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2010 World Cup Qualifying
Topic Started: Sep 9 2008, 05:12 AM (3,165 Views)
Simon
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I thought I'd give Europe it's own thread for the WC Qualifiers, as previously we've discussed the first few qualifiers in the more general thread for 'post-Euro 2008' news.

Wednesday, 10 September 2008
FIFA World Cup European Qualifying (all times BST)

Group 1:
Albania v Malta, 19:45
Portugal v Denmark, 20:45
Sweden v Hungary, 19:15

Denmark and Sweden were both held to frustrating goalless draws at the weekend, away at Hungary and Albania respectively. The Scandinavian pair and Portugal should be the three teams in the mix in Group 1, so Denmark's early visit to Portugal is an important game. The Danes haven't qualified for either of the last two tournaments but a win on Wednesday would be a big step towards halting that run.

Group 2:
Latvia v Greece, 19:15
Moldova v Israel, 18:30
Switzerland v Luxembourg, 19:30

This must be the weakest of the European groups, the 'Group of Life' perhaps? Greece still seemed to have the old guard on duty in their 3-0 win at Luxembourg while Switzerland, now under Ottmar Hitzfeld, were on for a very impressive 2-0 win in Israel before conceding two late goals and having to settle for a draw. The Swiss will beat Luxembourg, while it'll be interesting to see if Israel can set aside their usual defensive game to go for a win in Moldova. As for Latvia against Greece... *shudder*

Group 3:
Northern Ireland v Czech Republic, 19:45
San Marino v Poland, 19:30
Slovenia v Slovakia, 19:45

Northern Ireland take on the Czechs after losing to their Slovak cousins, and they're a different proposition at Windsor Park. Plus, as historyman said elsewhere, this is a Czech side in transition. Poland will beat San Marino but are far from infallible at other times and this looks to be quite an open group.

Group 4:
Azerbaijan v Liechtenstein, 17:00
Finland v Germany, 18:35
Russia v Wales, 16:00

Germany filled their boots against little Liechtenstein and Podolski in particular must have enjoyed his two goals and the confidence of Joachim Low after the ever-diplomatic Uil Hoeness criticised him for 'whining' about not starting for Bayern! Russia are an inconsistent bunch but are strong at home, they should be too strong for Wales at any rate!

Group 5:
Bosnia-Herzegovina v Estonia, 19:15
Spain v Armenia, 21:00
Turkey v Belgium, 19:00

Pretty straightforward assignment for Spain and on the evidence of recent years we might have said the same for Turkey as well, but there may just be a couple of green shoots of recovery for the Belgians. They have some interesting young players such as Fellaini who's just signed for Everton, Vertonghen of Ajax, Mirallas of Saint Etienne and 2 or 3 young lads at AZ Alkmaar. Standard Liege recently played two excellent games against Liverpool in the CL and Belgium won their opener against Estonia on Saturday. But they're a young side and playing away in Turkey is not always for the faint-hearted!

Group 6:
Andorra v Belarus, 18:00
Croatia v England, 20:00
Kazakhstan v Ukraine, 18:00

Croatia-England is perhaps the pick of Wednesday's games. Capello hasn't really changed anything yet, which is a disappointment to those of us who'd like a new broom from the new boss. Croatia is one of the toughest places to visit in Europe (they've played 30 home qualifiers, won 21, drawn 9, lost 0!) and it would give everyone here a big boost if England could go there and win. It's something of a grudge match as Croatia's victory at Wembley really stung. Unfortunately the timing of this game is not ideal, with Michael Owen left at home for being unfit, Ferdinand strugling for fitness having missed the Andorra game and Gerrard out after having an operation. Ukraine will hope victory in Kazakhstan can take them top.

Group 7:
Faroe Islands v Romania, 17:30
France v Serbia, 20:00
Lithuania v Austria, 18:30

A French friend of mine gloomily told me that France have never qualified for a WC having lost their first qualifier. Nevertheless, both they and Romania must be quite pleased to have an immediate opportunity to put things right after the weekend's disasters. Meanwhile Lithuania v Austria is a meeting of the two frontrunners!

Group 8:
Italy v Georgia, 19:50
Montenegro v Rep of Ireland, 18:00

Italy have a few injuries after their narrow win in Cyprus but should still have enough to win at home to Georgia, while Ireland will look to build on their weekend win when they play Montenegro. Ireland's Robbie Keane fell victim at the weekend to a fate that is familiar to footballers who live in Liverpool - his house was robbed while he was playing. He's the 7th Liverpool-based player this has happened to in the last couple of years, reminding me of an old joke in which Liverpool sign a striker from Iraq (updated from Bosnia, Beirut etc from past versions of this joke). After scoring a couple on his Anfield debut he rings his mum to tell her the good news. She says "that's great, but things aren't going so well for us. Your dad's been shot at, your sister's been taken hostage and our house has been fire-bombed". "My god" says the footballer, "I'm so sorry to hear such terrible news". "So you should be" retorts the mother, "after all, it's your fault we all came to Liverpool in the first place!"

Group 9:
FYR Macedonia v Netherlands, 19:30
Iceland v Scotland, 19:30

Scotland need to bounce back against Iceland, ideally with a victory. Striker Kenny Miller is fit, which is a real boost for the Scots. Finally Holland enter the Bert van Marwijk era with an away fixture against early group leaders Macedonia.
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Hector
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Superb preview Simon, and nice addition there with the Liverpool joke, which I really enjoyed!

As you write there are some pretty good matchups this week, notably Croatia-England, France-Serbia and Portugal-Denmark. I did not realize Croatia were that strong at home. If England can get a draw there then that would be a good result for them. With Capello in charge I would look for England to really close things up at the back and maybe hope for a goal off of a counter or a set piece.

France with a must win against another team who are so inconsistent. When on Serbia can play brilliantly but they are off just as much if not more than being on so predicting their games is always difficult. France though can't seem to stop their opponents from scoring. I will be curious to see what changes, if any Domenech makes from the team which lost in Austria. Remember Ribery is still out.

Carlos Queiroz got off to a good start in Malta with Portugal but the question with them always is about finding a consistent goal scorer, even more so now with Cristiano Ronaldo out. Hugo Almeida is probably their best choice for that role now. Denmark are likely happy to be playing an Iberian team that is not Spain, who always defeat the Danes, but I have the impression Denmark is on a bit of a downward trend now and they do not have any players who can mark a difference in a game.
iPuerta amigo, Sevilla esta contigo!
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historyman
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Thanks for that preview Simon. I'm sure that most of the posters on here lead busy lives so it's great to have this forum where a lot of information is summarised for quick digestion.

Some intriguing fixtures tonight. The Turkey v Belgium fixture was one which was under my radar until now, and it will be interesting to see how the Red Devils' young side copes with the intimidating atmosphere in Istanbul.

This fixture reminded me of a Turkish man that I used to work with about 11 years ago. Around that time Belgium had beaten Turkey 3-1, in Istanbul, in a WC '98 qualifier. That was a pretty impresssive result, and for the next six months my work colleague constantly moaned,

"We would have qualified for the World Cup, but we couldn't beat bloody Belgium." Every time he repeated the comment, he would always say 'bloody Belgium'. The phrase stuck in my mind. :D

Best wishes to 'Bloody Belgium' tonight!
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Don Balon
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As a Spain fan I will be watching the reuslt of Turkey-Belgium closely. After Euro 2008, Turkey should be no surprise to anyone. belgium after about a decade of playing poorly seem from the Olympics to be developing a talented young base of players. The question will be whether they are ready for World Cup qualifying against teams like Turkey or Spain? Belgium had been such a consistent team for so long that their fall from grace was a surprise and I do hope they are able to get back up again. I just wish it won't be when they play Spain! :lol:

France-Serbia is a game between two of the most bewildering national teams in Europe. Both have the talent to play extremely well but rarely do. Should be interesting to see if either or both have a good day today.

I also appreciate the concise preview Simon gave us. Many thanks.
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Yogi
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I am very curious as to what will happen in Zagreb between England and Croatia. One thing Fabio Capello knows how to do as a coach is grind out away draws. I expect he'll be able to do that tonight.

Include me in the Simon appreciation club! Well done with the preview.
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Mr. Pither
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Yogi,Sep 10 2008
10:25 AM
I am very curious as to what will happen in Zagreb between England and Croatia.  One thing Fabio Capello knows how to do as a coach is grind out away draws.  I expect he'll be able to do that tonight.

Include me in the Simon appreciation club!  Well done with the preview.

Capello did not need to grind anything out tonight, a very impressive performance from England in a 4-1 win in Zagreb. A hat trick from Theo Walcott who may have finally ended David Beckham's starting career with England. Walcott's pace was sensational and created so many problems but he pounced on a poor clearance to make it 1-0. When Croatia's Robert Kovac got sent off for a vicious elbow on Joe Cole, England then picked apart the 10 man Croatian team and ended Croatia's long home match win streak with a 4-1 win. It is not time to claim England World Cup favorites but it was a very impressive win in a difficult place to play and it gained some sort of revenge on the nation which denied England a spot at Euro 2008.

But that was not the only unexpected result of the day, Luxembourg defeated Switzerland 2-1, I can't even recall when Luxembourg last won a match! Germany, thanks to a Miroslav Klose hattrick were able to emerge with a 3-3 tie in Finland, Portugal lost 1-0 and 2-1 leads to Denmark who scored twice in injury time to win 3-2!

Nicoals Anelka substituted in at the half for the ineffective Karim Benzema and scored France's game winner in a 2-1 win over Serbia which probably saved Raymond Domenech's job, Holland were pushed hard by Macedonia in Skopje eventually winning 2-1 behind goals from Heitinga and van der Vaart but Macedonia made it interesting at the end as Holland still has defensive problems. Russia beat a spirited Wales 2-1 in Moscow while Italy defeated Georgia 2-0.
P-I-T-H-E-R ...as in Brotherhood, but with PI instead of the BRO and no HOOD
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Simon
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Yeah I'm really pleased with England's efforts tonight, to go away to Croatia who've never lost a competitive game at home and who are at the peak of their powers right now and stuff them 4-1 was exactly what the doctor ordered for this England team and their confidence. We just ran the game from start to finish, perhaps Croatia were expecting us to be defensive and it seemed to shock them when we got right up in their faces and pressured the ball in their half. I hadn't been sure that England would play like that under Fabio Capello but in fact it was an archetypal English-style performance of pace, positive running, work rate and sustained pressure. No doubt Walcott will get the headlines, and rightly so for a great performance, but I thought Rooney was our best player - he was at the heart of everything, he created all three of Walcott's goals with clever passing and vision and scored a well-taken goal himself. In fact the win should have been even more emphatic as we were denied a clear penalty in the first half at 0-0, we had a really nice Lampard goal disallowed for an obscure foul and the Croatia goal stemmed from a high kick that nearly took Terry's head off.

The players didn't even deny there was a revenge element to tonight's game and I don't think it's just that they beat us last time, but they made a great many disrespectful comments since the Wembley match. It's was pointless saying anything at the time because we were on the floor and I think that you have to accept that you'll take a few kicks when you're down, but I think the English players remembered the stuff from Bilic and co about how no English players would get in the Croatian team and how they could field 3 different teams who could beat us at Wembley etc. I like the way our players kept their thoughts to themselves, but Rooney did say he was delighted when we got Croatia in these qualifiers and I don't suppose he was the only one! Put it this way, Capello didn't need to put much work into his team talk tonight.

As Mr Pither says, we can't get giddy but the important thing is that we've made an ideal start to this qualifying campaign and we've given ourselves a new pathway to follow. I think we can be especially pleased that such an impressive win and performance was achieved without players of the calibre of Neville, Gerrard, Hargreaves, Carrick, Owen etc. With other exciting young players to come in such as Lescott, Young, Agbonlahor, Richards I think (fingers crossed) we should be okay.
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Manzanares
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The complete set of results from European World Cup qualifying:

WC 2010 qual. - Europe (Group 1)
Sweden 2 - 1 Hungary
Albania 3 - 0 Malta
Portugal 2 - 3 Denmark

WC 2010 qual. - Europe (Group 2)
Moldova 1 - 2 Israel
Latvia 0 - 2 Greece
Switzerland 1 - 2 Luxembourg

WC 2010 qual. - Europe (Group 3)
San Marino 0 - 2 Poland
Northern Ireland 0 - 0 Czech Republic
Slovenia 2 - 1 Slovakia

WC 2010 qual. - Europe (Group 4)
Russia 2 - 1 Wales
Azerbaijan 0 - 0 Liechtenstein
Finland 3 - 3 Germany

WC 2010 qual. - Europe (Group 5)
Turkey 1 - 1 Belgium
Bosnia-Herzegovina 7 - 0 Estonia
Spain 4 - 0 Armenia

WC 2010 qual. - Europe (Group 6)
Kazakhstan 1 - 3 Ukraine
Andorra 1 - 3 Belarus
Croatia 1 - 4 England

WC 2010 qual. - Europe (Group 7)
Faroe Islands 0 - 1 Romania
Lithuania 2 - 0 Austria
France 2 - 1 Serbia

WC 2010 qual. - Europe (Group 8)
Montenegro 0 - 0 Ireland
Italy 2 - 0 Georgia

WC 2010 qual. - Europe (Group 9)
Iceland 1 - 2 Scotland
Rep. of Macedonia 1 - 2 Holland

As Pither and Simon said, England with a very strong display at Croatia. I guess the sending off helepd but England were already in front when that happened. I discuss Spain's comfortable victory over Armenia in the Spain forum, an early goal by Capdevila set the tone. Belgium tying Turkey in Istanbul probably helps Spain but it does look like those two will be Spain's chief challenges in the group.

France's veterans Henry and Anelka got the goals to help Domenech. I was surprised by Denmark's late come from behind win over Portugal but Euro 2008 showed that their defense can be vulnerable. Lithuania are now 2 wins out of 2 after beating Austria, a result which probably helps France.

These first two games have gotten us off to a fascinating start in qualifying and led to some very surprising results.
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historyman
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England's performance against Croatia was outstanding, and I'm still trying to get my head around the scoreline!

I was pleased that Walcott netted a hat-trick. Many within the media have painted him as a sprinter and not a footballer, but last night he showed some cool finishing prowess to supplement his speed.

As Simon highlighted, Wayne Rooney put in an excellent display for his country. Again, some in the media have been highly critical of his recent performances for England, but he provided the best answer to his critics by last night's selfless show.
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Simon
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The result I'm trying to get my head around is Switzerland losing to Luxembourg. Bang goes my accumulator! I'd been on fire yesterday as well, I even managed to call Germany drawing with the Finns, Turkey drawing with Belgium and Denmark beating Portugal (only just!)

Just as I was getting excited, I realise that the bloody Swiss have holed me below the water line! I did have Brazil, USA, Mexico down for today as well, hopefully one of them slips up so it wasn't JUST the Switzerland game that did for me...

Anyway, besides my hard luck story, I was pleased for Belgium with their valuable point in Turkey. I think Group 5 is pretty straightforward for Spain and it'll be Belgium who are best placed to challenge Turkey for second place. However I'd have to rate Turkey's prospects higher in a play-off than Belgium's. I did also manage to see most of the Russia-Wales game. The Welsh played very well and were unfortunate to lose, especially given how late the winner was, and how Gareth Bale had missed a penalty for Wales. I was struck by how Arshavin was pretty anonymous, although he popped up to miss a header and it was him who stuck the ball into the box which eventually led to the winning goal. But there's a reason that all the big clubs must have had a look at him this summer and eventually it was only Tottenham Hotspur, the manic midfielder collectors, who sustained an interest and even they ultimately decided not to bother. I think Arshavin's really enjoyable to watch when he's on his game but no-one's going to shell out the huge asking price for one good performance in five. He needs a big season in the CL IMO. Final point, okay Azerbaijan aren't world beaters either but congratulations to Liechtenstein on a very rare away point.

EDIT - Okay, Brazil could only draw at home to Bolivia. Switzerland are slightly off the hook as far as I'm concerned!
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Winslow
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I will only add that Scotland picked up three important points on the road after losing at Macedonia on Saturday. With each team in Group 9 only playing eight matches, the Scots have to beat beatable teams like Iceland in order to get second place ahead of Norway (figuring Holland wins the group--and that's no cinch).
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raconteur
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I saw Russia-Wales too and was impressed with how well Wales hung in with a good Russian team in Moscow. That Gareth Bale is some player, his move to set up the Welsh goal was impressive. Granted I don't watch much English football but I used to be able to watch Wales play and see names I recognized-Giggs, Hartson, Southall, et al. but yesterday other than Carl Robinson, who I watched playing for Toronto a month ago, I couldn't name any of the clubs the Welsh players are with, including Bale. No matter, as a team they played well and while that group should be a battle between Russia and Germany, yesterday's results showed Wales and Finland still may have an influence on the outcome.

I also comletely agree with Simon about Arshavin, when on he is a really enjoyable player to watch but you don't know when he will show up and be on. Still Russia even without his influence is a very fun team to see play.

I only saw the goals from England's big win in Croatia and it did look from those that Rooney was very involved. That is when I think he is most effective, when he can use his mobility and passing skills to set up others. First it was Wright-Phillips, then Lennon then Bentley but none of them could unseat Beckham as England's right sided midfielder, after yesterday's performance it would be hard for Capello to sit Walcott now.

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Mr. Pither
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Looking back at England's win, Simon and historyman are right to point out Rooney's influence in the game. He was very active and seems to have already developed a good onfield understanding with Walcott. The pace and movement of those two will become a big weapon for Fabio Capello's side.

raconteur, Gareth Bale plays with Tottenham. But you are probably correct in saying Wales lack big names now. That is probably OK as long as they can play well as a team like they did in Moscow. You couldn't say Russia were fortunate to win but Wales did give them a good match and that is not something which could have been said about recent Welsh national teams playing a team of Russia's calibre.

As I think more about Holland's win, actually their defense did all right. Macedonia twice had goals called back for offside, the right call both times, and their only goal came from a penalty when Huntelaar showed why he is a forward and not a defender as he grabbed an opponent trying to go for a free kick! Other than that Stekelenberg did not have much to do in goal. Robben and van der Vaart played some free flowing football and De Jong and van Bommel cleaned up everything behind them. Once Sneijder gets healthy, this team should really be clicking on all cylinders.
P-I-T-H-E-R ...as in Brotherhood, but with PI instead of the BRO and no HOOD
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Nkono
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As much as I dislike Raymond Domenech he is finally starting to bring younger players into France's set up. Here is the team he named to play Romania in a qualifying game in Bucharest followed by a friendly 4 days later versus Tunisia:

Goalkeepers: Steve Mandanda (Marseille), Hugo Lloris (Lyon)

Defenders: Eric Abidal (Barcelona/ESP), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal/ENG), William Gallas (Arsenal/ENG), Patrice Evra (Manchester United/ENG), Philippe Mexes (AS Rome/ITA), Gael Clichy (Arsenal/ENG), Sebastien Squillaci (FC Sevilla/ESP), Rod Fanni (Rennes)

Midfielders: Patrick Vieira (Inter Milan/ITA), Lassana Diarra (Portsmouth/ENG), Jeremy Toulalan (Lyon), Florent Malouda (Chelsea/ENG), Alou Diarra (Bordeaux), Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich/GER), Hatem Ben Arfa (Marseille)

Forwards: Thierry Henry (Barcelona/ESP), Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea/ENG), Karim Benzema (Lyon), Florent Sinama-Pongolle (Atletico Madrid/ESP)

Vieira and Ribery are back following their injuries but Nasri and Govou miss out due to their own injuries. With Nasri out, Ben Arfa gets a return call and Gourcuff's recent good form with Bordeaux earns himself a callup too. Rod Fanni of Rennes is a surprising selection in defense and Florent Sinama Pongolle's good play with Atletico Madrid won a spot on the team too. I still am unconvinced by Marseille's Mandanda in goal, he's an adequate goalie but France has better. Unfortunately Domenech has alienated Frey, in my mind France's best goalkeeper.
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Mr. Pither
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Nkono, all I can say is you are not alone in not being able to decipher Domenech's coaching decisions!

Bert van Marwijk named Holland's team for their games home to Iceland and away to Norway. Due to injuries to Maarten Stekelenburg, the number 1 goalie and a lesser injury to his number 2 Henk Timmer, van Marwijk and his assistant Frank de Boer talked with Edwin van der Sar and asked to call him up on an emergency basis for these two matches. Van der Sar agreed to end his international retirement for these games only and will be in the starting lineup. Timmer was also named but likely will not be able to play. The complete squad:

Goalkeepers: Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United), Henk Timmer (Feyenoord), Michel Vorm (Utrecht)

Defenders: Tim de Cler (Feyenoord), John Heitinga (Atletico Madrid), Joris Mathijsen (SV Hamburg), Andre Ooijer (Blackburn Rovers), Dirk Marcelis (PSV Eindhoven)

Midfielders: Ibrahim Afellay (PSV Eindhoven), Mark van Bommel (Bayern Munich), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Feyenoord), Orlando Engelaar (Schalke 04), Nigel de Jong (SV Hamburg), Rafael van der Vaart (Real Madrid), Demy de Zeeuw (AZ Alkmaar), Wesley Sneijder (Real Madrid)

Forwards: Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Ajax Amsterdam), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool), Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Arjen Robben (Real Madrid), Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (Celtic), Ryan Babel (Liverpool).

Two other points of note, Wesley Sneijder is back from his injury layoff and will train with the team. He won't play against Iceland but could if he shows enough in training play some against Norway. And since naming the team, Arjen Robben has gone down injured again. I don't know if a replacement will be named but his loss means Babel likely will start now. When will Robben ever stay healthy?
P-I-T-H-E-R ...as in Brotherhood, but with PI instead of the BRO and no HOOD
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