Germany all but secured qualification for Euro 2012 after beating Azerbaijan 3-1 on Tuesday, while Sweden and the Faroe Islands also won.
Goals from Real Madrid midfielder Mesut Oezil, Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez and Mainz forward Andre Schurrle sealed victory for Germany away at the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium.
Russian-born centre-forward Murad Huseynov struck a consolation for the hosts in the 88th minute.
The wins sees Joachim Loew s side move 10 points clear on top of Group A ahead of Belgium and Turkey.
In other matches, Sweden moved to within three points of Group E leaders the Netherlands after thrashing Finland 5-0.
AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic netted a hat-trick in the match at the Rasunda Stadium, with Lyon s Kim Kallstrom and …
Emil Forsberg has praised the New York Red Bulls confident attacking threat ahead of their game against Orlando City on Saturday.
The Red Bulls currently sit fourth in the Eastern Conference, only behind city rivals New York City FC due to having one less win than them this season.
They bounced back in style from their derby defeat to NYCFC in midweek, beating Charlotte FC 3-1 with an impressive second-half performance.
Forsberg was full of praise for the way his team play, particularly in the final third.
When we play with tempo, it s hard to get us, he said. And I think that s the most important thing to play with confidence.
When we are straightforward, that s key for us. When we win the ball, we put those hard passes forward and go with ever…
England striker Wayne Rooney will miss all of the Euro 2012 group stage after being slapped with a three-match ban by UEFA.
Rooney saw red for kicking out at Miodrag Dzudovic in England s final qualifying match against Montenegro last Friday, and has now suffered the consequences for the rash challenge.
The Football Association (FA) along are expected to launch an appeal against the decision on the striker s behalf after seeing their hopes of a reduced ban dashed by UEFA, despite Rooney himself writing to the organisation pleading for leniency.
A statement from UEFA said: The UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body has today handed down a three-match suspension to England forward Wayne Rooney following his dismissal during the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier in Montenegro …
Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitic is relishing a World Cup showdown with Barcelona team-mates Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano.
Messi and Argentina were placed alongside Croatia, Nigeria and tournament debutants Iceland in a tough-looking Group D at Friday s draw in Moscow.
Argentina were beaten finalists when Germany triumphed at Brazil 2014, but they needed heroics from Messi, who scored a hat-trick in their final qualifier against Ecuador, to get to the finals this time around.
Rakitic is part of a celebrated Croatia generation who are likely to have their final collective shot at a major tournament in Russia.
It s a tough group, it will be big fight, the 29-year-old told 24 sata.
I believe we have the quality to go through. I am glad to pla…
Andy Robertson admitted Scotland didn t turn up in the first half of their chastening 5-1 defeat to Euro 2024 hosts Germany on Friday.
Backed by a vocal travelling contingent in Munich, Scotland were chasing their first major tournament victory since the turn of the century but were torn apart by Julian Nagelsmann s side.
Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala and Kai Havertz netted as Scotland went into half-time three goals and a man down, having seen Ryan Porteous sent off for a wild challenge on Ilkay Gundogan.
Substitutes Niclas Fullkrug and Emre Can then scored in the second half either side of an Antonio Rudiger own goal, as Scotland conceded five goals in a game for the first time since a 5-1 friendly defeat to the United States in May 2012.
At the other en…
Graham Arnold praised Australia s mentality after the Socceroos made a winning start to their World Cup qualifying campaign.
Mathew Leckie scored twice to lead Australia to a 3-0 win away against Kuwait on the road to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Australia – who have qualified for the past four World Cups having reached the group stage in 2018 – opened the scoring in the seventh minute and did not look back thanks to Leckie and Aaron Mooy.
Also drawn in Group B alongside Jordan, Nepal and Chinese Taipei in the second round of AFC qualifying, Socceroos head coach Arnold was pleased with the result in tough conditions.
Our first Starting XI on the Journey to 2022.
— Caltex Socceroos (@Socceroos)
I thought the first half was excelle…
Paraguay coach Daniel Garnero knows a dismal Copa America campaign may end up costing him his job.
Garnero s team, who were already eliminated before kick-off, lost 2-1 to Costa Rica on Tuesday.
It means they finished bottom of Group D, having lost each of their three matches.
Paraguay had not lost all of their group games at the Copa America since 1925.
And Garnero knows it could spell the end of his tenure.
It was a bad tournament, a bad performance, he said.
I am here because the association requested my services and if they don t want me to continue, that is their decision. I ll have to discuss that with them.
Paraguay did at least score in all their group stage matches, a feat they have achieved two other times this century…
June 28, 2021 – it has been a remember where you were kind of day at the European Championship, with the round of 16 treating us to two absolute classics.
After seeing Spain emerge as winners over Croatia in an eight-goal match, many of us were probably settling down to watch France expecting a rather duller affair given their approach in the group stage.
What we got was the complete opposite, as Switzerland pulled off what will probably be the biggest shock of the tournament regardless of what happens from this point on.
With 14 goals between the two matches, only June 23, 2021 has seen more scored on a single day in Euros history but that came from a pool of four matches.
Furthermore, this was the first day at a European Championship or World Cup with…
March is already upon us, meaning the football season is getting towards the business end for many players – especially those in Europe.
With the World Cup edging ever closer, form is going to become more crucial as players hope to nail down a place in their respective national team squads.
Of course, there are still plenty of teams yet to confirm their participation in Qatar, so some cannot take qualification for granted.
But that won t stop certain individuals from dreaming about getting themselves into contention and ultimately playing a starring role on the big stage.
Back in November, Stats Perform began their one-year countdown to the biggest show in football by identifying 11 uncapped players who could potentially break into their respective nati…
Everton attacker Kevin Mirallas said it would be unfair if Adnan Januzaj was picked by Belgium for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Manchester United starlet Januzaj, 19, declared his allegiances to the European nation despite also being eligible for Kosovo, Albania and Serbia among others.
Mirallas, a 43-time Belgium international, is pleased the teenager chose his country, but said he should not be selected for Brazil 2014.
There was a lot of pressure on him to make his mind up, and it is good for Belgium that he has chosen us, because he is a good player, Mirallas said.
But I don t think he should go to Brazil. It would not be fair to leave out another good player for someone who does not know the others and has not played a lot for his club in recent months.
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