Qualifying for Euro Cup 3/29/2011. Two friendlies too!

One of the bigger games today occurred between Turkey and Austria as the Group A opponents finished 2-0 in the host's favor. Arda Turan and Gökhan Gönül slotted home once each in the 28th and 78th minutes respectively. It wasn't a good game at all for Austria as they could only collect cards, with three players booked in the match. Belgium were very successful in their match with Azerbaijan as they claimed a 4-1 victory. Jan Vertonghen opened the scoring in the 12th minute while Ruslan Abushev equalized four minutes later. Timmy Simons and Nacer Chadli then struck goals to give the Belgian's a 3-1 lead at the half. Jelle Vossen then struck in the 74th to finish the game 4-1. Serbia were actually held in Estonia to a 1-1 draw as Konstantin Vassiljev struck in the 84th minute for Estonia to draw them level after Marko Pantelić had given Serbia a 1-0 lead in the first half. Northern Ireland and Slovenia finished as they started: with the score line 0-0. Romania turned around from their last performance as they defeated Luxembourg 3-1 thanks to two goals from Adrian Mutu which put Romania up 2-1 after Lars Gerson had opened the scoring for Luxembourg. Ianis Zicu then tacked on Romania's third in the 78th. In Group E Sweden and the Netherlands showed well against their respective opposition as Sweden beat Moldova 2-1. The Netherlands had an even higher scoring game as they finished up 5-3 over Hungary. Robin van Persie opened the scoring before Gergely Rudolf and Zoltán Gera slotted home to give Hungary a 2-1 lead. Wesley Sneijder equalized in the 61st while Ruud van Nistelrooy put Holland ahead in the 73rd. Hungary's captain Gera didn't give up though as he put in Hungary's third to make it 3-3 in the 75th. Dirk Kuyt had other plans though, as he struck twice, in the 78th and 81st minutes to make it 5-3 when the final whistle blew. In Israel, Georgia had no luck as they lost 1-0 to their hosts who relied on Tal Ben Chaim's solitary debut goal for the win. The Czech Republic finished 2-0 over Lichtenstein as Milan Baroš opened the scoring in the 3rd minute and Michal Kadlec closed the account in the 70th. In Lithuania, Spain were victorious 3-1 as Xavi Hernández slotted home in the 19th, Lithuania's Marius Stankevičius equalized in the 57th, Tadas Kijanskas scored an own goal which gave Spain a 2-1 lead, the last goal was from Spain's Juan Mata and made it 3-1 for the World Champions. Finally, in friendly news, Australia actually beat Germany at home in Dortmund 2-1 while Ghana tied England 1-1! Lots of upsets!

Upcoming friendly schedule.

So the European Championship Qualifying is well under way, but changing gears a little, how about some friendly action? Ireland will be 'hosting' Uruguay in a match which I predict the 'visitors' will win. South Korea will be playing Montenegro as well, a game which the high-flying Asian side should be confident of winning. France v.s. Croatia is another big game as the Croatians will be coming off of a poorly played defeat while the French are actually looking quite good. Belarus' match against Canada isn't so high on the calender of events but it should be a good game which I see going the Canadians' way. Slovakia v.s. Denmark is another upcoming game which is also hard to call. Forced into a decision, I'd go for a Slovakian victory but you never know. England's game with Ghana should be a brilliant affair as the British are looking good while Ghana have nothing much to complain about either. I must say that I see England winning but you never know! Germany's match-up with Austria should be interesting too, but the Germans should definitely win it. Portugal v.s. Finland also looks promising but I don't think the Finns can handle Portugal's power. Cyprus will be 'hosting' Bulgaria, both sides having performed well in their most recent qualifiers but I find it hard to believe that Bulgarians could do anything but win. A draw may be on the cards but there is no reason for the Bulgarians not to win it. Finally, the battle between the two future World Cup hosts Qatar and Russia should be a big affair, but the Russians really should win it. Either way, these should all be really good games and I wish all of the teams the best of luck.

Euro Cup 2012 Qualifying 3/27/2011. International friendlies too.

I'd like to start with the Group A match-up between Germany and Kazakhstan which saw Miroslav Klose and Thomas Müller strike twice each as Germany strode to a 4-0 victory. Klose opened the scoring in the 8th minute and closed it in the 88th while Müller struck his two goals in the first half as Germany had a 3-0 advantage at the half. Armenia were actually able to keep Russia from scoring but forgot to score themselves as they finished 0-0 in a tense match. Meanwhile, in Andorra, Slovakia were able to slot home in the 21st through Filip Šebo and so win the three points by a 0-1 scoreline. Over in Ireland, things were close but the home side managed to edge visiting Macedonia 2-1. Aiden McGeady and Robbie Keane struck a goal a piece as the Irish had a 2-0 lead at the half. Ivan Trickovski struck Macedonia's solitary goal to make the final score 2-1. Bosnia and Herzegovina's match with Romania was also close, but the home side won out in the end 2-1 as Vedad Ibišević struck in the 63rd and Edin Džeko struck in the 83rd after Romania had actually taken the lead through Ciprian Marica in the 29th. Albania's match with Belarus was a bit more one sided as Albania just held onto the lead that Hamdi Salihi had given them in the 62nd. There were a ton more cards than goals though, as seven yellow cards were given out including three in five minutes! Either way, it was a decent home performance for a side that were all too glad to take it. In my opinion, the biggest surprise of the day came from Georgia as they were actually able to defeat visiting Croatia 1-0 thanks to a goal from Levan Kobiashvili in the 90th minute! Croatia had almost all of the shot attempts but to no avail. It just took one from Kobiashvili to sink them too. Over in Israel, the hosts were content as they edged Latvia 2-1. Beram Kayal's 81st minute header which won them the match was just what the doctor had ordered after Elyaniv Barda had struck them the first goal in the 16th minute. Latvia's captain Kaspars Gorkšs had drawn the visitors back one in the 62nd but that didn't matter after Kayal had his say! As Greece visited Malta, they showed a lot of attacking flair; making many opportunities but only Vassilis Torossidis' second minute of stoppage time winner actually went in. They were even playing a man down after Sokratis Papastathopoulos had been given a straight red card. But, for now, they will just be happy to be back on top of Group F. Up in Wales, England dominated early on and just held on for the ride as Frank Lampard struck a penalty and a Darren Bent scored a goal within the first 15 minutes to give England a solid victory. A highlight of the English defense: the Welsh only shot three times with not one of their attempts landing on target! Bulgaria v.s. Switzerland was a hard fought game but, in the end, nobody got anything from it as the sides finished 0-0. Alexander Frei was twice denied by Bulgaria's keeper Nikolay Mihaylov while Bulgaria actually had more attempts as a whole but couldn't convert any of them into goals. In Cyprus' game against Iceland, neither side were looking too good until Chrysostomos Michail got a penalty shot in the 21st minute. It would have been all Cyprus may have needed for a 1-0 victory. We'll never know though as Stefán Magnússon pulled off a great save to keep Iceland in the game. The match then returned to its previous setting of boring as time wound down. On the bright side, it was the first point for Iceland in their Group H qualifying campaign. Finally, in one version of the Nordic derby, Norway's Erik Huseklepp struck in the 81st minute to draw his side level after Dennis Rommedahl had slotted home for the Danes in the 27th. The game thus concluded 1-1. On the international friendly front, the U.S. hosted and were able to draw with Argentina as it really was a game of two halves. Argentina were better in the first half, especially later on which led to Esteban Cambiasso beating Tim Howard three minutes from the half. However, America's Colombian-born forward Agudelo came in to equalise 14 minutes after the interval when  Landon Donovan's free-kick found Carlos Bocanegra who headed goalwards, Argentina's keeper Mariano Andujar failed to keep hold of the ball, and Agudelo just slotted home. Mexico v.s. Paraguay was another good match which was decided by two goals from Javier Hernandez and a goal from Andres Guardado that lifted Mexico to a 3-1 victory in a friendly match at the Oakland Coliseum. Cristiano Riveros provided Paraguay with their solitary goal of the night.

Irish League 3/25/11 results and a special recognition.

In the fourth day of games, league leaders Shamrock Rovers were tied 0-0 by Derry at the same time as Bohemians were defeated 1-0 by visitors Galway. Yoeffe scored the big goal, in the 60th, which gave Bohemians their first defeat of the season and Galway their first win. St. Patricks on the other hand continued their undefeated start against Dundalk, winning 3-2; coming back from 2 goals down in the process. Quigley had struck twice for Dundalk, in the 17th and 49th before MicMillan scored twice and Mulcahy slotted one of his own for the Saints to complete an impressive comeback. Sligo v.s.Drogheda was a good game itself as Dillon struck twice for the home side in their 2-0 victory. Finally, UCD were edged by visiting Bray 1-0 thanks to O'Connor's 70th minute strike. Also, I'd like to recognize Xavi Hernandez, known by some as la Maquina. He appeared for the first time for his country at the senior level 10 years and 4 months ago and hasn't stopped performing since. The Catalan play-maker played his 100th game in Spain's colors today in an international career that has suffered only 8 defeats, spanned 3 World Cups, and 2 European Championships. The other three who are also in this group? Former keeper Andoni Zubizarreta with 126 caps, current goalie Iker Casillas with 117 caps, and ex-Real Madrid and current Schalke striker Raul Gonzalez who has 102. Xavi isn't a goal scorer though, preferring to set up for his team mates. This is illustrated by the single-digit amount of goals he has scored at the international level: 8 goals with the first against China in 2005 and the most recent in 2008 against Denmark. He struck Spain's 1,000th goal against Northern Ireland in 2006 and in 2010 he passed 669 times at the World Cup in South Africa with an outstanding accuracy percentage of 81%! Congratulations Xavi and I for one hope to see you when Brazil host the World Cup in 2014.

Results for Euro Cup qualifying. 3/25/2011.

Well first of all, Spain and the Netherlands maintained their perfect form while Belgium, France, Italy, and Serbia were victorious in their respective matches. The Czech Republic were actually doing very well, leading 1-0 with 21 minutes left before David Villa equalized for Spain in the 69th and converted a penalty 3 minutes later to not only win Spain the three points but also edge past Raul Gonzalez's goal record for the nation. Luxembourg on the other hand were holding out against France until Philippe Mexès slotted home in the 28th. They allowed only that goal in the first half but couldn't stop Yoann Gourcuff either when he struck in the 72nd minute as France finished 2-0 winners. Italy v.s. Slovenia ran it the closest though, as the sides were 0-0 up until the 73rd minute when Italy finally broke through, taking the lead thanks to a great Thiago Motta strike. The two sides had about the same amount of chances, but Slovenia just couldn't compete with the competitive Italians. On the other side of the spectrum, Hungary really couldn't handle the Netherlands as they allowed 4 goals with no response in a dismal day at the Ferenc Puskás Stadium for the home side. Rafael van der Vaart opened the scoring in the 8th minute and Ibrahim Afellay struck just before the half to give the Dutch a 2-0 lead before the torrents continued in the second half. Dirk Kuyt and Robin van Persie were the culprits of the other two goals as the Hungarians only seemed able to collect yellow cards efficiently. Over in Austria, the home side were also left scratching their heads as the Belgians, or more specifically Axel Witsel as he struck twice in Belgium's 2-0 victory. Finally, Serbia were able to come back from a goal down to win 2-1 over Northern Ireland. More action tomorrow!

UEFA EURO 2012 for this weekend!

Looking at the matches today, Friday the 25th of March, Austria face off against Belgium especially more confident if striker Marc Janko gets over injury and is present. Either way, I think the Austrians will be victorious in a good game. Serbia will be fighting Northern Ireland, a harder match to call now that Danko Lazovic is out. Factoring that in, I could see Northern Ireland actually winning despite the fact that Serbia will be at home. Slovenia at home against Italy will be a challenging match for both sides as Italy will be missing a couple of players and Slovenia will be at home. Based on performance up to this point, I'd tip Italy to win but I could see a draw happening if Slovenia play it right. Luxembourg v.s. France should be interesting as well, with the French at the top of the table despite getting only 9 points from their first 4 matches. Regardless, this should be another 3 points for Le Bleu as they won the last game the two sides played in qualifying 2-0. Hungary's big match with undefeated-in-qualifying Holland should be really good despite the 6-1 victory the Netherlands had the last time the two sides met. Either way, both sides make up the top 2 of Group E so there is quite a bit on the line, especially as Sweden and Moldova are just three behind Hungary at the moment. Undefeated Spain's Group I meeting with the Czech Republic will be another good game largely due to the fact that Carles Puyol, Cesc Fàbregas and Pedro Rodríguez will be missing from Spain's line-up. Victory for the Czech Republic would mean the two teams are tied 9 points each on top of Group I. Meanwhile, on the 26th, Germany will be hosting win-less Kazakhstan to a match which the Germans should win hands down. Armenia will be looking for something when they face Group B leaders Russia as they are only two points off from them. Ireland's match with Macedonia will also be quite intense as Aiden McGeady looks on form and Ireland's performances up to this point have been better than Macedonia's own. Under-performers Bosnia and Herzegovina and Romania will be playing as well with my vote tipping against the Romanians who should be beaten by Bosnia and Herzegovina's at home performance. Albania v.s. Belarus is the last of the Group D matches and one which the away side should also win given their performances thus far. Georgia's fight with Croatia will be interesting as Georgia have the home field advantage while Croatia look more comfortable. Israel v.s. Latvia is a Group F match-up which may just end in a draw, but if I had to pick a winner, it'd be Israel as Latvia will be missing Aleksandrs Cauņa and the Israelis will have the crowd on their side. Malta v.s. Greece shouldn't hold many surprises with the Greeks my choice to be on top when the final whistle blows. In Wales' game with England, it may a meeting of the old-schools but that won't stop England's new guns from tearing the Welsh apart. Bulgaria's Group G clash with Switzerland will be harder to call. I could see the game ending in a draw but taking into account the Bulgarian's home field advantage, that might just seal the deal for them. When Cyprus welcome Iceland to Nicosia, I'd be inclined to favor Cyprus, but the U-21 talent Iceland may call up could be enough to even the odds between the two sides. Finally, on target Norway's big Group H match with Denmark should be a fantastic affair. The absence of the likes of keeper Jon Knudsen and and striker John Carew may be too much for the Norwegians to handle though.

Women's Champions League. 3/23/11.

The two big rivals of the women's game in Germany, FCR 2001 Duisburg and 1. FC Turbine Potsdam, face off in the semi-finals with Olympique Lyonnais v.s. Arsenal LFC the other tie. The two German sides met last year with the current Bundesliga Champions (1. FC Turbine Potsdam) winning on penalty kicks. Potsdam come into the match on a great high as they destroyed Juvisy Essonne 6-2 for an aggregate victory of 9-2! Duisburg didn't perform too badly either though, winning both of their legs against England's Everton 2-1 and 3-1 respectively. Lyon managed well against Zvezda-2005, only edging by them 1-0, but a win is a win. Finally, Arsenal defeated the last of the Swedish opposition in the competition as they tied both games against Linköpings FC 1-1 and 2-2 respectively. The history between Arsenal and Lyon goes back a bit: with the French beating Arsenal (the reigning Champions then,) in the Quarter-finals of the 2007/08 competition. All in all, this is set to be a fantastic match set-up and should be great to watch.