Denmark visited Hungary in a match that was essential for both teams considering they are both in a group containing Portugal and Sweden. Crossbars were hit, but no goals were tallied either way, and the only evidence that the teams played were the seven yellows awarded, four of them to Hungary.Switzerland went to Ramat Gan to take on dangerous Israel without the aid of their two stars Philippe Senderos and Alexander Frei. They nonetheless were the better team, taking a lead at the stroke of halftime on a superb free kick. The made it 2-0 with an opportunistic goal in the next half. The game appeared to be over with twenty minutes to go, but the Israelis had other thoughts. Two goals, including a stoppage time equalizer, sent the game to a shocking 2-2 conclusion. The two coaches spoke after the match.
"One of the great things about this team is that there is a new spirit, ambition, not giving up even when they were 2-0 down. They showed great cohesion and we showed a lot of character."-Dror Kashtan, coach of Israel
"I am sorry that we were not able to maintain our lead. We dominated much of the match but still we gave balls away in the midfield and our opponents managed to take the advantage." -Ottmar Kitzfeld, coach of Switzerland
Portugal were expected to make quick work of Malta. Malta, however, scored the first goal of the match, but unfortunately it was into their own net. The 1-0 lead stuck until the second half began, when the powerful Portuguese added three more for a 4-0 victory and three points.
England went to Barcelona, Spain, with little worries about their Andorran opponents. Perhaps they should have proceeded with more intensity. The scoreless first half had their fans stunned silent, but luckily for them Joe Cole came to play, and he produced two quick second-half scores to give England a fairly unconvincing 2-0 victory. Nevertheless, three points are three points.
"People think that this should be an easy game, but they got 10 men behind the ball and made it difficult on a very sticky pitch. I was told by the coach to make something happen because the game needed a little spark and we got the job done." -Joe Cole
Lithuania traveled to Cluj to take on a depleted Romania squad, a squad lacking Christian Chivu, Adrian Mutu, Razvan Rat, Florentine Petre, and George Ogararu. Their absences clearly drained the Romanian side, but the Lithuanians were not about to show mercy. Lithuania brought physicality, drawing four yellows to Romania's two. More importantly, they brought the goals, one in first and two in the second, garnering all three points in a massive 3-0 road victory.
Bulgaria were the unlucky crew who drew Montenegro in Montenegro's first ever home qualifying match. The Bulgarians shut the home crowd down after scoring first in the historic match, and the early goal gave them a 1-0 lead at the break. The Montenegrins were not about to go quietly; in fact, they struck once midway through the final period and then again on a converted free kick. Bulgaria had their prayers answered with a stoppage time goal, so they salvaged one point from the 2-2 road draw.
Greece went to Luxembourg in the hopes that a quick three points could help erase their Euro2008 embarassment. The Luxembourgish put themselves in the book six times through yellow cards, but the Greeks put themselves on the scoreboard three times for a 3-0 victory. Their first two goals came in the opening period.
Kazakhstan took their first-place status into Croatia, but any illusions the Kazakhs had about their chances were quickly erased by two first-half goals from the Croats. Croatia coasted in the second period but found yet another goal for a final tally of 3-0. Croatia host England on Wednesday in that day's most anticipated qualifier.
Faroe Islands looked to their match against Serbia as an opportunity for an upset. Serbia looked at the match as a three-point opportunity. Serbia had little going offensively, but an own goal gave the Serbs a 1-0 lead around the half-hour mark that would hold until the final three minutes of the match. The Faroe Islands lost Jonas Tórnaes to a red card in the eighty-fourth minute, and the Serbs finally scored a goal soon afterwards to make the final scoreline read 2-0. The Serbs must be breathing sighs of relief following the victory.
Goal scorers:
Switzerland: Yakin 45; Kufo 56
Israel: Benahoun 73; Sahar 90
Portugal: Said 25 OG (Malta); Almeida 6; Simão 71; Nani 78
England: J. Cole 49, 55
Lithuania: Stankevičius 33; Mikoliūnas 70; Kalonas 86
Bulgaria: Petrov 11; Georgiev 90+2
Montenegro: Vučinić 62; Jovetić 81 PK
Greece: Torosidis 36; Gekas 45; Charisteas 77 PK
Croatia: Kovač 13; Modrić 36; Petrić 79
Serbia: Jacobsen 31 OG (Faroe Islands); Žigić 88
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