A Glicko Sports Blog

A Glicko Sports Blog

Sun 18 Nov 2007

Heartbreak in Hampden

The long haul is nearly over: this was the penultimate round of matches for Euro 2008 qualification. Germany, Czechia, Romania, and defending champions Greece had already booked their places in Austria-Switzerland next summer: who will join them?

International: EURO qualification grp. A
 Finland  -  Azerbaijan  2:1
  Poland  -  Belgium     2:0
  Serbia  -  Kazakhstan  P:P
Portugal  -  Armenia     1:0

PL 27 PT 26 FI 23 RS* 20 BE 15 AM 15 KZ* 7 AZ 5

Finland kept themselves in the race with a win over Azerbaijan. Poland clinched qualification with a victory over Belgium, and Portugal's win means that Finland must win in Lisbon on Wednesday to have a hope of qualifying. Serbia's match was postponed following torrential rain just before kick-off: they'll play it on Sunday afternoon.

POLAND has qualified.
Portugal NEEDS at least a draw against Finland.
Finland NEEDS to win in Portugal, and Serbia to drop a point in its remaining games.
Serbia NEEDS to beat Kazakhstan and Poland, and for Finland to beat Portugal.

International: EURO qualification grp. B
  Scotland  -  Italy    1:2
 Lithuania  -  Ukraine  2:0

IT 26 FR 25 SC+ 24 UA 16 LT 13 GA 10 FO 0

An unsatisfactory end to the qualification process, as a pisspoor refereeing decision allowed the Italians to score from a free-kick in second-half injury time. That said, Scotland shouldn't have lost to Georgia last month. In the other match, Lithuania pick up a useful win against an already-eliminated Ukraine.

ITALY and FRANCE have qualified.

International: EURO qualification grp. C
 Moldova  -  Hungary  3:0
  Norway  -  Turkey   1:2
  Greece  -  Malta    5:0

GR 28 TR 21 NO 20 BH 13 MV+ 12 HU 12 MT 5

All eyes were on Oslo, where a Norwegian win would have sent the home side through. Turkey kept her hopes alive, and must go into Wednesday's matches as the favourite.

GREECE has qualified.
Turkey NEEDS to beat Bosnia-Herzegovina, or hope for Norway to slip up.
Norway NEEDS to beat Malta, and hope Bosnia can get a draw against Turkey.

International: EURO qualification grp. D
  Wales  -  Ireland   2:2
Germany  -  Cyprus    4:0
Czechia  -  Slovakia  3:1

CZ 26 DE 26 IE+ 17 WA 14 CY 14 SK 13 SM 0

Not much happening in this group: a last-minute winner for Wales as exciting as it gets.

GERMANY and CZECHIA have qualified.

International: EURO qualification grp. E
  Andorra  -  Estonia  0:2
Macedonia  -  Croatia  2:0

HR 20 RU 20 EN 19 MK+ 10 EE+ 7 AD 0

Macedonia sets the cat amongst the pigeons, denying Croatia a secure passage. The effects of Israel's exclusion on the group can be seen: had the friendly matches counted for anything, Croatia and England would be able to guarantee passage with a draw. As it is, their match at Wembley Building Site on Wednesday is a winner-takes-all affair; with Russia playing Andorra, a draw will not suffice for England.

Croatia NEEDS a draw in England.
Russia NEEDS a draw in Andorra. Or for Croatia to beat England, but if they're relying on that, they don't deserve to go through.
England NEEDS to beat Croatia. Or secure a draw while Russia are beaten by Andorra, and if they're relying on that, we may as well send the Pyreneean side to the finals, where they would start as favourites against Austria.

International: EURO qualification grp. F
   Latvia  -  Liechtenstein  4:1
N.Ireland  -  Denmark        2:1
    Spain  -  Sweden         3:0

ES 25 SE 23 NI 20 DK 17 LV 12 IS 8 LI+ 7

At last, something approaching sanity. Northern Ireland's pitch survived a pitch inspection following another torrential rainstorm: their late winner ensures that they have something to play for in Madrid next Wednesday. The comprehensive Spanish win ensures that side cannot now be caught. Latvia's win ensures they'll finish fifth, a good result given their lowly position in the summer.

SPAIN has qualified.
Sweden NEEDS a draw against Latvia, or Northern Ireland to lose in Spain.
Northern Ireland NEEDS to win in Spain, and Sweden to lose to Latvia. Can the boys from Riga spring another November surprise, four years after knocking out Turkey?

International: EURO qualification grp. G
   Bulgaria  -  Romania     1:0
    Albania  -  Belarus     2:4
Netherlands  -  Luxembourg  1:0

RO 26 NL 26 BG 22 AB 11 SV 11 BL 10 LU+ 3

Bulgaria did what they needed to do to keep their faint hopes alive, and Luxembourg gave good value in their inevitable defeat.

ROMANIA and NETHERLANDS have qualified.

Ten sides remain in contention for the last five spots, matches to be played on Wednesday.

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