Ukraine, Turkey Win World Cup Qualifiers

SAN FRANCISCO, USA -- France managed just a 1-1 draw at Israel, leaving the teams tied Wednesday atop their group in a battle to reach next year's World Cup finals.

David Trezeguet scored in the 50th minute in the World Cup qualifier, but Walid Badier tied it for Israel in the 83rd. France was playing with 10 men at the time because Trezeguet was sent off in the 55th for head-butting. He faces a three-match ban from qualifying play for the straight red card.

France and Israel have 10 points apiece to lead their qualifying group. The winners of Europe's eight groups qualify automatically for next year's World Cup finals in Germany. The best two second-place teams also advance, with the other six playing for three spots.

The United States played Guatemala in a night match in Birmingham, Ala., one of three games in the North and Central America and Caribbean group. South America featured four games.

On a night of 21 games across Europe, England and Poland picked up wins their tightly contested group.

Steven Gerrard and David Beckham scored as England beat Azerbaijan 2-0 in Newcastle to improve to 16 points and remain one in front of Poland.

The Poles defeated Northern Ireland 1-0, getting a goal in the 86th-minute from Maciej Zurawski. In another group game, Austria defeated Wales 1-0.

Ukraine stayed atop its group with a 1-0 victory over Denmark on Andriy Voronin's goal in the 68th minute. With 17 points in seven games, Ukraine is trying to reach its first World Cup finals.

European champion Greece, second in that group, won 2-0 at home against Albania to improve to 14 points. Angelos Charisteas scored in the 35th, and Giorgos Karagounis added the clincher in the 85th.

Turkey won 5-2 at Georgia, giving the 2002 World Cup semifinalist 12 points in seven games. Fatih Tekke scored two goals and set up another. Tolga Seyhan, Mustafa Avci and Tuncay Sanli also scored for Turkey.

Another European group has a tie at the top between Slovakia and Portugal, which played to a 1-1 draw in Bratislava. The result left them with 14 points each, three ahead of Russia. Miroslav Karhan gave Slovakia a 1-0 lead on an eighth-minute penalty, with Portugal equalizing on Helder Postiga's 61st-minute strike.

Russia and Estonia drew 1-1 in Tallinn. Andrei Arshavin scored for Russia and Sergei Terehhov tied it early in the second half. In the same group, Latvia defeated Luxembourg 4-0.

The Netherlands defeated Armenia 2-0 to stay in the lead in its group with 16 points. Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Romeo Castelen scored for the Dutch. The Czech Republic has 15 points after a 4-0 win at Andorra. In another game, Romania won 2-1 at Macedonia to improve to 13 points.

Norway played a 0-0 draw at Moldova to improve to eight points in its group. Leader Italy, with 12 points, did not play. In another group game, Belarus and Slovenia drew 1-1.

Serbia-Montenegro drew 0-0 in Belgrade against Spain. Serbia improved to 11 points and Spain moved up to nine in that group. Lithuania and Bosnia-Herzegovina played a 1-1 draw, which gave Lithuania nine points. In another match, Belgium defeated San Marino 2-1.

Dado Prso scored twice and Igor Tudor once in Croatia's 3-0 victory over Malta in Zagreb. The victory moved Croatia into first place in its group with 13 points, one ahead of idle Sweden. Prso scored in the 23rd and 36th minutes, while Tudor scored in the 70th. In the other group game, Bulgaria drew 1-1 at Hungary.

In Asia, Japan and South Korea kept their World Cup bids alive. South Korea defeated Uzbekistan 2-1 and Japan topped Bahrain 1-0. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia played to a scoreless tie, and Iran topped North Korea 2-0.

Wednesday marked the halfway spot in qualifying. The next rounds are June 4 and June 8. Qualifying ends Oct. 12, with playoffs in November.