Euro 2008 roundup - 02/09
Jari Litmanen rolled back the years for Finland
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Saturday, 02, Sep 2006 03:28
With qualifying matches for the 2008 European Championships taking place this weekend, Europe's domestic scene took a back seat. Here are the results of all the crucial international matches.
Group A
Serbia 1-0 Azerbaijan
Poland 1-3 Finland
Nikola Zigic's second-half strike secured an historic win for Serbia as they marked their first competitive match following the dissolution of Serbia and Montenegro with a narrow victory in Belgrade. Meanwhile, former Liverpool man Jari Litmanen rolled back the years as he bagged a brace in a comfortable Finland victory over Leo Beenhakker's team.
Group B
Italy 1-1 Lithuania
Georgia 0-3 France
Scotland 6-0 Faroe Islands
World champions Italy slipped to a surprise draw against minnows Lithuania, needing chief poacher Filippo Inzaghi to rescue a point. Defeated finalists France had no such trouble in Georgia as they eased to a comfortable victory with Louis Saha getting on the score sheet. Scotland showed little mercy as they hammered the part-timers from the Faroe Islands. A double from Kris Boyd plus strikes by Darren Fletcher, James McFadden, Kenny Miller and substitute Garry O'Connor secured all three points.
Group C
Moldova 0-1 Greece
Hungary 1-4 Norway
Malta 2-5 Bosnia-Herzegovina
Defending champions Greece got their qualification campaign off to a winning start thanks to a solitary strike from Nikolaos Lyberopoulos. Elsewhere, a double from Ole Gunnar Solskjær and one from Morten Gamst Pedersen helped Norway to victory in Budapest while Bosnia-Herzegovina scored their highest ever away tally to see off Malta.
Group D
Czech Republic 2-1 Wales
Slovakia 6-1 Cyprus
Germany 1-0 Republic of Ireland
Wales and Ireland both suffered narrow defeats as Czech debutant David Lafata scored two late goals to see off John Toshack's team and a deflected Lukas Podolski free-kick secured all three points for Germany in Stuttgart. Meanwhile, Slovakia cruised to an emphatic victory over Cyprus in Bratislava, with the impressive Marek Mintal and Filip Sebo both scoring twice.
Group E
Estonia 0-1 Israel
England 5-0 Andorra
Steve McClaren won his first competitive game in charge of England against a woeful Andorra thanks to Peter Crouch, currently the most prolific marksman in international football, bagging a brace. World Cup outcast Jermain Defoe also scored twice and Steven Gerrard got on the scoresheet. Meanwhile, Estonia and Israel showed little to worry McClaren as Argentina-born Roberto Colautti scored his first goal for Israel.
Group F
Northern Ireland 0-3 Iceland
Latvia 0-1 Sweden
Spain 4-0 Liechtenstein
Former Chelsea star Eidur Gudjohnsen inspired Iceland to a comfortable win in Northern Ireland as he netted the final goal to become the country's joint-top scorer alongside Rikhardur Jonsson. Meanwhile, Kim Kallstrom scored the crucial goal in Sweden's win over Latvia while Spain routed Liechtenstein thanks to a double from David Villa and strikes from Fernando Torres and Luis Garcia.
Group G
Luxembourg 0-1 Netherlands
Belarus 2-2 Albania
Romania 2-2 Bulgaria
Joris Mathijsen scored his first international goal to help the Netherlands secure all three points in Luxembourg and take an early advantage in the group after the other two matches both ended level. Two goals in three minutes from Martin Petrov earned a point for Bulgaria in Romania while veteran Besnik Hasi fired a long-range effort in the 86th minute to salvage a draw for Albania.