New Zealand assured themselves of participation at the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 with victory over New Caledonia on Saturday, a win which also parachuted them into a playoff with Asia's fifth-best for a place at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. But there was no let-up from Ricki Herbert's men, as they saw off New Caledonia in style once again in Auckland. Elsewhere, Vanuatu picked up their first win of a disappointing campaign.

Match of the day

New Zealand 3-0 New Caledonia

New Zealand were doubly determined to put on a good show in front of their home crowd: not only were they keen to put the gloss on their progression from the Oceania section, but they felt duty-bound to honour the late Charlie Dempsey, who had contributed enormously to the growth of football in Oceania. Dempsey was honoured by a minute's silence prior to the game.

Wellington Phoenix striker Shane Smeltz, in excellent form of late, made an early impression on the game when he headed in Chris James' cross in the 13th minute, but the goal was ruled out for offside. Three minutes later, the visitors too went close when Pierre Wajoka's free kick came back off the upright.

New Zealand finally took the lead five minutes after half-time: once again, James crossed for Smeltz to head in, and this time the goal stood. Substitute Jeremy Christie made it 2-0 in the 69th minute, and fittingly it was Smeltz who completed the rout, firing in from the edge of the box fourteen minutes from the end.

Joy in Port Vila
With Fiji's weekend hero Salesh Kumar otherwise engaged in New Zealand, this was always going to be the perfect opportunity for Vanuatu to pick up their first win of the campaign. Despite losing Geoffrey Gete in the 50th minute, when the defender was dismissed for a second bookable offence, Vanuatu went into the lead soon afterwards through Francois Sakama. Derek Malas made it two in injury time, and Maciu Dunadamu replied for the visitors just before the final whistle.

Results
Vanuatu 2-1 Fiji
New Zealand 3-0 New Caledonia

Standings
1. New Zealand, 15 points from 5 games
2. New Caledonia, 8 points from 6 games
3. Fiji, 4 points from 5 games
4. Vanuatu, 4 points from 6

Remaining fixtures
19 November
New Zealand-Fiji

After two goalless draws in the third round of Asian qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, and a 1-1 stalemate at the East Asian Championship earlier this year, Korea Republic and Korea DPR are coming to know each other very well. Their clash in Shanghai on Wednesday represents the latest episode in a long-running struggle for bragging rights on the peninsula.

While the South Koreans managed a lacklustre 1-0 win over Jordan in a home friendly on Friday, the North Koreans got off to a flying start by beating the United Arab Emirates 2-1 on the road on Saturday. But despite their neighbours' impressive start to the final phase of the qualifying campaign, Korea Republic will be banking on a match-winning performance from a player who returns to the national team after 13 months' absence.

Although Lee Chun-Soo missed the warm-up game last week with flu, the 27-year-old is likely to win his 79th cap against Korea DPR, whom he has never faced at senior level. Lee, who had been out of the squad after Korea Republic's AFC Asian Cup campaign in July 2007 and the appointment of Huh Jung-Moo as coach in December, struggled to cement a place at his Dutch club Feyenoord, and was subsequently transferred to Suwon Samsung Bluewings on loan during the summer.

Instant impact
Despite the memory of his two-year spell in Spain with Real Sociedad and Numancia, during which he failed to score in 28 games, the local fans still believe that the diminutive forward will immediately return to his form and guide his new club to the domestic championship, as he did with Ulsan Hyundai Horangi in 2005. And Lee was quick to live up to expectations, scoring the winner against Incheon United at home on 27 August.

"I'm so pleased to have scored, and I want to score more," said Lee, whose playing style has earned him the nickname of ‘the Dodger'. "I also want to create scoring chances for others."

When coach Huh called him up to the squad the following day, few raised their eyebrows. It was a commonly-held view that the team needed his guile and guts to break the deadlock against the Chollima's stubborn rearguard.

"It's an emotional moment, because I'm back here after a year's wait. I'm also a bit worried, because this is a hard time for the national team and for myself as well," said Lee upon returning to the National Football Centre. "I thought about a lot of things, but now I want to focus on winning the game. I've also talked to one of the opponents at my club [Korea DPR midfielder An Yong-Hak at Suwon]."

In fact, Lee is the most capped player, bar captain Kim Nam-Il, in the current squad. His experience will be needed, too, as the Taeguk Warriors are entering the fourth and final qualifying round without the experienced trio of Lee Young-Pyo, Seol Ki-Hyun, and Park Ji-Sung.

"It would be good to have Ji-Sung in the squad, but I've heard he's not fully recovered from injury. A funny thing is that we haven't played with each other many times in the national team, actually," Lee admitted. "So I want to play twice as hard, to fill his gap! Frankly, I don't want to hear stories about us missing anyone from the team. We've got enough good players here."

Too much of a burden upon the shoulders of a player who has played only a dozen competitive games in the past twelve months?

"Even if I'm not fully fit at the moment, I told the coach that I'm mentally ready for the game," said an upbeat Lee. "I'm just happy to be on the pitch, because I've had too much rest. I was tired both physically and mentally, not even knowing I'd be back playing again. Now, I want to do my best, and I want to win."

Paraguay scored twice in the first half to beat toothless Venezuela 2-0 in a FIFA World Cup™ qualifier on Tuesday, and stay top of the South American group.

Cristian Riveros and Nelson Haedo Valdez scored the goals after poor defending by the visitors, who were equally ineffective in attack as they failed to muster a single shot to test Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar.

Paraguay, who have a 100 percent record from their four home games, top the ten-team group with 17 points, and will complete the eighth round of matches in first position regardless of the outcome of the four games to be played on Wednesday. Paraguay, who have qualified for the last three FIFA World Cups, are five points clear of Brazil, who host Bolivia, and Argentina, who visit Peru.

Riveros stabbed the ball in from close range after 28 minutes when he was quick to react after Claudio Morel Rodriguez's low pass into the area deflected off a Venezuela defender.

Paraguay's second goal came when Julio Manzur's long clearance out of defence was headed on by Roque Santa Cruz into the path of the unmarked Haedo Valdez, who placed his shot under Renny Vega.

Venezuela, the only South American team never to have played at a FIFA World Cup, remained on seven points after their third successive defeat.

Arch-rivals Korea DPR and Korea Republic go head-to-head on Wednesday, with the North Koreans on a high after winning their opening game in the fourth round of Asian FIFA World Cup™ qualifying.

The two Koreas have drawn three times in three meetings this year, including two 0-0 stalemates when they met in the previous qualifying round. But the North Koreans go into the match with an edge, after upsetting United Arab Emirates 2-1 in their opening game last weekend.

"Obviously we are happy with the result. We would have been happy with one point, but to return with full points was really, really good. We still have a long way to go but it's a good start," said Korea DPR coach Kim Jong-Hun.

Attack has been a problem for both sides. The South Koreans managed ten goals in six games in the previous round, but seven came against minnows Turkmenistan. Their northern neighbours scored just four.

Korea Republic coach Huh Jung-Moo said his side was ready, despite missing Manchester United's Park Ji-Sung and recent AS Monaco acquisition Park Chu-Young. "Winning the opening match is always important," Huh said. "We've already played the North three times this year. We know they are an opportunistic team that pounces on fast breaks."

The Koreas are grouped with Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE with the top two teams from the group advancing to the FIFA World Cup in 2010. The South Koreans are seeking to make its seventh consecutive FIFA World Cup appearance, while Korea DPR are aiming for their first since 1966.

England and France will both have recent failures in mind when they face their respective FIFA World Cup™ qualifying challenges this Wednesday.

Memories of England's sole triumph in 1966 are sepia-tinted, but at least they picked up three points, albeit at the expense of little Andorra, in their opening game, while a directionless France capitulated 3-1 in Austria.

Memories of France's 1998 triumph are a little fresher, but in footballing terms they were far away from that level in Vienna, conceding a trio of soft goals which render a win over Serbia at the Stade de France on Wednesday imperative.

But it is England's ghosts which are chronologically the closest as they head for Zagreb to take on a Croatian side which did the double over them in the UEFA EURO 2008 qualifiers.

Those defeats exposed the gulf which has opened up between the undeniable kudos of a domestic game crammed with foreigners, and a national team described as comprising a "golden generation" which stubbornly refused to glitter under Sven-Goran Eriksson and Steve McClaren.

England know another failure for a major tournament is just not acceptable, and Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard recognises as much. "I think we've under-achieved as a group over the past couple of years - that's a fact," acknowledged Lampard.

"Technically they are very good," said Lampard of the Croatians. "Everyone was up in arms that they beat us twice in the EURO 2008 qualifiers, but they ended up being the dark horses of the EUROs. They aren't to be taken lightly. Having three points already in the bag certainly helps."

For manager Fabio Capello, "Croatia will be another game, not like Andorra." But with the potential banana skin of Andorra safely negotiated, the Italian said he believed his squad would now show their mettle. "Are England good enough to get a result? Yes, I think so. I am confident in my team," he insisted.

With only the group winner guaranteed a place in the finals in South Africa - the best runners up face playoffs - a draw would appear a minimum requirement against their main rivals.

The Croatians, since bolstered by the news that Slaven Bilic will stay in the hotseat and not return to former club West Ham, brushed aside Kazakhstan, whom England host on 11 October, in their opener.

Defiant mood
France, meanwhile, appeared still shell-shocked from their dismal EURO showing as they collapsed in Austria, a loss which ramped up the pressure on beleaguered coach Raymond Domenech, who nonetheless remains in defiant mood.

"This event is not based on one game. Of course I'd rather have taken the points - but who said we were going to win every match? We'll be ready to take on Serbia on Wednesday," insisted Domenech, adding he believed the will to win burned strongly within a squad in a period of transition. "This is a young team but I am not worried about it," Domenech concluded.

Even so, the French group looks an open one with the Serbs having seen off the Faroes, and a gifted but unpredictable Romania having failed to benefit from the French setback in sliding to a 3-0 home loss to Lithuania.

Lithuania now face the Austrians, while Domenech will hope that a visit to the French camp of world champion keeper Fabien Barthez will boost morale. "He has the requisite qualities and can pass on his experience," says Domenech.

Germany, meanwhile, are seemingly on the up once more having reached the final of EURO 2008 and begun their FIFA World Cup road to South Africa with a 6-0 swatting of Liechtenstein. Joachim Low now takes his charges to Finland promising more of the same before group rivals Russia, who Wednesday host Wales, come calling next month.

"We will go for the win and will try to play attacking football in Finland as we did in Liechtenstein - though the Finns are a much better side," said Loew. Schalke defender Christian Pander will sit out the game with a virus for the Germans, who will be wary after drawing home and away with the Finns in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers seven years ago.

World champions Italy host Georgia without midfield stalwart Gennaro Gattuso, who injured his wrist in training, while defenders Fabio Grosso and Alessandro Gamberini are also out, having suffered injuries in the 2-1 weekend win in Cyprus.

Coach Marcello Lippi, however, who will hope Saturday brace scorer Antonio Di Natale dons his shooting boots once more, has eschewed the possibility of calling up replacements.