Some more Champions League action! 9/28/11.

So, let's start with the game in Spain! Valencia were facing the fierce opposition of Chelsea and were very lucky to be able to tie it very late in the 2nd half. Frank Lampard struck in the 56th minute to give Chelsea the lead after an uneventful 1st half. Valencia's response was very late and very lucky in coming after Salomon Kalou blatantly handled the ball in the box from a cross. Roberto Solado gratefully converted from the spot to bring the Spanish side level and split the points. Zenit St. Petersburg ended up dominating their match despite going down early to Porto. James Rodriguez gave the visitors the lead in the 10th minute, but they proceeded to lose Jorge Fucile who was dismissed after he received a 2nd yellow. Roman Shirokov leveled for the Russian giants in the 20th before giving them the lead in the 63rd minute. Danny tacked on a 3rd in the 72nd to finish the 10-man Portuguese powerhouse. Meanwhile, in France Marseille were able to have their way with Dortmund, blowing them out of the water with a 3-0 scoreline. Andre Ayew struck the opening and closing shots in the 20th and 69th minutes while Loic Remy scored between these two - in the 62nd. AC Milan won comfortably at home against the visiting Plzen. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Antonio Cassano struck once each without response to give the Milanese side their 1st win in Group H. Barcelona are now in a similar position as they obliterated BATE in Minsk thanks to an opening own goal from Aleksandr Volodko in the 19th, a clean strike from Pedro Rodriguez in the 22nd, a pair from Lionel Messi in the 36th and 56th minutes, and a closer from David Villa to totally tear apart BATE 5-0. One thing is certain: BATE have definitely gone through a learning experience today. Last but not least, Arsenal added more woes to the Greeks as they edged Olympiacos 2-1 thanks to early goals from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (8th minute) and Andre Santos (20th minute). David Fuster brought the Greek side one back but to no avail as the English side held on for the 3 points. An interesting note: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had a fantastic game as an 18 year old! One negative? His name is too long! It does not bode well for his future! Haha, all the best for the young man, I hope he has a very successful career with the Gunners.

Champions League update. 9/27/11.

Well, I'd like to start with Bayern's 2-0 victory over Manchester City today. Mario Gomez was once more on fire as he struck in the 38th and 46th minutes of the 1st Half (the latter goal coming in stoppage time) to crush the positive start made by the visiting English side. Meanwhile, in Russia, Inter Milan were able to defeat CSKA Moskva in a close run game 3-2. It was largely due to 2 early goals from Lucio and Giampaolo Pazzini in the 6th and 23rd minutes respectively. Alan Dzagoev and Vagner Love equalized for Moskva by the 77th but to no avail as Mauro Zarate struck in the 79th to give the Italians a lead that they didn't give up. Back in Italy, Napoli were finally able to break the ice of their Champions League run against Villarreal and in what a fashion! Marek Hamsik and Edinson Cavani found the net once each between the 15th and 17th minutes to the great acclaim of the Naples crowd. In Group D Real Madrid hammered Ajax 3-0 thanks to a goal from each of the following: Cristiano Ronaldo (25th minute), Kaka (41st minute), and Karim Benzema (49th minute). In Hungary meanwhile, Otelul Galati lost their first home game of the Champions League when they were edged by Portugal's Benfica 0-1 after a superb strike from Bruno Cesar in the 40th minute. Manchester United were actually "held" to a 3-3 draw by Basel in England! Danny Welbeck was initially the only United player to have shown up as he struck their 16th and 17th minute goals while Fabian Frei brought Basel back 1 in the 58th. Alexander Frei then struck a brace in the 61st and 76th minutes to actually give the Swiss visitors the lead! Had Ashley Young not equalized for the stunned English side in the 90th minute, Basel would have deservedly won 3 points. As it stands, they take 1 from what could have been a harder fight.

Crazy Spanish League! 9/22/11.

Well, the Spanish Liga is currently turned on its head: Roque Santa Cruz's 2 strikes in Real Betis' 4-3 victory over Zaragoza have left them in an unfamiliar position: on the top of the Spanish League! Santa Cruz gave Betis the lead in the 7th minute before Salva Sevilla struck a penalty in the 12th minute for a 2-0 lead. Efrain Juarez brought Zaragoza one back in the 36th. The 2nd half was Betis' for sure though: Benat Etxebarria converted a penalty 2 minutes in while Santa Cruz added his 2nd, a 4th for Real Betis, in the 49th. Juan Carlos Perez proceeded to fight back for the visitors scoring in the 77th and 79th minutes but to no avail. It should be added that Betis' goalkeeper was sent-off in the 70th minute after a foul on Luis Garcia outside of the box. In other Spanish news, Espanyol edged Getafe 1-0 thanks to a goal from Walter Pandiani in stoppage time of the 2nd half. Defending champions Barcelona are currently in 3rd place with 8 points (2 wins and 2 draws), while Real
Madrid are actually 7th with 7 (2 wins, a draw and a loss).

Men's International Rankings Update! 9/21/11.

Well, there have been quite a lot of moves at the top of the football world with Spain regaining their place at the summit after a month in 2nd. The Netherlands return to 2nd place while Germany remain in 3rd. Uruguay, Portugal, and Italy make up 4th, 5th, and 6th while Brazil and England have been bumped to 7th and 8th respectively. Croatia moved past Argentina to take 9th with the South Americans rounding out the Top 10. Greece and France have actually moved up 3 places each putting them in 11th and 12th respectively.

Domestic action on Sunday the 18th.

Well, the Old Firm in Scotland played today and Rangers were quite successful! Yes, Celtic led 1-2 at the half thanks to goals from Gary Hooper and Badr El Kaddouri in response to Steven Naismith's 23rd minute goal. Into the 2nd half Rangers began to dominate. Nikica Jelavic equalized for Rangers in the 55th before Kyle Lafferty struck in the 67th. With a 3-2 lead, Rangers then went a man up after Charlie Mulgrew of Celtic was sent off in the 75th minute. Naismith slotted a 2nd in the 3rd minute of stoppage time of the 2nd half to finish the embarrassing match. In Sweden Gefle edged Syrianska 2-1 thanks to scoring the first and last goals. Hacken beat Elfsborg 2-0 while Helsingborg continued the success of the home sides as they defeated Mjallby 3-0. Malmo and Trelleborg tied 1-1 while Orebro were the only home side to lose, 0-2 to Goteborg. In Germany, Hannover edged Dortmund 2-1 thanks to 2 late goals from Karim Haggui and Didier Ya Konan respectively. Schalke were unlucky when they were defeated 0-2 by Bayern who scored a goal in each half through. Nils Peterson and Thomas Muller respectively. In Spain meanwhile, Athletic were defeated 2-3 by Betis while Atletico thrashed Racing 4-0. Getafe were edged 0-1 by top-flight newcomers Rayo who scored through Michu in the 4th minute. Zaragoza were able to win against Espanyol 2-1 while the biggest news of the day was probably Levante's 1-0 win over Real Madrid. Sami Khedira's sending off in the 40th minute may be said to have led to Arouna Kone's 68th minute goal. It was an extremely ill-tempered game though. Just in the 1st half there were 6 yellows and a red handed out. 5 more yellows came in the 2nd half. Over in the border in Portugal Benfica and Porto actually remain even on the top of the table after Benfica hammered Academica 4-1. Porto were held to a 0-0 draw by little-known Feirense. Leiria were defeated 1-3 by Maritimo while Vitoria edged Beira-Mar 1-0. Up over in England, Fulham and Manchester City actually drew 2-2 in their match while Manchester United laid the smack down on Chelsea 3-1! Chris Smalling, Nani, and Wayne Rooney had each scored their goals before Fernando Torres brought Chelsea 1 back in the 1st minute of the half. Sunderland hammered Stoke 4-0 while last but certainly not least we had Tottenham slam Liverpool 4-0 too. Finally, we go to Italy where there were a ton of games today! Atalanta edged Palermo 1-0 thanks to German Denis' 34th minute strike. Bologna were beaten 0-2 by Lecce who scored 1st through Guillermo Giacomazzi in the 37th and then through Carlos Grossmuller in the 60th. Catania beat Cesena 1-0 while Lazio were edged out of points by Genoa 1-2. Giuseppe Sculli gave Lazio the lead in the 11th before Rodrigo Palacio and Juraj Kucka struck in the 54th and 71st minutes respectively. Napoli beat AC Milan 3-1 thanks to a brilliant hat-trick from Edinson Cavani! Parma were a bit better than Chievo on the day as the 2-1 scoreline illustrates. Juventus beat Siena 1-0. Last but not least: Udinese 2 - 0 Fiorentina. Cheers!

More Champions League!

Well, Manchester City were somewhat surprised by Napoli who tied with them 1-1. Edinson Cavani's 69th minute goal for the Italian side was equalized with by Aleksandar Kolarov's 74th minute free-kick. Meanwhile, Benfica actually drew with Manchester United 1-1 thanks to an opening goal from Oscar Cardozo in the 24th minute. Ryan Giggs proved why United still need him when he equalized 3 minutes before the half to end up saving the English side a point. Bayern coolly defeated Villarreal 0-2 thanks to goals from Toni Kroos in the 7th and Rafinha in the 76th. The biggest news of the day though, was Inter Milan's 0-1 loss to Turkish side Trabzonspor in Milan! Ondrej Celustka did the honors in the 76th with quite a beauty while Trabzonspor's Gustavo Colman and keeper Tolga Zengin had very good games. Keep watching what is sure to be an exciting year of European football!

Champions League opening results! 9/13/11.

Chelsea were successful against Bayer Leverkusen after a pair of 2nd half goals. David Luiz got the Blues off with his 67th minute strike before Juan Mata tacked on a 2nd just to secure the English side's 3 points. Meanwhile, Portugal's FC Porto edged Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 despite falling behind in the 12th minute after Luiz Adriano had scored for the Donetsk side. Hulk equalized for the Dragons of Porto in the 28th minute while Kleber scored the winner in the 51st minute to get the Portuguese side's season start off with a bang. Dortmund and Arsenal actually tied 1-1 in their match with Robin Van Persie giving the Gunners the lead 3 minutes before the 1st half ended. Ivan Perisic was the man to equalize for the Germans with 2 minutes left in the 2nd half! On a similar note, Barcelona were heart-broken in the dying moments of their match with AC Milan who scored both the 1st and last goals of the game. Pato gave the Milanese side the earliest of leads with his 1st minute strike before Pedro Rodriguez equalized for Barca in the 36th minute. Going into the half it was thus 1-1. David Villa gave Barcelona the lead for the first time in the game with his 50th minute goal. Despite holding on to it for about 40 minutes, Thiago Silva finally did equalize for Milan, in the 2nd minute of extra time of the 2nd half! In even worse news for Barcelona, Andres Iniesta was severely injured, picking up a potentially month-long service of bench-duty. Initial reports were that he had sustained a hamstring tear. That adds to the injury roster which already includes summer signing Alexis Sanchez (thigh injury, out for about 8 weeks). Obviously my prayers go out to them both. Stay tuned for more!

Exciting Champions League match-ups! 9/12/11.

In the opening of the group stage tomorrow we have some terrific games with Chelsea taking on Bayer Leverkusen, Porto face Shakhtar Donetsk, last year's German Champions Dortmund play always-threatening Arsenal while Spanish Champions Barcelona meet the impressive though depleted AC Milan. On the 14th meanwhile, Manchester City face Napoli while talented Portuguese side Benfica face England's defending Champions Manchester United. Villarreal will have to face a pumped-up and ready-to-go Bayern Munich who will hope to start their European title attack off to a good start. Big sides from the Netherlands and France also face-off as Ajax and Lyon will be playing. Make sure to at least catch one of these great games!

Beach Soccer World Cup conclusion!

So when you think of beaches, you may think of Portuguese, Brazilian, Spanish, or Caribbean ones right? Well, it's time to start thinking of Russian ones because they are the new Beach Champions! That's right, Brazil have finally lost a World Beach Final! And it was in terribly convincing too as the Russians hammered the Brazilians to a 12-8 scoreline. Egor Shaykov gave the Europeans the 1st 2 goals before Ilya Leonov added a 3rd. Andre brought Brazil 2 back to make it 3-2 by the end of the 1st period of time. The 2nd period was no better for Brazil as the Russians Egor Eremeev and Alexey Makarov each scored twice. Betinho's own goal gave Russia a 8-2 lead before Dmitry Shishin scored the 1st of his 3 goals. Betinho and Sidney both scored for Brazil in that period though, so the scoreline was 9-4 at the break. Leonov and Shishin scored once and twice more respectively for Russia in the 3rd period to make it 12 goals for the unstoppable Russians. Andre was the only player to score for Brazil in the 3rd period but he did get 4! It still wasn't enough though as Russia were well deserving winners. Over in the 3rd place match, Portugal did well to defeat a talented team from El Salvador. Wilber Alvarado gave El Salvador the lead a minute and a half into the game but Madjer brought Portugal level 4 minutes later or so. Belchior then gave the Portuguese the lead into the 14th minute which was equalized with 4 minutes later by Frank Velasquez. Madjer then gave Portugal the winning goal in the 24th minute to much acclaim. While it is another 3rd place title for the Portuguese, they are still consistently one of the best sides in beach soccer. Hope you enjoyed the games as much as I did!

Quick beach soccer update!

Hello, I almost forgot about the Beach Soccer World Cup! In beautiful Italy, Russia and Brazil have set up quite a fantastic Final while the 3rd-place game between El Salvador and Portugal will be eagerly anticipated as well. So how did the Semi-Finals pan-out? Well, the Russian steamroller continued apace with a 7-3 drubbing of El Salvador to book their Final spot. It was 4-1 in the Russians' favor by the end of the 1st period. Each team scored 2 more in the 2nd period of time to make it 6-3 while Russia added a 3rd in the 3rd period to finalize what we had known for some time: Russia were through. Brazil v.s. Portugal was a closer affair with the Portuguese holding a 0-1 lead through the 1st period before Brazil struck 2 goals in each of the following periods to wipe the floor with their long-ago colonizers: 4-1 Brazil. Look for the Final and 3rd-place matches tomorrow! (9/11)

Domestic update. 9/10/11.

Let's start in Northern Europe where in Scotland we have seen Celtic obliterate Motherwell in Glasgow 4-0 while rivals Rangers edged Dundee United 0-1 to keep their top of the league position. Kyle Lafferty was the man to keep 'Gers at the top of the table when he struck in the 61st minute to clinch the lead. Inverness and Hearts tied 1-1 with the away side equalizing late in the 81st minute to salvage a point. Kilmarnock edged Dunfermline 3-2 despite the away side taking an early lead through Jason Thomson in the 14th. Last but not least St. Mirren and St. Johnstone played out a goalless draw. Over in Sweden just 1 game played today and that was between Mjallby and Norrkoping. They played out a 0-0 draw. Down in Germany Bayern completely tore apart Freiburg in a 7-0 victory. Notably, Mario Gomez scored 4 while Franck Ribery struck twice. Nils Peterson added a 7th in the 90th minute to end a truly one-sided game. Dortmund were upset by Hertha Berlin who won 1-2 in quite a surprising match. Hoffenheim defeated Mainz in Mainz 0-4 while Monchengladbach defeated Kaiserslautern 1-0 thanks to a 58th minute goal from Juan Arango. Stuttgart defeated Hannover 3-0 in their match while Bremen led Hamburg 1-0 as I posted this. Going south some more, in Spain, Real Sociedad did very well for themselves as they leveled with Barcelona despite falling 2 goals behind by the 11th minute. Villarreal and Sevilla also drew 2-2. Before closing I'd like to go back up to England where Arsenal edged Swansea 1-0 thanks to Andrey Arshavin's 40th minute goal! Everton and Aston Villa tied 2-2 while Manchester City defeated Wigan 3-0! Stoke upset Liverpool 1-0 thanks to Jonathan Walters' 21st minute converted penalty. Sunderland were beaten 1-2 by Chelsea though Ji Dong-Won did begin to bring them back with a goal in the 1st minute of stoppage time of the 2nd half! Finally, Wolves were beaten 0-2 by Tottenham who scored both of their goals in the 2nd half. Keep enjoying these awesome leagues!

Beach Soccer World Cup Quarter-Finals! Semi-Finals on the Way!

Well we have just finished the Quarter-Final stage and the hosts Italy made it out of their group but had their hearts broken by El Salvador. The Central/South American team barely defeated the Italians 5-6 in what was a fantastic game. The Salvadorans exhibited the talents that have been such an assest to them thus far and hopefully they will be able to continue! Russia continued their path of domination and destruction as they dealt Mexico quite a few hard blows in a 5-3 victory. Holding a team to just 3 goals is pretty impressive in beach soccer. In the other leg of games, Brazil were challenged by Nigeria in their match but ended up 2 ahead with a 10-8 scoreline. Portugal on the other hand were held 4-4 by a great Senegalese team who were unfortunate to lose 3-2 in the penalty shoot-out. The Semi-Finals will take place tomorrow as El Salvador hope to be giant-slayers against Russia while Portugal face their former colony: the mighty Brazil. Make sure to catch a game and enjoy!

Beach Soccer World Cup and Euro 2012 Qualifying.

First off I'd like to look at Italy where the  Beach Soccer World Cup continues apace. In Group A Iran were beaten by Switzerland in an intense 4-6 thriller. Senegal almost broke the hosts' hearts as they were level 4-4 by the end of regulation time. The Italians fought hard though and won the test of nerves that is the penalty shoot-out 3-2. Group B meanwhile witnessed immense clashes today as Portugal totally thrashed Argentina 5-0. Oman were edged 3-4 by El Salvador. Over in European qualifying, Scotland faced the Czech Republic today in Glasgow and were unpleasantly surprised. Kenny Miller gave the Scots the lead in the 45th so it was 1-0 at the half. Jaroslav Plasil equalized for the Czechs but Scotland's captain Darren Fletcher gave the home side the lead in the 82nd which delighted the fans. Then, in the 90th minute, a penalty was given to the Czech Republic. Michal Kadlec happily converted to give the Czech Republic a point in a game that the Scots really worked for.

Beach Soccer World Cup! 9/2/2011,

Group C and D have officially opened with Nigeria falling to the fierce Russians 4-8. Tahiti meanwhile have done themselves very nicely with a 5-2 victory over Venezuela. Group D had excitement of its own though with Japan edged by Mexico 2-3 while Brazil had a scare when Ukraine leveled with them 3-3. The South Americans were able to win on penalties though, 2-1.

European Championship 2012 qualifying.

Well in Group A Germany are the 1st team to qualify for the Finals after a 6-2 result against Austria! Turkey were able to edge Kazakhstan 2-1 in their match while Azerbaijan and Belgium tied 1-1. With this round of results in, Germany are through on the 7th game with 21 points. Turkey are currently in 2nd place with 13 points from 7 games. Belgium have amassed 12 points from 8 games while Austria have only played 6 games, earning 7 points. Azerbaijan are in 5th with 4 points from 7 games while the bottom of the table is occupied by Kazakhstan with 3 points from 1 win in 7 matches. In Group B Andorra were beaten 0-3 by Armenia while Russia got the vital goal in a 1-0 win over Macedonia. Last but not least came the Republic of Ireland's 0-0 draw with Slovakia. So with all teams having played 7 games, Group B is headed up by Russia who have 16 points while the Irish have 14 points and lead Slovakia on goal difference. Armenia are in 4th with 11 points while Macedonia and Andorra bring up the rear with 4 and 0 points respectively. Next up is Group C where the home sides all suffered. The Northern Irish were defeated 0-1 by Serbia. Slovenia were unlucky to be edged by Estonia 1-2. Lastly we had the Faroe Islands losing to Italy 0-1. In Group C Italy remain undefeated with 19 points from 7 games. Slovenia and Serbia are tied at 11 points but the Serbians have a game in hand having only played 7 games (compared to Slovenia's 8). Estonia aren't too far off the top with 10 points to their name while the Northern Irish have 9 points from 7 games. The Faroe Islands' 4 points from 9 games isn't too fantastic though. Group D is also pretty close with Belarus succumbing to the Bosnia and Herzegovians 0-2. Luxembourg lost to a solid Romania 0-2 while the Albanians were lightly beaten by the French 1-2. France actually leads the group with 16 points from 7 games while Bosnia and Herzegovina have 13 from 7. Belarus have 12 points from 8 games while Romania have 11 from 7.  Albania are in 5th place with 8 points from 7 matches. Last but not least is Luxembourg who have just 1 point from 8 games played! Meanwhile, in Group E the Netherlands have essentially qualified with 21 points from 7 matches. Sweden have 15 points from 7 games while Hungary have tied the Swedes after 8 games. Finland have 9 points from 7 while Moldova has 6. San Marino have played 8 and lost them all. Today, Finland beat Moldova 4-1 while Hungary were able to edge Sweden 2-1. The Dutch destroyed San Marino 11-0. Over in Group F leaders Greece defeated Israel 0-1. Croatia defeated Malta 1-3 while Georgia were edged 0-1 by Latvia. Right behind Greece is Croatia who have amassed 16 points from 7 games played. Israel occupy 3rd with 13 points from 8 games played. Georgia have 9 from 8 games, Latvia have 7 from 7 while Malta have nothing to show for their 7 games. Onwards to Group G! Here, the most teams have played is 6 games but 2 games did happen today! Bulgaria were beaten 0-3 by England while Wales dug deep to defeat Montenegro 2-1. So, the standings are thus situated: England on top with 14 points from 6 games while Montenegro have taken 11 points from 6 games. The Swiss have yet to play their 6th game but currently sit in 3rd with 5 points. Bulgaria are also at 5 points but they have played 6 games. Wales are at the bottom of the pile with 3 points from 5 games. Group H is led by Portugal who have claimed 13 points from 6 games. Norway are on level terms with them though separated by goal difference. Denmark have 10 points from 5 games while Cyprus and Iceland have 2 and 1 point respectively. Today Norway defeated their Icelandic rivals 1-0 while Portugal beat Cyprus 4-0. Finally, in Group I, Spain lead with a perfect record in 5 games. The Czech Republic are in 2nd with just 9 points from 5 matches. Lithuania have managed to take 3rd with 5 points from 6 games while Scotland still have 2 games in hand. They currently have 4 points from 4 matches. Liechtenstein bring up the rear with 4 from 6 games. Today Lithuania and Liechtenstein played out an uninteresting 90 minutes while tomorrow Scotland face the Czech Republic! Enjoy!

Nation in highlight: Uruguay.

Uruguay's national league is known as the Primera Division and takes place between August and May. 16 teams take part in the league with the current Champions being Nacional. Having won 43 titles (32 since the league became professional), Nacional (or Club Nacional de Football) is based in Montevideo. Of the clubs taking part in this year's competition, all but 1 are from Montevideo! Cerro Largo are the "outsiders" from Melo. When football in Uruguay was still at an amateur level, Nacional were the most successful club amassing 11 titles. CURCC/Penarol were the 2nd most successful with 9 titles. River Plate FC collected 4 while Montevideo collected 3. Rampla Juniors won 1. In the "Professional Era" of Uruguayan football, Penarol have actually been  the most successful collecting 37 titles since 1932 (46 in total). It was 54 seasons before a team  besides Penarol or Nacional won the title. Defensor were the ones to break this trend in 1976. The longest period of time since either Peñarol or Nacional won a title was between 1987 and 1991. In this time Defensor, Danubio, Progreso, Bella Vista, and Defensor Sporting together won five titles. Penarol also hail from Montevideo while Defensor (now Defensor Sporting after merging with Sporting Club Uruguay in 1989) also come from a portion of Montevideo. Danubio are also from Montevideo despite being founded by Bulgarian-born brothers in 1932. Progresso are (as far as I am aware) also a township of the Montevideo Metropolitan Area. Club Atletico Bella Vista are also based in Montevideo where they play at the Estadio Jose Nasazzi. Of the past 5 seasons, Danubio won in 2006-07, Defensor Sporting took the title in the 2007-08 season, Nacional won in 2008-09 while the 2009-10 season was claimed by Penarol. Nacional are the defending champions after winning the 2010-11 season. Defensor Sporting have taken 4 while Danubio have 3 trophies in their cabinet. Bella Vista, Central Espanol, and Progreso have each won 1 title apiece.

Fantastic Beach Soccer World Cup opening day! 9/1/2011.

Today was an absolutely thrilling day in Italy as the hosts met Iran in a Group A game that ended 6-6 in normal time! After a penalty shoot-out we had a winner though: Italy 5-4 over the talented Iranians! In the other match of the day for Group A Senegal and Switzerland struck goal after goal to make it 8-8 at the end of regulation time. Senegal won 1-0 in the shoot-out that followed. Meanwhile, Group B opened today as well with Argentina edging the Omani representatives 3-1 despite conceding the 1st goal. El Salvador on the other hand were given an absolute thrashing by Portugal. 11-2 was the final score with the Portuguese scoring at least 4 goals before any response was given. Keeping watching this intense sampling of football!

U-21 European Championship Qualifying.

So, 10 groups. In Group 1 the current leaders are the on form Germans who have won both of their 2 games. Cyprus are currently 2nd after winning 1 and losing the other of their 2 matches. Bosnia and Herzegovina hold 3rd on goal difference having won the single game they have played. Belarus are in 4th on goal difference as they have won 1 game of 1 played. Greece are in 5th after losing their opener while San Marino have played 3 games and lost them all putting them between a rock and a hard place. Next up we have Group 2 which is led by, wait for it, Slovenia! They have won 2 and lost 1 while 2nd place Finland are undefeated with a win and a draw. Malta have 1 of each: a win, a draw, and a loss! Sweden have played and won their 1 match while 5th-placed Ukraine have yet to open their qualifying campaign. Last but not least there is Lithuania who have yet to register a point from 3 games. Over in Group 3 Armenia, the Czech Republic, and Wales are all even on the top after 1 game with the Czechs having some advantage on goal difference. Montenegro have won 1 and lost 1 of their first 2 games while Andorra sit at the bottom of the pile having played and lost their first 3 matches. Group 4 has only just really started with Northern Ireland holding the top with a win and a draw.The Faroe Islands are in second with a draw and a loss. Serbia and Denmark have yet to begin their qualifying round with Macedonia in the same boat. Group 5 is unsurprisingly led by Spain with 1 win under their belt from 1 game. Georgia have won 1 and lost 1 putting them in 2nd. Switzerland and Estonia tied each other in their opener while Croatia are actually in 5th with 1 loss to their name. Group 6 is currently led by Portugal who defeated Moldova in the 1st and as of now only game of the group. Moldova thus sit at the bottom. Russia, Poland, and Albania have yet to open their accounts. The story is similar in Group 7 where only Turkey and Liechtenstein have played. The Turks won giving them poll position while Liechtenstein have a hole to get out of. Italy, Hungary, and the Republic of Ireland have yet to play here. In Group 8 Iceland are at the top after a 2-1 over Belgium. The Belgians are for this reason at the bottom while England, Norway, and Azerbaijan all can't wait to get started. Group 9 is led by Slovakia who defeated Latvia in the group opener. Thus, between theses 2 we have the likes of Romania, Kazakhstan, and France who will play some time soon. Last but certainly not least we have Group 10 which is led by Austria, on goal difference better than the Netherlands who hold 2nd. Scotland have yet to play while Bulgaria are in 4th and Luxembourg are in 5th after a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Austrians. Stay tuned to this exciting contest!