Brazil-Germany ``There Is No Accident``

▽ Europe = △ Revival of three-time World Cup champion Germany, △ Turkey qualifies for the World Cup for the first time in 48 years, △ First World Cup appearance of Slovenia

The Germany-Ukraine match in Dortmund was the most attention-grabbing game among four qualifying playoffs in the European region yesterday.

Germany had faced the critical moment of elimination as it was thrust in to the playoffs, ranking second place in the group. Even in the playoffs, it tied the first match with the Ukraine 1-1. However, Germany won a 4-1 victory to qualify for the World Cup, showing the confidence and experience of a three-time champion (1954, 1974, 1990).

For Germany, Michael Ballack scored two goals, and Oliver Neuville and Marko Rehmer added a goal for each to recover the damaged dignity.

In Istanbul, Turkey beat Austria to advance to the World Cup finals. In 1954, Turkey had defeated Korea 7-0 in the same group as then a powerhouse team. But since then, Turkey has never advanced to the World Cup finals. With this win, Turkey qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 48 years. Turkey earned a 5-0 victory unfolding a goal parade of Okan Buruk (2 goals) and Hakan Sukur (1 goal), etc., and grabbed a World Cup ticket with its 2nd consecutive win. In Istanbul and Ankara, hundreds of thousands citizens poured into the streets to congratulate the victory at the moment when Turkey secured a World Cup berth.

In Bucharest, Slovenia tied Romania 1-1, and clinched its first-ever World Cup spot on a 3-2 aggregate thanks to a 2-1 victory in first game.

And In Prague, Belgium earned a 1-0 victory over the Czech Republic to be a 6th consecutive World Cup finals competitor.

Keuk-In Bae stt77@donga.com