EURO 2008 qualifiers and international friendlies set the stage for an entertaining show of soccer over the weekend. World champions Italy earned a much needed win in the Faroe Islands and Bosnia-Herzegovina made Group C a little more interesting.
*The top two teams in each group will qualify for next summer?s EURO 2008 in Austria and Switzerland
EURO 2008
Group A
Before last summer’s World Cup in Germany I thought Poland was good enough to get out of the group stage, but they failed. Now, in Group A qualifying, Poland is simply cruising towards next summer’s competition. On Saturday, Poland trailed Azerbaijan after a quick goal in the 6th minute. Azerbaijan took their lead into halftime but it would not last long. Poland scored two goals within three minutes to erease the deficit. Poland finished the match by adding another goal in the 90th minute to seal it at 3-1. Portugal also came from behind to win on Saturday to win 2-1 in Belgium. New Manchester United midfielder Nani equalized for Portugal in 43rd before Postiga scored the go-ahead goal in the 64th.
Standings
Group B
Italy jumped into 2nd place in Group B after a close 2-1 victory over the Faroe Island. Filippo Inzaghi continued his recent success by scoring both of Italy’s goals in the win. Group B leaders France silenced Ukraine 2-0, getting goals from Frank Ribery and Nicolas Anelka. Italy and France now sit on top of the standings, with Ukraine and Scotland rounding out the top four.
Standings
Group C
Bosnia-Herzegovina dominated the headlines inGroup C this past Saturday after they took down leaders Turkey. Bosnia scored a 90th minute goal to shock Turkey with a 3-2 win. The win put Bosnia in third place and a win behind Turkey for second. New group leaders Greece polished off Hungary 2-0 for a two point lead in the group.
Standings
Group D
The last time Germany played San Marino, they won 13-0. This time around, Germany managed a 6-0 victory. The win moves Germany to 16 points with a two point lead over the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic visited Wales on Saturday and played to a 0-0 draw. Ireland, who sit in third, had the weekend off and will not play until August. Ireland and the Czech Republic have now played seven games while Germany has played six.
Standings
Group E
All the pressure remains on England for this Wednesday’s qualifier against pointless Estonia. Croatia added the pressure with their 1-0 win against Estonia. Both Israel and Russia also won their games. England now sits five behind Croatia and three behind Israel and Russia. If they don’t earn a good result in Estonia, coach Steve McLaren will come under even more fire.
Standings
Group F
Group F leaders Northern Ireland did not play on Saturday and remain in first place. Spain got a much-needed win against Latvia, as David Villa and Xabi scored in a 2-0 victory. Denmark was trailing Sweden 3-0 and came back to score three goals to tie it up at 3-3. In the dying minutes, a Danish fan ran onto the field to attack the referee after he awarded a penalty kick to Sweden. The referee suspended the game and UEFA will make an official ruling soon.
Standings
Group G
Because the Netherlands had a friendly in South Korea over the weekend, Romania had a chance to grab a share of group of the lead in Group G. Romania took advantage of the situation and beat Slovenia 2-1. Romania, along with the Netherlands, now sit on top of Group G with 14 points in six matches. This Wednesday, Romania will have a shot to capture the lead for themselves. The Netherlands do not have a qualifier scheduled.
Standings
International Friendlies
China 1 @ 4 USA
Three foreign club players scored for the United States on Saturday afternoon, with rookie Benny Feilhaber added another goal for a 4-1 win. The game was played at San Jose State’s Spartan Stadium as a warm up match to the Gold Cup, which begins tomorrow.
Iran 0@4 Mexico
Mexico abused Iran in their Gold Cup tune-up match with a 4-0 thrashing. These two squads squared off last summer in the World Cup group stage, with Mexico winning 3-1. Iran, who were probably very tired from travel, had chances in the game to score a goal of their own, but Mexico’s defense would not have any of it.
Netherlands 2 @ 0 South Korea
Rafael van der Vaart scored both goals for Holland in their 2-0 shut out of South Korea in Seoul. 62,000 people showed up at Seoul’s World Cup Stadium to support the South Koreans, who were unable to get on the board.
Argentina 1@1 Switzerland
Argentina took a 1-0 lead in Basel when Barcelona youngster Lionel Messi sent in a cross pass to Carlos Tevez who knocked it home with his head. Fifteen minutes later Switzerland equalized to finish the scoring and leave the end result at 1-1.
