Euro 2008, Global
Euro 2008 Round-Up
There were only six Euro 2008 qualifying matches played on Wednesday night but they have brought significant developments in Groups A and F. Group A Leaders Poland didn’t play but were perhaps the big winners as the teams in second and third slipped up. Portugal were held to a miserable 1-1 draw with lowly Armenia in [...]
There were only six Euro 2008 qualifying matches played on Wednesday night but they have brought significant developments in Groups A and F.
Group A
Leaders Poland didn’t play but were perhaps the big winners as the teams in second and third slipped up. Portugal were held to a miserable 1-1 draw with lowly Armenia in Yerevan. Robert Arzumanyan headed the hosts into a shock early lead. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a fine equalizer but the 2006 World Cup semi-finalists, who were without Ricardo Carvalho, Maniche, Costinha, Nuno Valente and Petit, wasted second half chances to drop two points.
Belgium regained some credibility with a strong 3-2 win in Brussels to dent Serbia’s chances. Moussa Dembélé and Kevin Mirallas gave the hosts a 2-0 half-time lead, but Zdravko Kuzmanovic got Serbia back in the game in the second half. Dembélé’s second late on sealed Belgium’s win, even though Kuzmanovic’s stoppage time goal halved the deficit. Belgium remain unlikely to qualify but a strong showing in the European Under-21 Championship this summer gives them reasons for optimism. Serbia missed Valencia’s giant striker Nikola Zigic, with Marko Pantelic and Danko Lazevic struggling to provide the same level of threat up front.
Finland profited greatly, with Alexei Eremenko and Teemu Tainio’s goals giving them a 2-1 home win over Kazakhstan. Tainio’s second half goal came after Dmitriy Byakov’s shock equalizer cancelled out Eremenko Jr’s fine early lob. Kazakh goalkeeper David Loria saved from a Tainio bicycle-kick, but Tainio immediately made up for his miss by tapping in from Daniel Sjölund’s corner.
The two matches between Armenia and Azerbaijan have been cancelled by UEFA due to political differences between the two nations, with both sides forfeiting potential points and the chance to improve their seeding for the 2010 World Cup qualifying draw.
Poland (P9, 19); Finlald (P9, 17); Portugal (P8, 15); Serbia (P8, 14); Belgium (P9, 10); Armenia (P8, 8); Kazakhstan (P9, 6); Azerbaijan (P8, 5)
Group D
A goal from Ioannis Okkas gave Cyprus a 1-0 win in San Marino. Okkas fired gome after Yiasoumis Yiasoumi flicked on an inswinging corner from Efstathios Aloneftis. Cyprus move level with Wales on seven points, while San Marino remain rooted to the bottom of the group table. Germany remain favourites to qualify with either the Czech Republic or Ireland.
Group E
Estonia got their first goals and points with a narrow 2-1 win over Andorra in Tallinn. Raio Piiroja got their long-awaited first goal of the campaign, heading in Dmitri Kruglov’s left-wing cross. But with Ragnar Klavan sent off late in the first half, Estonia struggled to extend the lead and looked to have blown it when an uncharacteristically fine move saw Fernando Silva head Andorra level late in the game. But Indrek Zelinski was Estonia’s hero, sliding in to convert Tarmo Kink’s low cross from the left wing. Estonia finished the game with nine men after Zelinski received his second yellow card for removing his shirt in the celebration.
Group F
As expected, Northern Ireland moved back into second place with a routine 3-1 win over Liechtenstein at Windsor Park. David Healy settled nerves with a 5th minute header from Keith Gillespie’s cross, before curling in a fine second with his left foot when he was givted possession straight from a Liechtenstein free-kick, with disastrous consequence’s for Group F’s bottom side. Kyle Lafferty coolly fired home after the break for his first goal in a competitive international, before Mario Frick scored a late consolation. Healy is the runaway leader in the qualifying campaign, his 11 goal tally taking him clear of the seven notched up by David Villa and Lukas Podolski.
Sweden (P7, 18); Northern Ireland (P7, 16); Spain (P7, 15); Denmark (P6, 10); Liechtenstein (P8, 4); Iceland (P7, 4); Latvia (P6, 3)
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