October 28 to November 3, 2019 Global Futbol MatchesA Chapter by Steve Clark The following article provides an oversight for matches and tournaments taking place in 2019. October 28 to November 3, 2019Euro 2020 Qualifiers ramped up this week as the end drew closer and closer.
With the Dutch a close second place, the Czechs hoped to win one of the last two games to ensure their place in Euro 2020. Toma Souček scored as he had in the last encounter against the Netherlands in the seventh minute, setting up a solid match for the Czechs. Steven Berghuis managed to equalise right before the break. However, the Czech Republic had other ideas and took the lead again via Jakub Jankto. The Czech goalkeeper, Ondřej Kolář, kept the Dutch at bay until three minutes left, where substitute Myron Boadu rammed home the second for the visitors and a crucial away draw.
Turkey gained their eighth win for the Qualifiers, easily dispatching of Kazakhstan. In the process, they guaranteed first place in Group A and a hosting spot for Euro 2020. Ozan Tufan, Burak Yılmaz and Cenk Tosun all scored as they had done in the previous match against Iceland. Tufan opened the scoring with a low shot to the left of the goalkeeper as he was unable to dive in time to stop the ball. Yılmaz headed home a free kick off the foot of Hakan Çalhanoğlu. In the second half, Turkey eased off until they struck again, with Tosun starting the game this time up front and hitting with his left on his first touch into the back of the net. Kazakhstan’s substitute Maxim Fedin scored in additional time, giving the away side something to take away from the match.
Iceland placed a goal into the net in the sixth minute via Aron Gunnarsson. From there, they kept Latvia out, who never really looked like scoring, except for Deniss Rakels’ header late, only to miss to the left.
With the top three already confirmed, the final Match Day will determine who comes second and third. The Netherlands should defeat Latvia, but if they draw or lose, it opens up the chance for the Czech Republic to overtake them, should they beat Turkey at home.
In Group B’s battle for bottom place, Cyprus had to wait until nearly the hour mark before Fotios Papoulis scored. He then backed up with a grand header from a right-wing cross, before Sergi Moreno came off the bench for Andorra to capitalise on poor defence.
Israel needed to defeat Wales at home to have any hope of qualifying for Euro 2020. After having defeated the Welsh on their home soil by three goals, Israel went in confident of winning again. However, only one shot was executed by either side in the first half as Israel dominated possession but could not find a way beyond the defence. In the second half, both sides stepped up in attack. Wales scored via Tyler Roberts, only for Eran Zahavi to equalise with his head. Nir Bitton could have won the game for the Israelis, only to miss the mark. In the end, the draw favoured Wales as they go into the final Match Day three points still clear of Israel.
One more win or draw for Belgium would secure top spot in Group B and hosting rights. They flew to Bosnia/Herzegovina; however, Izet Hajrović toe-poked home an early goal to set up a win for the hosts after Edin Džeko weaved some magic around the Belgian defence. Džeko had a chance to double the lead in a tight one-on-one contest, but Thibaut Courtois was up to the task. The first half, riddled with fouls, finished with a yellow card to right back Darko Todorović, though the referee was fairly lenient throughout the match. After the break, Hajrović spied a chance for his second, only for Courtois to save it with a dive. Seven minutes from time, he made another vital save. Nacer Chadli then should have equalised at the death, only to hit the right-hand bar, and his fellow substitute Yannick Ferreira Carrasco then missed the rebound. In the end, Bosnia/Herzegovina edged to a point behind Belgium, almost guaranteeing their place in Euro 2020.
Bosnia/Herzegovina fly to Israel in their last match. A draw will secure their place and deny Israel any chance of qualifying. Wales take on Cyprus at home and is set to win that one, thus almost ensuring their place in the tournament next year. Belgium is set to finish on top with their final match against Andorra and thus gain hosting rights.
In Group C, Slovakia travelled to Luxembourg, where the hosts felt they had a real chance of gaining their first win after a 1-1 result in their previous encounter. No shots were on target in the first half, though Slovakia’s Michal Ďuriš probably had the best chance, only to miss well wide to the left of goal. In the second half, both sides stepped up in attack. Luka Haraslín had a solid header kept out miraculously by Luxembourg’s goalkeeper Anthony Moris. Luxembourg also had a chance late, only for the offside rule to come into play. In the end, a scoreless draw became the final result.
The Ukraine played host to North Macedonia, hoping to secure top spot. Their constant attacks were initially halted by the Macedonian defence, and even with the pressure, the hosts still played out from the back, teasing the Ukrainians. Goran Pandev and Egzijan Alioski had the first real chances of the match, only for Andriy Pyatov to stop the former, and the latter to miss wide. This brought the Ukraine into the game as formations began to open. Júnior Moraes tried chipping the goalkeeper twice, once in both halves, only for both shots to power over the bar. Oleksandr Karavaev had a double chance go begging, as the Ukrainians could sense a goal coming. Pandev hit the crossbar in the first half, before Roman Yaremchuk worked down the other end and scored for the home side. Ruslan Malinovskiy finished off a quality series of passes to double the lead. Yaremchuk could have had a brace late, only to miss an easy volley. The Ukraine sent the message to the Spanish that they wanted first place and were in the right frame of mind to clasp it.
Spain had other ideas as Rodrigo scored in the fifth minute, knocking the inside of the left-hand post before the ball spun into goal. From there, Spain played defensively, knowing a solitary goal would be the winner. Belarus had a chance late in the first half, resulting from maintaining a little more possession, only for David De Gea to make a reactive save. Sergio Busquets nearly made it two goals, but Aleksandr Gutor made a diving save to his left. He also saved Alvaro Morata’s effort, the second save in the passage of play. Belarus attacked late to draw an equaliser, only for the Spanish defence to hold firm.
Group C is going down to the final Match Day, where the winner between the Ukraine and Spain will determine first place. A draw will work in the favour of Spain, and that is perhaps what they will be playing towards. North Macedonia also face Slovakia in a do-or-die match. Should North Macedonia win, they are likely to qualify, whereas Slovakia need an upset away win to have any chance of doing so.
Poland needed a solid win against Gibraltar on the home ground of the small nation. They showed their intent from the outset, having two shots early, including one that hit the woodwork. Krzysztof Piątek and Kamil Glik both had headers, only to not ruffle the net. Instead, it was Robert Lewandowski who scored right before the break, giving the visitors the vital edge. Gibraltar would not lie down and instead came back on level terms with substitute Reece Styche’s header finishing off a brilliant play to outsmart the Polish defence, as Mohamed Hassan first shot for goal, then followed up the rebound with a cross into Styche, who coolly found a gap into goal. Grzegorz Krychowiak had other ideas and made the most of a defensive error and gave the visitors the lead. Styche nearly equalised late, only for his left footer to miss the mark.
Ireland hosted Germany, hoping to gain a draw after their 5-0 defeat in their last contest. Germany were the more attacking team at the beginning, only to have long-range shots. Ireland had a couple of half chances, but it was Germany through Marco Reus who scored right before the break. A tight second half kept Ireland within reach, only for the final ten minutes to open wide and Toni Kroos to score, as well as Reus with his second from way out.
That 3-0 loss places Ireland in a precarious position. Though they still have second place, both Poland and Georgia (the latter have a game in hand) are one point behind them and are set to overtake. Should they finish on equal points, a poor goal difference could see Ireland miss out although of Euro 2020. Poland take on Scotland in their final match, whilst Germany finish their campaign against Georgia. Ireland also host Georgia in their final game. If Georgia can gain a win from either of these games, it should mean they qualify. Ireland must win that game to ensure second place, while Poland will seek to overtake them with a grand win over Scotland.
In the battle for second place, Hungary played host to Romania. Needing to turn around the three-nil deficit of their previous encounter, Hungary had an early chance denied; Gerg�' Lovrencsics with a long-range header off a corner. Nicolae Stanciu should have scored for Romania right before the break, only missing to the right of goal. Balazs Dzsudzsák had a shot in the 52nd minute thwarted by Ciprian Tătărușanu, diving to his left to make a vital save. Stanciu then had his attempt somehow saved by Péter Gulácsi. From there, though, the match petered out to a scoreless draw, definitely in favour of the Romanians as they remain above Hungary on goal difference.
Greece then looked like losing top spot in Group F after Finland gained a goal after the halftime break. Simon Skrabb outsmarted his marking man and curled the ball into the goal. However, Greece’s Efthymios Koulouris equalised with a powerful left footer with eight minutes remaining, setting up a tight end to the match. That draw keeps Greece in first place, one point ahead of both Romania and Hungary. Greece must find a way to defeat Northern Ireland away in their final match to secure that hosting spot. That is because Romania host the Faroe Islands in their final game and are sure to win that. Hungary then take on the Faroe Islands on the final Match Day and hope to win that as well. A loss or draw for Greece could see them slip to the vulnerable third place and potentially miss out on qualifying for Euro 2020. This group is coming down to the wire!
Slovenia sought second place as they overtook Switzerland with two first-half goals. Remo Freuler had the first chance of the match, needing a scissor-kick clearance off the line. Instead, Slovenia took control of the match, with Jasmin Kurtić having three shots for the first half, while his fellow midfielders Rene Krhin and Josip Iličić scored. Krhin’s goal came when he switched with Kurtić to run onto the ball and slot it home before Yann Sommer could reach him and close down the angle. Two minutes later, Iličić scored with his head after Sommer saved his initial chip, with Kurtić assisting. From there, Slovenia sought a third goal to put the game beyond doubt. Robert Berič came on straight after Iličić’s goal thanks to an injury for Andraž Šporar and nearly headed home from a corner twice. The pressure eased after the break and Slovenia played for the two-nil win. That is the way the game remained.
England looked like banging in multiple goals against San Marino after Marcus Rashford scored a brace in the 52nd and 54th minutes. Earlier, Raheem Sterling fired with his left from a tight angle to gain England’s first. This was after Ross Barkley’s near goal as well as Rashford’s wide attempt. Rashford’s first goal was a lead and toe poke before the San Marino goalkeeper could reach it as he had done against Barkley. His second was a header as the ball flew from the right wing. However, England only scored three goals. Rashford missed three more chances for his hat trick, with a header from a corner missing the mark and his 70th-minute header from a weird position but still needed a choice goalkeeping save. His final attempt (eight in total for the match) hit the crossbar and looped back to the goalkeeper. Mason Mount also hit the crossbar and the ball seemed to have crossed the line, but the decision went in favour of the visitors. In the end, three goals were enough for the three points, though the English coach would have preferred more goals.
Lithuania jumped from last place to fourth with a single goal win over Estonia. Karolis Laukžemis scored in the ninth minute with a low shot beyond a slow-advancing goalkeeper, assisted by Deimantas Petravičius. Player of the Match Modestas Vorobjovas thought he had a penalty as he attacked just after the half hour mark, only to be denied. Estonia had two chances to equalise right before the break only to miss the mark on the first and have Lithuania’s goalkeeper save the second. After the break, Lithuania attacked but could not find the finishing touches in the final third, but still hung on for the win.
That win gives them a slim chance of coming third in the group and an outsider’s chance of qualifying for Euro 2020. Their final match is away against San Marino and if they gain a win there, third place is likely theirs. That is due to Slovenia’s final match being against England at Wembley. England should win that match, but Slovenia will do everything in their power to remain in the contest. A draw will be enough to stay ahead of Lithuania. Furthermore, Switzerland have their final game against Estonia and should win that match. Estonia can pull off an upset and overtake Switzerland, but all the markers point to Switzerland gaining second place. It will come down to Slovenia or Lithuania and if they are competitive enough against other third-placed nations to reserve a spot next year.
Russia, with two final home games, needed a win against Austria to stay in the hunt for Euro 2020. However, that all seemed to go awry when Marcel Sabitzer scored in the twelfth minute for Austria, quickly shifting the ball to his left in a one-on-one against the Russian goalkeeper, before slotting the ball home before it was closed down. That spurred Russia into gear and right before the break, Artem Dzyuba scored. After the break, Yuri Zhirkov had a great shot on goal, only for the Austrian goalkeeper to deny him. From the corner, the ball finally landed with Aleksandr Golovin outside the box. His shot deflected off multiple players and ended in the net, giving Russia the lead. Zhirkov then finished off a great teamplay effort, sliding the ball in the tiniest of gaps between his opponents and into the goal. That 3-1 win means Russia is now level on points with Austria and has an outsider’s chance of qualifying for next year.
That was made more possible by Moldova’s win over Sweden, creating a log jam at the top of the table. Nicolae Milinceanu pocketed a penalty for the hosts after Sebastian Larsson collected Eugeniu Cociuc just inside the box. Earlier, Milinceanu did have a chance to take Moldova into the lead but missed to the left of goal. After the penalty, Igor Armaş could have scored but also missed to the left. After the break, Marcus Berg should have equalised, only to have the Moldovan goalkeeper make a wondrous save. Substitute Alexander Isak missed to the right, while Moldova stepped up in defence and did not give away another quality chance.
France suddenly found themselves on top of the table after a 4-1 away against Liechtenstein. France had four goals by the half hour mark, the same scoreline as their previous encounter. Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring when he was found one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Olivier Giroud then scored his fourth and fifth goal against the hosts (a hat trick in their previous match). Moussa Sissoko made it four in an individual play before striking low into the bottom right hand corner. France should have had more but somehow the Liechtenstein goalkeeper kept the ball away from the net. Nicolas Hasler headed home a consolation goal, celebrating as though they had won the match.
Nevertheless, France is now in the box seat to qualify from Group G. Their final game against Austria will determine their placing. A draw will be enough to secure first or second place. Sweden must bounce back with their match at home against Liechtenstein, which they should win. That will also secure them in first or second and a place in Euro 2020. Russia hosts Moldova and should win that match as well. If Austria loses or draws, they may miss the tournament after starting the Qualifiers so well. There is no way to predict who will be the final two to automatically qualify with absolute certainty. Russia will want to qualify, especially with guaranteed hosting rights. Whoever tops the group will also be able to host matches. Group G, one of the groups of death, has lived up to its expectations. The final Match Day is going to be nail biting for all sides.
Bulgaria took on Azerbaijan in Group H, with both sitting on nine points alongside Norway. Bulgaria had the first decent shot via Marcelinho, before Ivelin Popov missed with his head. Not much else happened for the remainder of the half, but the second half was far more open and attacking. Ramil Şeydayev scored for Azerbaijan in the unlikeliest of fashions; he had four defenders surrounding him and he still managed to shot into the net. Popov then hit the post as he cut back into the box from the left wing. Georgi Kostadinov had a shot with five minutes remaining thwarted by the Azerbaijani goalkeeper, before Georgi Sarmov sprinted faster than the defenders to score two minutes later in a low shot into goal. The one-all draw effectively ended both the campaigns of Bulgaria and Azerbaijan.
Italy hosted Norway in a crucial match for both sides. Norway were playing for a win in the hopes of qualifying for Euro 2020, while Italy, already qualified, fought for first place. Filippo Bernardeschi, playing on right midfield, had multiple chances go begging in the first half. Ciro Immobile had a chance to score but could not hit the net. Not much took place for long periods of the match as neither side could gain any real advantage. Late in the match, Joshua King missed an easy goal to the right. Down the other end, Bernardeschi scored with almost the last kick of the match to give Italy the full three points and Norway barely any chance of progressing to next year’s tournament.
Marco Brozović scored in the fourth minute for Croatia against Malta to set up a solid advantage before their win. The ball, rebounding off the post, found Brozović and he slotted it into the open goal. Substitute Mislav Oršić then jumped above the Maltese goalkeeper to gain a double lead. Malta had very little answers and the Croatian goalkeeper saved the two most likely shots to reach goal with ease.
Croatia maintains first place in Group H with Italy hot on their heels. Italy should get a win when they host Azerbaijan on the final Match Day, whereas Croatia fly to Norway who will want to finish their campaign on a good note. Bulgaria travel to Malta and will try their hardest to win, though thirteen points will likely not be enough to qualify.
Denmark needed two away wins to have a chance at qualifying from Group I. Their penultimate game came against Albania, who scored first via Ledian Memushaj. Denmark quickly replied via stalwart Michael Krohn-Delhi. However, a through ball found Bekim Balaj free right in front of goal and he made no mistake. For the remaining hour, Albania stayed firm and defeated Denmark, thus ensuring the Danes would not make it to Euro 2020.
On the other hand, Portugal qualified for Euro 2020 with a two-nil win over Armenia. Armenia’s defence held firm for seventy minutes, before Bruno Fernandes stepped up and headed home a corner. Substitute João Félix secured a goal late after a multiple attempts to steal from the defence before a low shot into the net.
Serbia needed to bounce back with a win over rivals Montenegro in order to leap them on the Group I ladder. Aleksandar Mitrović opened the scoring for the hosts as he shuffled away from the back post as a cross came in, looping his header over the goalkeeper and against the side netting inside the goal. Stefan Mugoša responded in the 38th minute with an equaliser. As the game progressed, it seemed Montenegro were doing enough to bag a point. However, Mitrović had other ideas and nailed the winner in the 53rd minute with a long-range shot finding the top right-hand corner as it curled away from the Montenegrin goalkeeper.
With that win, Serbia have all but guaranteed a place in Euro 2020. Their final match is at home to Denmark, where they are sure to win after the Danes no longer can qualify and have little to play for but pride. Montenegro host Portugal and must win to have any chance of qualification. If they do, then Serbia can leap Portugal into first place and the right to host matches in the tournament. Meanwhile, Albania and Armenia fight for fifth place on Match Day 10.
Below is the race to be the best six third-place nations.
Euro 2020 Third Place Potentials
Based on this, whoever comes third in Group H cannot possibly qualify, since Poland is currently on fourteen points. This is unattainable for Bulgaria, Azerbaijan or Norway.
Group E will likely only have two nations progressing, as Switzerland is only on thirteen points. If Switzerland and Slovenia both gain three points, the door then does open for both to join England in Euro 2020.
North Macedonia must win their final home game to secure a place in EURO 2020 but must win big to improve their goal difference. Poland or Georgia will progress if they can remain ahead of North Macedonia on goal difference, which currently sits at two. Wales will need to do the same, as their buffer is three.
At the other end, the Czech Republic still can be knocked from their pole position and end up in the lower echelon of third place getters. What will work in their favour is their goal difference of plus seven.
© 2020 Steve Clark |
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Added on April 30, 2020 Last Updated on May 9, 2020 Author
Steve ClarkAdelaide, South Australia, AustraliaAboutA free spirited educator who dabbles in the art of writing novels and articles. more..Writing
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