November 4 to 10, 2019 (Euro 2020 Qualifiers) Global Futbol MatchesA Chapter by Steve Clark The following article provides an oversight for matches and tournaments taking place in 2019. November 4 to 10, 2019 (Euro 2020 Qualifiers)Euro 2020 Qualifiers concluded this week.
Poland hosted Scotland in their final Group D match needing a win. Kamil Grosicki had two key chances across both halves, only to be outdone by an advancing Scottish goalkeeper in David Marshall. Scott McTominay had a chance late in the first half for Scotland, only for Wojciech Szczęsny to save with his right boot. Straight after the break, Player of the Match Marshall saved Krzysztof Piątek’s effort. Grosicki had a third effort, only to miss to the left of goal. Robert Lewandowski then headed the ball hard against the woodwork. However, no goals ensued, and Poland left their final match with a mere draw, and precariously in a position to be overtaken by Georgia as well as North Macedonia or Slovakia from Group C.
Poland’s attention first shifted to the match between Germany and Georgia. Two first-half goals set up the win for the Germans, although they would have liked more, judging by their low-key exit from the ground at the end. İlkay Gündoğan scored for the Germans in the 42nd minute with a deft header running backwards from a tight angle. Serge Gnabry added to the tally a minute later, where Marco Reus placed the golden through-ball to Gnabry and he made no mistake. However, though it seemed Germany would overrun their opponents, no more goals were scored. Matthias Ginter tried from just outside the box, but to no avail. Substitute Julian Brandt had an effort saved by Giorgi Loria. In the end, two goals were enough to round out Germany’s campaign, only dropping two points out of the possible thirty.
That loss meant that Georgia needed an away win to Ireland to gain second place. A draw would not be enough, as Ireland would remain a point above them. Ireland gained a goal in the 24th minute from David McGoldrick with his left boot striking home. Ireland continued to attack, hoping to gain a second to put the game beyond doubt, including McGoldrick missing to the left. However, they seemed partially content with the single goal lead. Giorgi Kharaishvili had a chance for Georgia but muffed his left footer. Player of the Match Shane Duffy nearly doubled the lead with his header from a corner denied by the woodwork and the Georgian defence. Kharaishvili also nearly had a goal right at the death, only for it to be saved. From the resulting corner, cries went up for handball, only for the referee to instead blow for full time, and Ireland celebrated their place in Euro 2020.
In the final Group D match, Scotland finished on a good note with a 5-0 spanking of Gibraltar from five different goal scorers. John McGinn, Oliver McBurnie, James Forrest, Scott McTominay and Steven Naismith all gained their name on the scoresheet for the Scots as they gained their first home win and only their second win for the Qualifiers. Forrest’s goal was deemed the best, a left foot volley while running parallel with the goal. Naismith assisted three of the goals. Scotland look ahead to the World Cup Qualifiers where they face Germany, Norway and the winner between Moldova or Albania.
North Macedonia needed the win to give themselves every chance against the other third place nations. Standing in their way was Slovakia. The Macedonians felt a win would come their way, having defeated Slovakia on their turf in their prior match. However, Slovakia held firm for long periods of the match as North Macedonia attacked. Egzijan Alioski had multiple chances, including the first of the match. North Macedonia attacked mostly down the left wing, before switching back and forth. Only their crosses were poor, save for Alioski’s cross to Goren Pandev, who nearly scored. Eljif Elmas also had two attempts on goal either side of the break, only for the goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka to rise to the challenge. Samuel Mráz had a chance to stun the home side but missed the mark. Miroslav Stoch also had a chance late, only for Stole Demitrievski to halt the ball. From the resulting corner, North Macedonia managed to temporarily clear, only for the ball to be eased into the defensive gap, and Juraj Kucka sealed a late winner with the last kick of the match, sending the Slovakians into third place and with an outsider’s chance of qualifying, pending other results. This also gave hope to Poland as Slovakia had a lower goal difference. As for North Macedonia, their World Cup Quarter Final presence sixteen months ago was not the beginning of a “golden generation”, but a mere flash in the pan. They must look to the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers and seek some redemption in reaching the grand stage once again. They face the likes of Poland, the Faroe Islands and Liechtenstein and should come first or second in that group with relative ease.
In the clash for top spot, Spain got an early goal against the Ukraine via Sergio Busquets. The Ukrainians, however, had other ideas, needing two goals to claim first place. The equaliser came via Roman Yaremchuk, lifting the ball into the top right-hand corner. Oleksandr Karavaev had multiple chances denied. Spain then had a chance late, only for the host’s defence to hold firm. In the end, the draw gave Spain the right to host Euro 2020 games in spite of Ukraine being the better side across both legs.
In the last Group C match, Aliaksandr Hleb scored a penalty kick after Chris Philipps brought down Pavel Nekhajchik on the edge of the box. Earlier, Luxembourg had the upper hand over Belarus with David Turpel and Maurice Deville putting on the pressure. Vincent Thill also had a couple of shots, only for Player of the Match Aleksandr Gutor to deny him. In the end, Belarus’s solitary goal was the difference between the teams.
Northern Ireland hosted Greece in the Mediterranean side’s final game, hoping to keep their top spot and gain hosting rights for Euro 2020, while also remaining out of third place. Greece attacked early, hoping a goal would put the game to bed. However, the Northern Irish defence held firm. Then, for most of the game, the hosts attacked, with the possibility of gaining fourth place in their sights. In spite of their best efforts, the game ended a scoreless draw, with the Greek goalkeeper the best afield.
The Greeks kept getting reports from the game between Romania and the Faroe Islands. The Islanders brought back their 2018 World Cup form in the likes of scoring twice via Solvi Vatnhamar and Klamint Olsen, with Olsen’s goal being the better of the two as he cut in front of the pack to score with his head. George Puşcaş tried to get Romania back in the game, though his (and others’) shots all drove directly toward the Faroe Islands goalkeeper (ten saves for a Player of the Match display for Gunnar Nielsen). Finally, Puşcaş scored deep in additional time of the first half. Claudiu Keșerü then came off the bench to equalise, only for his future attacking endeavours to be watched carefully like a hawk.
In the end, with both Greece and Romania gaining draws, the Hungarians had a surprising opportunity to gain top spot five days later against the Faroe Islanders. A draw would not be enough for them, though it would satisfy their qualification for Euro 2020. Hungary made sure they did not make the same mistake as Romania and scored early via Ádam Szalai, who needed a double attempt. Balazs Dzsudzsák then scored on the stroke of halftime, stealing the ball off the defenders and firing beyond Neilsen. Dominik Szoboszlai made it three goals in the 67th minute, though he landed awkwardly from the header and was substituted immediately. Vatnhamar scored his second in two games to round out the match.
Teemu Pukki finally gained a goal for Finland in the 68th minute after they struggled to gain an edge over Northern Ireland. In the fight for fourth place, the hosts seemed to have the edge. However, Lucas Hrádecký brought down Niall McGinn in the box, leading to a penalty scored by George Saville. Any last-minute gasps ended in nought, and Northern Ireland, with two draws from their last two games, secured fourth place. The two nations face off again in the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers, alongside France and Luxembourg. That is sure to be tight between these two as they fight for second place and a chance to reach the playoff matches, possibly playing against Slovenia, Hungary or Wales. Before that, Finland play home-and-away against Mauritania in the hope of reaching the Physico Championships.
Zdenek Ondrášek scored just after the break for the Czech Republic against Turkey in the hopes of them gaining second place in Group A. Earlier, the Czechs maintained possession of the ball, not allowing Turkey to set up any decent attacks. Jan Kopic had a decent attempt thwarted by a diving Fehmi Mert Günok. However, the rest of the half bored the crowd as they sensed a goal needed to break the deadlock. Ondrášek stole the ball and quickly powered the winner. The Czechs nearly had a second as they attacked, and the ball ended up with Kopic, whose shot hit the upright. Cenk Tosun had a chance to equalise late, only for Ondrej Kolář to keep the ball at bay. In the end, the one-nil scoreline was the same as their previous encounter, giving the Czechs a guaranteed spot for Euro 2020.
Their attention turned to the result between the Netherlands and Latvia. In spite of the efforts of Memphis Depay up front, the Dutch failed to score against the bottom side. In the end, a scoreless draw ensued, but the Netherlands kept second place with a goal difference of nine compared to the Czech Republic’s eight.
Kolbeinn Sigþórsson, Birkir Bjarnason and substitute Alfred Finnbogason all scored for Iceland in their final match against Kazakhstan. Sigþórsson capitalised on a free and relatively open goal, heading the ball after Kjartan Finnbogason tried scoring himself. Altogether, Kjartan Finnbogason had five shots at goal, only to miss them all. Alfred Finnbogason, after coming on for Sigþórsson, got onto a cross from right wing, and passing with his head to Bjarnason, who coolly found the back of the net. Alfred Finnbogason then shot from long range to make it three goals and a solid finish to an otherwise disappointing qualification campaign. Iceland now face Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic in the toughest group for the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers, while Kazakhstan again face the Netherlands, as well as Bulgaria in their opening game and the Republic of Ireland.
Wales needed at least a draw against Cyprus to possibly qualify for Euro 2020 but wanted a solid win. Joe Allen scored when set up by Gareth Bale with a glorious through ball slicing the defence. Wales attacked all day, though they were unable to score until Bale was placed up front and finished off a double attempt to gain access to next year’s tournament and put pressure on the final minutes in other games.
Israel saw their slim chances of qualifying dissipate when they heard of that early Allen goal as they hosted Bosnia/Herzegovina. Instead, the Bosnians dominated possession as Israel constantly turned over the ball before getting into decent positions. Edin Džeko scored with his left in the 63rd minute, giving Bosnia/Herzegovina the edge and the possibility of gaining first place. They held on in spite of Israeli attacks and left Tel Aviv with their fifth win of the campaign.
The possibility of top spot diminished as reports came from Belgium and Andorra. Belgium needed to win against Andorra to gain hosting rights, and Thorgan Hazard had a brace in the first twelve minutes to set up the win. His first came after Eden Hazard set up Romelu Lukaku, only for his shot to go in the direction of Thorgan Hazard, who scissor-kicked into the goal. His second was a through ball from Eden Hazard and a lovely toe poke into goal. Belgium kept attacking but could not find the finishing blow until substitute Christian Benteke headed into goal from a corner with his first touch. He then backed it up with a second when Thorgan Hazard could not get a header home, only for Benteke to romp home a fiery and fast header into the back of the net. Nacer Chadli pocketed Belgium’s fifth goal, sending the crowd into fits of dancing, knowing they would be back in this same stadium cheering their side to glory in Euro 2020.
On Tuesday night, in the tightest group from second to fifth, Slovenia needed a result against England, at least a draw to have any hope of progressing to Euro 2020 from Group E. The dreary weather suited neither team, though England were the more dominant. Declan Rice had three shots on target throughout the match, and Ross Barkley and Jordan Henderson had one as well. However, the Slovenian defence held firm and gained the vital draw. Slovenia, though, will miss Euro 2020, as Saturday’s nations in the similar boat of third place in Austria and Montenegro were already ahead on points, and so they would not be in the top six of third place sides.
The attention turned to the other games in the group, where Haris Seferović scored inside the first two minutes to set up control of the match for Switzerland against Estonia. He scored a penalty in the 29th minute after Granit Xhaka crossed into Seferović, losing the header contest, only for Djibril Sow to get first to the ball. Estonian defender Taijo Teniste collected the Swiss left midfielder and the referee awarded the spot kick. Seferović made no mistake. The Swiss continued attacking, only to not penetrate the goals anymore in the game, but left in the knowledge, once they knew Slovenia drew, that second place was theirs, as well as qualification for Euro 2020 coupled with hosting rights.
In the other Group E match, Lithuania needed a high-scoring win against San Marino to have any chance of gaining third place, particularly when they saw Switzerland winning and Slovenia drawing. Lithuania had the better chances in the first half and scored right at the end via Deimantas Petravičius after he had initially won a corner. After the break, Lithuania tried for a second goal. Instead, Matteo Vitaioli scored for San Marino, heading in the equaliser after the Lithuanian goalkeeper made an original save. From there, both sides had chances to collect the winner and the full three points, including Vykintas Slivka at the death, only for the match to end in a draw. San Marino, though in last place, can hold their heads high as they look to August next year when they begin their campaign for the 2022 World Cup against Switzerland again, before seeing the might of Italy and Romania. Lithuania is another European 2018 World Cup side to falter at the Euro 2020 qualification stage. They must regroup and prepare for battle against Armenia, Georgia and Spain, where they will be second favourite in the group.
Group G, one of the groups of death, living up to expectations, became very simple: make it to the top three, or not qualify.
Sweden took on Liechtenstein in the hope of winning and guaranteeing first or second place. Sweden certainly had their chances but were unable to ruffle the back of the net. Albin Ekdal had two attempts as the greatest chance of scoring, the first hitting the woodwork and the second just over the crossbar. Sebastian Larsson also had a chance with his head, but it flew straight to the goalkeeper (nine saves in total). Right at the death, the post became Sweden’s enemy as Alexander Isak’s header thudded it.
The shocked Swedish side turned their attentions to other results, in the hope their second scoreless draw against Liechtenstein was enough. France helped them out with an Olivier Giroud double, sending France to a clear top of the table. Giroud’s first was a tap-and-shoot from a free kick, his left foot so powerful that the Austrian goalkeeper had no hope. Again, there was no way of stopping his second as the ball was crossed in from the left wing so forcefully that all Giroud needed to do was tap it into the net. Austria fought for a goal to save some face, but they were unable to do so.
Their hopes were dashed as they saw the result coming from Russia in their match against Moldova. Russia’s early attempts all fell straight at the Moldovan goalkeeper. Finally, after the break, Artem Dzyuba scored with his left boot, stealing from the defence and nailing it home. Roman Zobnin backed up with a second for Russia from a tight angle. Nicolae Milinceanu gave the Russians a mini scare as he scored with his head, giving him two goals in two games. However, Russia held on for the victory, and as the results came in from the other matches, second place, while knocking out Austria in the process.
Bulgaria flew to Malta, knowing that a win would not be enough. The visitors had three of the best chances of the match, whereas Malta never really looked like scoring. Bulgaria’s first hit the left-hand post from the foot of Ismail Isa, before Isa had a one-on-one opportunity saved by the goalkeeper. Similarly, Georgi Kostadinov also had his fast break thwarted by the Maltese goalkeeper. In the end, the result was a scoreless draw.
Italy took on Azerbaijan in the hope of winning and gaining an extra two goals in goal difference over Croatia, if they were to defeat Norway. Five goals became the order of the night as Federico Chiesa scored as he had done in their previous encounter. Andrea Belotti made it two goals for Italy with an uncontested header off a corner. Azerbaijan had their best chance right before the break, only for the Italian back three to hold steady. Ciro Immobile scored a brace straight after the break; his first was after Lorenzo Insigne fought over the ball with the Azerbaijani goalkeeper around the edge of the box. The ball bobbled to Immobile, who fired into the open goal. His second was a diving header near the front post. Moise Kean came off the bench to slide in Italy’s fifth, thus giving the southern European side the best possibility at hosting games at Euro 2020.
Croatia could not rise to the challenge in their match against Norway. Joshua King up front was constantly being found in promising positions, before chipping the goalkeeper in the 36th minute to give Norway the lead. Erling Håland then made it two with a header off a corner, thus effectively winning the game for the Nordic side. Croatia did snag back a goal via Nikola Vlašić, but it was too late as the Norwegians finished on a high. Third place was respectable, though they were unable to qualify for the tournament. Instead, they will look forward to World Cup Qualifiers against Germany, Scotland and either Moldova or Albania. Croatia, meanwhile, will prepare for Euro 2020.
The task for Montenegro became simple: to not lose to Portugal at home by more than three goals. Montenegro still wanted second place and fielded in an all-out attack. That paid off as Stefan Mugoša scored as he had in the previous match. Fatos Bećiraj then made it two goals as he was set up for a power shot into the back of the net. Deni Hočko scored with his second touch of the ball after his first shot needed a Rui Patrício save. The Portuguese never looked in the game, finishing their campaign in such a meek style.
This opened the door for Serbia to collect top spot in Group I, and they certainly attacked with the intent of scoring a solid win. However, the line-up for Denmark, presumably to prepare to the Physico Championship Playoffs, managed to take control of the match, and Kasper Dolberg scored as a result in the 54th minute. Desperately scrambling, Serbia attacked and attacked, with Nemanja Radonjić scoring right at the death to equalise the game, but it was not enough in keeping second place from Montenegro.
In the battle for fifth, Karlen Mkrtchyan scored in the fourth minute for Armenia against Albania. The visitors then held off attacks from Albania, though it was clear Albania had one mind on their World Cup Playoff against Moldova next Saturday. Albania’s best chance to equalise came from a free kick that hit the right-hand post.
Qualified Nations: Germany (automatic hosts) England (automatic hosts) Russia (automatic hosts) Ireland (hosts) Spain (hosts) Hungary (hosts) Turkey (hosts) Belgium (hosts) Switzerland (hosts) France (hosts) Italy (hosts) Portugal (hosts) Ukraine Greece Netherlands Bosnia/Herzegovina Croatia Montenegro
Third Place Nations that qualified Czech Republic 20 points, goal difference +8 Romania 18 points, goal difference +9 Sweden 18 points, goal difference +6 Serbia 18 points, goal difference +5 Wales 17 points, goal difference +4 Poland 15 points, goal difference +1
Third Place nations that missed out Slovakia 15 points, goal difference -1 Slovenia 14 points, goal difference +5 Norway 12 points, goal difference 0
In the first 2022 European World Cup Qualification Playoff to see who will join the Group Stage, Kosovo took on Latvia as they returned to international football since the Nations League. Kosovo had the slightly better chances early in the game. However, soon after the break, Dāvis Ikaunieks scored against the run of play, shooting home a brilliant, unplayable cross. Kosovan striker Vedat Muriqi immediately replied with his head after a long cross from the right wing. Both nations had chances to win the match, though neither could ruffle the net one more time, and the game ended one-all. The reverse leg is played on the 15th, where Kosovo will have to win away or draw at least one-all to go to penalties. Latvia, on the other hand, will bank on delivering a key early goal and play for that result.
© 2020 Steve Clark |
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Added on May 11, 2020 Last Updated on May 11, 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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