switzerland - Albania game? 1-0 at the half with a 2-0 scoreline by the end. Now for a change of perspective - the South American showdown between Peru and Argentina! After quite a disappointing opening couple of minutes, the Peruvians ended up being the side to take the lead first, through Carlos Zambrano in the 22nd minute. Unfortunately for them, the debilitated Argentinian side was able to fight back for a draw through Gonzalo Higuain in the 38th minute. And that was that! Despite efforts on both sides the scoreline was unchanged. The United States were able to edge Jamaica 1-0 in their match while Panama showed Canada the door with a 2-0 scoreline at home in Panama City. New Caledonia were able to upset their hosts Tahiti; by a remarkable scoreline too! 0-4 despite a 0-0 score at the halfway point. Cesar Lolohea, Bertrand Kai, and Georges Gope-Fenepej were the men of the hour with a goal, two goals, and a goal a piece respectively. Unfortunately, I have to leave in the middle of my post once more but I promise to complete my report in my next post! Apologies!