Estonia showed up in Liege to face a Belgium side that had seen its U-23 team make the recent Olympic semifinals. What ensued was a very entertaining match. The Belgians took the first score five minutes before the half ended, but it was the second half that was a goal frenzy. Estonia equalized before the hour. With fifteen minutes to go, the Belgians turned their level of play in an upward direction and knocked home two more goals for a 3-1 lead. Estonia pulled a second back in stoppage time, but that did not prevent them from a loss. Belgium won 3-2.
Germany visited low-ranking Liechtenstein, but they took nothing for granted, especially after only scoring once in the opening forty-five minutes. Five more goals rained in Vaduz for the Germans, and they took the encounter 6-0.
"Liechtenstein started strongly, but it was good for our confidence to know we can play well against defence-minded opposition." -Joachim Löw, coach of Germany
France paid Austria a visit in Vienna. Both teams were looking to improve upon rather disappointing Euro2008 campaigns. The Austrians capitalized on an own goal by France within ten minutes, and they put up a second goal toward the end of the first half. The French attempted to regroup and indeed, they scored a goal in the middle of the second half. Their silly play, however, again came back to bite them as they conceded a penalty when they tripped Austria's Marc Janko. Austria struck from the spot and won the match in upset fashion, 3-1. In a group also featuring Serbia, Romania, and Lithuania, the French have dug themselves an unseemingly hole to begin their campaign.
Italy visited Larnaca to take on Cyprus. Antonio di Natale was the savior on this night for the Italians, who needed a great deal of luck to hold off the constant attacks of the Cypriots. di Natale struck before ten minutes had elapsed, but Cyprus tied the match at the half hour, leaving both teams pondering their situation at the half. Nobody could score again until di Natale saved the defending World Cup champions with a stoppage-time killer. The 2-1 did not come without a hefty price for the Italians; they lost Gennaro Gattuso, Fabio Grosso, and Alessandro Gamberini to injury.
Bosnia at Herzegovina visited the world's top-ranked side in Spain, and they gave the Spaniards all that they cared to handle on this night. Spain drew a penalty opportunity in the first half, but star striker David Villa missed on his try, so the sides were still knotted at zero after the first period. Villa made amends for the miss in the second half, scoring during the run of play and forcing the Bosnians to play offensively. Spain were able to hold off the attacks and looked as though they would score a second, but they had to settle for a 1-0 victory at home.
Chad faced off with Sudan in Cairo, Egypt, the first of two encounters the teams will have over the next four days in that city. Sudan took three yellow cards, but that was not enough for them to stave off Chad on this night. Chad took the lead midway through the first period, but Sudan finally drew level with under one quarter of an hour remaining in the match. The neighbors and bitter rivals looked ready to share the points, but Chad quickly answered the equalizer with a second goal five minutes later, and they held off Sudan for the 2-1 victory. Anything less than a win for Sudan in the second match will eliminate them officially, but Chad too need the victory or they are almost certain to succumb to elimination fever as well.
Goal scorers:
Germany: Podolski 21, 48; Rolfes 65; Schweinsteiger 66; Hitzlsperger 76; Westermann 87
Belgium: Sonck 40, 80; Defour 75
Estonia: Zenjov 57; Oper 90+3
Austria: Mexès 8 OG (France); Aufhauser 41; Ivanschitz 72 PK
France: Govou 61
Italy: di Natale 8, 90+2
Cyprus: Aloneftis 29
Spain: Villa 57
Chad: Mbaiam 28; S. Hassan 82
Sudan: Kamal 77
No comments:
Post a Comment