Euro 2008 Qualifiers - 28 March

By: WC Bob | March 28th, 2007 | No Comments »

Those crazy kids in Europe were back at it again today, dreaming of a day when they will play in Austria/Switzerland in the Euro 2008 tournament. Some countries took a step closer to achieving their dreams. Other countries might as well book a holiday somewhere else in June 2008. Here is a brief rundown of what went down.

Group A

The surprises keep on coming in this group. Today it was Azerbaijan who played the role of the spoiler, beating Finland 1-0. Emin Imamaliyev is the man they love in Azerbaijan. His goal eight minutes from time gave his country the first win of the competition and only its third ever in European qualifying. Finland’s loss was mollified a bit by Portugal’s 1-1 draw at Serbia. Finland, Portugal and Serbia all have 11 points, five points behind group leaders Poland, who defeated Armenia 1-0.

Group B

The World Cup champions are now Unofficial World Champions too thanks to Italy’s 2-0 victory over Scotland. Ukraine also won, beating Lithuania 1-0. France, Scotland and Ukraine are tied atop the table with Italy two points back. Georgia also defeated Faroe Islands 3-1 in a match that probably delighted someone, somewhere.

Group C

Turkey and Greece continue their march towards Euro 2008. Greece picked up three points with a 1-0 win on the road against mighty Malta. Turkey could only muster a draw at home against Norway. Turkey still leads the group with Greece a point behind in second. Hungary beat Moldova 1-0 to make their new coach a happy man.

Group D

With Germany off playing a meaningless Friendly, both the Czech Republic and Ireland kept pressure on the group leader. The Czech Republic bounced back from a home loss to Germany by beating Cyprus 1-0. Ireland also came out on top by a goal defeating Slovakia 1-0. It was Wales turn to beat up on San Marino and they did 3-0.

Group E

England managed to get off the snide thanks to Steven Gerrard’s brace in a 3-0 victory over Andorra. Short of winning by one hundred goals, this probably won’t satisfy those calling for Steve McClaren’s scalp. His team is tied with Israel and Russia for second place in the group although the Russians have a game in hand. Israel was the other winner today with a 4-0 pasting of Estonia. Israel is not so bad, my friends.

Group F

Break up Northern Ireland (not literally, please). The minnows have risen and are playing good football. Today they defeated Sweden 2-1. Playing in front of 1,680 at Rheinpark Stadion, Liechtenstein took care of business by defeating Lativa 1-0. Spain also won 1-0 against Iceland. Northern Ireland has a game in hand and leads the group with 13 points. Spain and Sweden are chasing.

Group G

The Netherlands bounced back from a poor performance against Romania to defeat Slovenia 1-0 on the road. Romania took the stick to Luxembourg and jumped into second place with a 2-0 victory. Bulgaria is the big loser today with a meek 0-0 draw at home against Albania.

The Groups Standings

Goals from the various matches

Other Friendlies
Bolivia 1-0 South Africa
Denmark 1-0 Germany
France 1-0 Austria