Today we have the fourth round, of the 28^th World Cup, the U21 World Cup, the U19 World Cup, and the U17 World Cup qualification cycle.

 Group A

Positions: 1^st - Scotland (4 points), 2^nd - Malta (4 points), 3^rd - Austria (3 points), 4^th - Israel (3 points), 5^th - Poland (1 point)

Austria drew for the third time (the second consecutive goalless draw), this time against Poland. Once again, the Austrians were more aggressive and precise. Poland, one of the most successful World Cup winners, is now in last place in the group. Israel played its first game with 11 starting players and beat Malta in a tight duel between Brazilian managers, who scored the second goal in the 89th minute.

 Group B

Positions: 1^st - England (6 points), 2^nd - Russia (4 points), 3^rd - Argentina (3 points), 4^th - Canada (2 points), 5^th - Lithuania (1 point)

The group had 2 games decided by goals scored by MC. Canada visited England and once again conceded a goal early in the game (2 minutes). However, this time they were unable to draw. In fact, the English had a better chance of extending their lead, as they had a lot more shots. With this result, they took the lead in the group. Russia hosted Lithuania (the second duel between Brazilian managers) and won this tight match by the minimum score, taking second place (with 3 games already played).

 Group C

Positions: 1^st - France (6 points), 2^nd - Algeria (5 points), 3^rd - South Africa (3 points), 4^th - Portugal (1 point), 5^th - Slovakia (1 point)

In a clash of champions, France hosted Slovakia, won and took sole leadership of the group. The visiting team is now in last place in the group, as Algeria surprised South Africa, winning 4-0, with 3 goals from Mansouri. Despite shooting fewer shots, the host team had more shots on goal (7) and their goalkeeper only had to make 2 saves.

 Group D

Positions: 1^st - Peru (7 points), 2^nd - Sweden (5 points), 3^rd - Czech republic (3 points), 4^th - China (1 point), 5^th - Uruguay (0 points)

This is the first group on the list that does not have a champion team and that has all the managers who manage clubs from their nation.
Peru and China played a very lively game. The Asian team opened the scoring, but Valderrama was furious and decided the game for Peru, with 4 goals (and also received 1 yellow card). China also scored 1 more goal. Also noteworthy was Chuko, who stopped 11 Peruvian shots, while Tribeno was unable to stop the only shots the Chinese had on target. Uruguay got excited with a goal in the 3rd minute, but were turned around by Sweden, who had much more shots.

 Group E

Positions: 1^st - Albania (7 points), 2^nd - Slovenia (4 points), 3^rd - Italy (3 points), 4^th - Ireland (2 points), 5^th - Colombia (0 points)

This is another group without foreign coaches.
Albania, with the manager who led them to the title in the 22nd edition, hosted Italy, with whom they played a balanced game in terms of shots, won 4-2 and extended their lead, with a 3-point difference. Two-time champion Slovenia had much more shots on goal than Ireland, but only managed a draw.

 Group F

Positions: 1^st - India (9 points), 2^nd - South Korea (3 points), 3^rd - Venezuela (3 points), 4^th - Bangladesh (3 points), 5^th - Mexico (0 points)

India beat Mexico 6-2, with 4 goals from Aryaman Rai and 62% possession. With 9 points, they have the best campaign in the qualifiers, with a 6-point advantage over the second team in the group. South Korea (with a manager who won the 24th edition and two-time U17 champions) beat Bangladesh 3-0, with a large advantage in shots.

 Group G

Positions: 1^st - Bosnia and Herzegovina (7 points), 2^nd - Estonia (4 points), 3^rd - Rep. of Montenegro (3 points), 4^th - Iceland (1 point), 5^th - Croatia (1 point)

Bosnia and Herzegovina comfortably beat the Republic of Montenegro, with 2 from Ibrahim Cerovac, and extended their lead at the top to 3 points. Estonia visited Iceland, withstood the pressure (Taaniel Lossman made 12 saves) and took advantage of the few opportunities they had, coming away with the victory.

 Group H

Positions: 1^st - Thailand (7 points), 2^nd - Turkey (6 points), 3^rd - Hungary (2 points), 4^th - Australia (1 point), 5^th - Romania (0 points)

Australia once again shot more than their opponents and conceded 3 goals, but this time they scored 3, against Hungary. The result left both teams far from the qualifying zone. Thailand, whose manager is the current world champion (he has 1 title in each age group) visited three-time champion Romania, came away with the victory and took the lead. Koson Pravinvongvuth stood out, with 11 saves.

 Group I

Positions: 1^st - Netherlands (4 points), 2^nd - Switzerland (4 points), 3^rd - Bolivia (3 points), 4^th - Moldova (0 points)

Switzerland played a much superior game in terms of shots and beat Bolivia 2-1, with goals from Jason Walter. The Netherlands, the only team in the group to have won the tournament, visited Moldova and won with 2 goals from set pieces at the end of the game.

 Group J

Positions: 1^st - Brazil (6 points), 2^nd - Spain (6 points), 3^rd - Bulgaria (3 points), 4^th - Greece (3 points), 5^th - Norway (0 points)

There were 2 rounds with only Brazil and Spain scoring (6 each). Bulgaria's manager, a Brazilian, brought sadness to his countrymen by beating Brazil. Another duel between Brazilian managers in these qualifiers. Greece also scored its first points in a tight 1-0 victory over Norway, which reached its 11th consecutive game without a win.

 Group K

Positions: 1^st - Serbia (7 points), 2^nd - Belgium (4 points), 3^rd - Denmark (3 points), 4^th - Finland (3 points), 5^th - Japan (0 points)

Denmark hosted two-time champion Serbia and had more shots on goal, but the visitors took better advantage and won 3-2, extending their lead at the top to 3 points. Congratulations to Gojko Bogovac, who made 10 saves. Belgium, also two-time champion, also visited, took more shots, scored 3 goals and won. Dylan De Clercq made 6 saves but kept a clean sheet against Japan.

 Group L

Positions: 1^st - Latvia (6 points), 2^nd - United States of America (6 points), 3^rd - New Zealand (3 points), 4^th - Germany (1 point), 5^th - Chile (1 point)

This was the first round without wins for Latvia (on a break) and the USA. Chile and Germany got their first point in a 2-2 draw with 4 yellow cards for Chile. New Zealand beat the USA by the narrowest of margins in a game in which only 4 of 25 shots were on target.

 Group A

Positions: 1^st - Croatia (9 points), 2^nd - Romania (6 points), 3^rd - Sweden (1 point), 4^th - France (1 point), 5^th - Greece (0 points)

Romania won against Greece in the third round. However, the win was not as easy as we thought. Romanians scored two goals quickly in the first half. There was no urgency for them with the two goal lead. However, the Greeks managed to get one back, and just minutes after, Romanians conceded a penalty that was quickly converted by Ahilleas Tsilinis. It looked like the game will end in a draw, were it not for George Musdei’s second goal.
Croatia continue their winning ways, easily defeating France with 1-3.

 Group B

Positions: 1^st - Moldova (5 points), 2^nd - Slovakia (4 points), 3^rd - Peru (3 points), 4^th - Bosnia and Herzegovina (3 points), 5^th - Bolivia (1 point)

Bolivia continue their poor form away (they lost 2-1 against Bosnia and Herzegovina). Luckily, today they play at home. Can they do better?
Moldova schooled Peru last week (they easily won 3-0), finally getting their first win and moving to the top of the table. But, since they skip this round, their chances of remaining first are not that great.

 Group C

Positions: 1^st - Lithuania (4 points), 2^nd - England (4 points), 3^rd - Belgium (4 points), 4^th - Chile (2 points), 5^th - Finland (1 point)

The two home teams won the third round games. England won their (very tactical) game early on. They controlled the flow of the game from start to finish leaving Belgium with very few chances.
On the surface, the game between Lithuania and Finland was very even, but the Lithuanians were the only ones to create chances, and consequently, score.

 Group D

Positions: 1^st - Italy (9 points), 2^nd - Norway (4 points), 3^rd - Bulgaria (3 points), 4^th - Thailand (1 point), 5^th - Mexico (0 points)

Both games ended with 1-0 victories. However, one was at home (Bulgaria won their first game), and one was away (Italy won their game against Thailand).
The Italians are proving to be the favorites here. But can they defeat the other undefeated team in their fourth match?

 Group E

Positions: 1^st - Slovenia (4 points), 2^nd - Iceland (4 points), 3^rd - Switzerland (4 points), 4^th - Spain (3 points), 5^th - Israel (1 point)

We had two, completely new winners in the third round. Which meant that Slovenia, who skipped the third round, remains first.
Spain’s second match went much better than their first one, and they managed a 1-2 away victory.
The Icelanders had a great second match as well. They won 2-0 against the Swiss.

 Group F

Positions: 1^st - Turkey (6 points), 2^nd - Czech republic (4 points), 3^rd - Russia (1 point), 4^th - Ireland (0 points)

The two away teams won Group F’s second round. Czechia won 0-1, and Turkey won 1-2.
This is the smallest qualification group. They will continue (with round three) in a weeks time.

 Group G

Positions: 1^st - Brazil (9 points), 2^nd - Portugal (6 points), 3^rd - New Zealand (3 points), 4^th - Hungary (0 points), 5^th - Australia (0 points)

Brazil struggled to defeat New Zealand on their home ground. They did manage it, but it was just with 0-1.
Portugal had an absolutely fantastic third game. While they needed to a bit to start scoring, once they did they managed to get five in, in just a 30 minute span of time.

 Group H

Positions: 1^st - Denmark (7 points), 2^nd - Poland (4 points), 3^rd - Colombia (4 points), 4^th - Canada (1 point), 5^th - Algeria (0 points)

The only two undefeated teams played against each-other in the third round. The two were fairly equal, but Denmark struggled to score until the last minutes of the game. However, their two last minute goals tide the game. Meaning Poland and Denmark remain undefeated.
Interestingly, Colombia and Algeria were also fairly equal, but only one team managed to get several in - Colombia won 4-1.

 Group I

Positions: 1^st - United States of America (7 points), 2^nd - Argentina (4 points), 3^rd - India (3 points), 4^th - Albania (3 points), 5^th - Uruguay (0 points)

Argentina took an interesting approach to taking on USA. However, while it won the the possession war, it didn’t do much for their scoring chances - the game ended with a 1-1 draw.
India had an excellent away game last week. They used Albania’s mistakes to score two and win the game.
The game between India and Argentina, who appear to be the two fighting for the second place (Albania already played three matches - Argentina and India only played two), will be an important one.

 Group J

Positions: 1^st - Serbia (6 points), 2^nd - Estonia (6 points), 3^rd - Austria (3 points), 4^th - Venezuela (3 points), 5^th - Malta (0 points)

Both third round matches ended with the away teams winning 1-3. Serbia won against Malta, and Estonia won against Austria.
Since the two third round winners play at home today, we expect they will again emerge victorious.

 Group K

Positions: 1^st - Rep. of Montenegro (4 points), 2^nd - South Korea (4 points), 3^rd - Netherlands (4 points), 4^th - Bangladesh (2 points), 5^th - China (1 point)

Both third round games ended with a 1-1 draw. This means that Bangladesh, Netherlands, and South Korea remain undefeated.
China drew against South Korea, while Bangladesh drew against Republic of Montenegro.

 Group L

Positions: 1^st - Germany (6 points), 2^nd - Scotland (6 points), 3^rd - Latvia (3 points), 4^th - South Africa (3 points), 5^th - Japan (0 points)

Latvia’s second round game went much better then their first one. This is more of what we expected from the reigning U21 World Champions.
Scotland won the other match. They and Japan were well matched, and a brilliant move by Hugh Fraser ended up winning the game.

 Group A

Positions: 1^st - Latvia (6 points), 2^nd - Lithuania (6 points), 3^rd - Czech republic (3 points), 4^th - Belgium (3 points), 5^th - France (0 points)

Czech Republic’s lack of quality players at the front hurt them in their second qualification game. Only Milan Krpec managed to get the ball past Vismantas Sejunas. Unfortunately, the Lithuanians scored three by the end of the game.
Latvia’s second game also ended with a victory. Though this time, they won with only 1-0.

 Group B

Positions: 1^st - Brazil (9 points), 2^nd - England (6 points), 3^rd - Croatia (3 points), 4^th - Peru (0 points), 5^th - Moldova (0 points)

Brazil (the reigning U19 World Champions) had another excellent victory, winning 2-0 against Croatia.
England had an absolutely fantastic second qualification match. While they were not the first to score (Moldova converted a penalty in the very first minute), once they started, they didn’t stop until the fifth goal.

 Group C

Positions: 1^st - South Korea (6 points), 2^nd - Thailand (4 points), 3^rd - Ireland (3 points), 4^th - Rep. of Montenegro (2 points), 5^th - Israel (1 point)

The game between Thailand and South Korea is a great example, what a difference between a skilled goalkeeper and one still learning his craft is. The Thai players were definitely the more dangerous ones, but they managed to score only once. South Korean’s however, scored every second shot.
Republic of Montenegro earned another draw. This one wasn’t as high scoring as their first one, but we still saw four goals (2-2).

 Group D

Positions: 1^st - Austria (6 points), 2^nd - Italy (4 points), 3^rd - Norway (4 points), 4^th - Malta (3 points), 5^th - Turkey (0 points)

Turkey lost another game. Perhaps they will use this break to regroup, and show us what they can do on the pitch in the fifth round.
Norway lost the win in the last ten minutes of their game against Italy. They were leading all the way to the 79^th minute, which is when things went on. While they got a point, it is a far cry from the full 3 points they were going for.
With Austrians coming from an excellent away win against Turkey, Norway have another tough game today.

 Group E

Positions: 1^st - Albania (6 points), 2^nd - India (4 points), 3^rd - Slovenia (4 points), 4^th - China (3 points), 5^th - United States of America (0 points)

Interestingly, Albania and India are the only undefeated teams in Group E. Both had good third round results. Albanians were a bit lucky, though that doesn’t diminish their 1-2 victory against USA. India also did good. Though, considering they had more chances, the 1-1 draw against Slovenia wasn’t what they wanted.
Since the top two play against each-other today, we are expecting a change in the top two.

 Group F

Positions: 1^st - Poland (9 points), 2^nd - Slovakia (3 points), 3^rd - Russia (3 points), 4^th - Chile (3 points), 5^th - Colombia (0 points)

Poland had no issues winning their third round game against Slovakia, especially after the latter received a red card.
A red card took the blame for Colombias defeat as well. Just moments after they scored an equalizer, Javier Camacho’s actions cost them the game.

 Group G

Positions: 1^st - Uruguay (6 points), 2^nd - Greece (3 points), 3^rd - Mexico (3 points), 4^th - South Africa (0 points)

We saw two, goal filled games in the second Group G round.
Uruguay shot, and Uruguay scored. Unfortunately for Mexico, Pedro Vara simply wasn’t skilled enough to stop the excellent Uruguay strikers (the game ended with 1-4).
We had a very similar situation in the other game. The Greeks were the ones to score, and Julian Mtyanda was powerless to stop them.
Group G will have its third round in a weeks time.

 Group H

Positions: 1^st - Finland (6 points), 2^nd - Japan (4 points), 3^rd - Spain (4 points), 4^th - Estonia (3 points), 5^th - Bulgaria (0 points)

Estonians were no match for Finland in the third round. They played a very defensive and very narrow formation, one that didn’t afford them any good chances. On the other side, Finland created plenty of chances, and with Jussi Rauhala in excellent form, they easily won the game with 0-3.
Japan and Spain were evenly matched in their third round game, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

 Group I

Positions: 1^st - Bangladesh (5 points), 2^nd - Bolivia (5 points), 3^rd - Netherlands (4 points), 4^th - Scotland (1 point), 5^th - Hungary (0 points)

The Bangladeshi players continue surprising us. They earned themselves their first win, and what a win it was. They defeated Scotland with 4-1.
A mistake by Sandor Jovavovits lost Hungary their second game. It also means that Bolivia finally managed to win, bringing their total to 5 points.
With the top three still undefeated, we expect the match between Bolivia and Netherlands will be among the more important ones today.

 Group J

Positions: 1^st - Romania (6 points), 2^nd - Germany (4 points), 3^rd - Serbia (4 points), 4^th - Portugal (3 points), 5^th - Algeria (0 points)

Romania easily won their game against Algeria last week. Algeria are in serious trouble. They conceded an average of 3 goals per match. Considering that their scoring average is 1 goal per game, this is a pretty worrying statistic.
In the other Group J match, the two teams collected yellow cards instead of goals. The game between Serbia and Germany ended with a 1-1 draw.

 Group K

Positions: 1^st - Switzerland (6 points), 2^nd - Iceland (6 points), 3^rd - Argentina (6 points), 4^th - Australia (0 points), 5^th - Canada (0 points)

Both Group K matches ended with a 2-0 home win. Switzerland won against Argentina, and Iceland won against Canada.

 Group L

Positions: 1^st - Sweden (6 points), 2^nd - Bosnia and Herzegovina (4 points), 3^rd - Venezuela (3 points), 4^th - New Zealand (3 points), 5^th - Denmark (1 point)

Each of the five teams in Group L lost exactly once now. The two losers of round 3 were Bosnia and Herzegovina, and New Zealand. Interestingly, both were the hosts. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s game against Venezuela could have gone on for another day, and they wouldn’t have hit the back of the net.
New Zealand conceded two at the start of the game, and nothing they did could lower that score.

 Group A

Positions: 1^st - Germany (6 points), 2^nd - Norway (5 points), 3^rd - Lithuania (3 points), 4^th - Sweden (1 point), 5^th - Canada (1 point)

Norway and Sweden drew in a defensive showcase by Alexander Forsberg, playing as a libero. Keep an eye on this young talent. The surprising Lithuania defeated Canada. But the big winner of the round didn’t even play: Germany remains at the top with six points, leaving Sweden and Canada, potential threats, trailing in the standings.

The squad led by Henry Charles Jr can secure their spot in a blockbuster matchup: Germany travels to face the strong Norwegian team in a clash of the undefeated. Meanwhile, Canada and Sweden want to escape the "one-point club," and whoever stumbles might start planning for a rebuild.

 Group B

Positions: 1^st - Spain (7 points), 2^nd - United States of America (5 points), 3^rd - France (3 points), 4^th - Australia (1 point), 5^th - Israel (0 points)

With an unusual tactical setup in the Dugout universe (using a left-winger!), Spain capitalized on the energy of 150,000 fans to defeat Israel by 1-0, going into the 'bye-week' as group leaders. This was possible because Australia held the United States to a draw, earning their first point in the competition.

The standout match of the next round involves the USA hosting the powerful France. For success, the Americans will rely on Cale Stam: the next "LeBron James of Soccer" needs to shine to overcome France's excellent defensive duo of Lucien Villeneuve and the gem Maxime Goujon. In the other match, Israel hosts Australia in a pivotal duel. If either team has ambitions, the time to score points is now.

 Group C

Positions: 1^st - Venezuela (7 points), 2^nd - Romania (6 points), 3^rd - Estonia (1 point), 4^th - Japan (1 point), 5^th - Moldova (1 point)

Moldova tried their best and even saw excellent Romanian midfielder Marinel Granciu leave injured 12 minutes into the game. Despite this, they were no match for Romania, who secured a comfortable 2-0 win. Bad news for Transylvania, as Granciu will be sidelined for five weeks. Meanwhile, Venezuela keeps surprising with another victory against a superior team. Estonia took the lead against the South Americans, but Edison Escala scored twice to keep Venezuela atop Group C.

Venezuela earns a well-deserved rest. Peponsky will surely tune in to TV Dugout to watch Estonia vs. Romania and Moldova vs. Japan this Thursday (21st). Can the Estonians fare better against the mighty Romanians, and will Moldova start their recovery journey?

 Group D

Positions: 1^st - Poland (6 points), 2^nd - Mexico (3 points), 3^rd - Colombia (1 point), 4^th - Switzerland (1 point)

The predictions were spot on. Poland crushed Switzerland, taking a commanding lead with two wins in two games. The round's highlight was Mexico: goalkeeper Aureliano Palau shone in a 3-1 win over Colombia, a team with more talent on paper.

Since Group D has only four teams, all will rest this Thursday. Matches resume on the 28th for the third round.

 Group E

Positions: 1^st - Slovenia (9 points), 2^nd - Algeria (3 points), 3^rd - Malta (3 points), 4^th - Denmark (3 points), 5^th - South Korea (0 points)

40 minutes. That’s all Slovenia needed to score four goals against Malta. A powerful attack and a defense featuring several standout players, including the MVP of the match, Amadej Daum. Are they the favorites? We don’t know yet. But what we do know is that South Korea is in trouble: another loss for the South Koreans, their third in a row. Special mention to South Korea's coach, who has finally started using a goalkeeper, and to Jesper Petersen, the midfielder who scored two of Denmark’s four goals in the match.

With Slovenia on a break, the group is wide open for one of the other four teams to emerge as a favorite for the second spot. The best squad among them, Denmark, will travel to face Malta, while Algeria returns from their rest and has an opportunity to improve their offensive stats against South Korea.

 Group F

Positions: 1^st - Iceland (5 points), 2^nd - Russia (4 points), 3^rd - Portugal (4 points), 4^th - Argentina (1 point), 5^th - Albania (1 point)

If Group F ended today, we’d have two big surprises at the World Cup: Iceland leading the group, followed by Russia. Both have modest squads but are delivering so far. The Nordics held Portugal to a 1-1 draw in the last round, with another brilliant performance by Tomas Orri Arnason. Meanwhile, the Russians secured an impressive 3-1 away victory against Albania. A remarkable result for Bento and his team.

But in Dugout, there’s no time for regret: Albania will need to pick up the pieces quickly as they host group favorites Portugal on Thursday. At the same time, Russia will try to maintain their momentum against Argentina. A victory for Albiceleste could shake up the group, while Russia banks on midfielder Gennady Funikov, the team’s standout performer in the qualifiers.

 Group G

Positions: 1^st - Bolivia (9 points), 2^nd - Scotland (6 points), 3^rd - Slovakia (3 points), 4^th - Uruguay (0 points), 5^th - Austria (0 points)

Who needs altitude? Dugout’s Bolivia doesn’t need to play up high to put on a show: they crushed Uruguay with a 6-2 victory. Luckily for the Bolivians, they have coach Diego Grillo, one of Brazil’s finest, and midfielder Pascual Yarzan, who scored an incredible five goals in last week’s match. Slovakia also had a good result, defeating a rebuilding Austria and earning three points on the table.

In the fourth round, Bolivia will have the chance to establish themselves as one of the World Cup title contenders: they could reach 12 points out of 12 and will face group runner-up Scotland. Meanwhile, Uruguayans are asking themselves: we know we have a small population, but isn’t there a single decent goalkeeper among us? Lucky for Slovakia, who might position themselves as the second force in the group.

 Group H

Positions: 1^st - Brazil (6 points), 2^nd - Hungary (6 points), 3^rd - Bangladesh (3 points), 4^th - South Africa (3 points), 5^th - Ireland (0 points)

So far, everything has gone as expected in Group H (especially in the third round). Brazil, with one of the most luxurious squads on the planet, comfortably defeated South Africa and leads the group. Meanwhile, Hungary, the current U-17 champions and led by Fellype Udi, a two-time world champion, secured an away victory against Ireland.

This makes the upcoming match between Hungary and Brazil unmissable this Thursday (21). It’s worth noting that Fellype won his titles managing one of Brazil’s teams last season. Meanwhile, Bangladesh and South Africa will battle to see who could become the group’s underdog. The Asians are led by the capable coach Mourinho2016, who is one of the longest tenured coaches in the world with Bangladesh’s U-17 team. Is this the moment for the "Bengal Tigers" to rise?

 Group I

Positions: 1^st - Italy (4 points), 2^nd - Chile (4 points), 3^rd - Netherlands (3 points), 4^th - Bosnia and Herzegovina (3 points), 5^th - New Zealand (3 points)

Want to follow a group more closely? My suggestion is Group I. The five teams are separated by just one point, and everyone still has a chance to qualify. Previously at the bottom, Italy and Chile won their matches against Bosnia and New Zealand, respectively, climbing from one to four points. However, now the Azzurri have a bye round, and both can be overtaken.

This is because Chile faces the group favorite: Netherlands, whose excellent goalkeeper Michel Oldenhuis has recovered from injury. Meanwhile, Bosnia and New Zealand will face each other: if we have a winner in this match, that team will sleep in the top two. But the Oceania team will play without their recent starter, Stuart Paton, and will likely have to adjust their tactical scheme.

 Group J

Positions: 1^st - Croatia (7 points), 2^nd - Peru (5 points), 3^rd - Czech republic (3 points), 4^th - England (1 point), 5^th - Greece (0 points)

Big wins for two of the strongest teams in Group J in the last round. Helped by the aggressive Greece team, which had a player sent off early in the second half, Peru cruised to an easy 4-0 victory. Croatia also shone, thanks to an excellent game by goalkeeper Ivica Asic, who made 11 saves out of 11 shots from Czech Republic. Result? A narrow win and the top spot for Croatia.

Regardless, Croatia will end the fourth round as the leader since second-place Peru has a bye. However, their unbeaten streak is at risk: the leader faces the powerful England, looking for a quick turnaround in the tournament. Meanwhile, Greece gets another chance to score their first points, this time against the Czechs at home.

 Group K

Positions: 1^st - India (9 points), 2^nd - Rep. of Montenegro (6 points), 3^rd - Belgium (3 points), 4^th - Bulgaria (0 points), 5^th - Thailand (0 points)

It’s a celebration in India. Against a regional rival, Thailand, Shrish Dusija and his teammates scored eight goals. Yes, eight goals, winning easily and dominating Group K. Is this the rise of India’s great generation? Belgium also secured their first win (in the qualifiers) in a game with few shots on goal but excellent accuracy from the strikers: the Belgians scored twice from three shots, while Bulgaria managed one goal from two attempts.

The Belgian team will closely follow the clash of the 100% leaders in the competition: India vs. Montenegro. A win for India could practically secure Léo Bertuol's squad a spot in the World Cup. Meanwhile, Bulgaria and Thailand, both without points so far, are looking for a fresh start: there’s still time to turn their fortunes around. Will Thailand's coach stop using a forward as a goalkeeper?

 Group L

Positions: 1^st - Turkey (7 points), 2^nd - China (4 points), 3^rd - Latvia (2 points), 4^th - Finland (1 point), 5^th - Serbia (1 point)

A historic achievement for China. In a packed Yanji Stadium, China took the lead and managed to hold on for a draw against six-time U-17 World Cup champions Turkey. An outstanding performance by superstar Ju Wei Luo. In a scenario where Turkey dropped two points and Serbia had a bye, Latvia and Finland... also drew. A wasted opportunity, leaving both teams still outside the qualification zone.

In the fourth round, all eyes are on one specific match: Turkey vs. Serbia. Between them, they have nine World Cup titles, six for Turkey and three for Serbia, along with many other medals. It’s worth noting that Serbia has yet to win in the competition – they could end the round six points behind the second-placed team. That, of course, depends on another excellent result from China, who visit Finland and will once again rely on their team’s determination.