England 2-0 Wales
Surprisingly, this was a bit easier than I expected for England. I didn't see all of the match, but we did seem to be in control for many periods of the match and could have easily made the score 4-0 or 5-0 if it wasn't for the post or the fantastic performance from Dave Jones. I'd credit the first England goal to Owen, as it appeared Jones might have saved Lampard's shot. Great to see Beckham back to form for England - especially with his cracking goal late in the second-half! Rooney hit the post and had several runs with ended with a blocked shot. Jones saved from Beckham and Owen from close range .. so all in all it was a great attacking display from England.
Craig Bellamy easily messed up Wales' best chance, which I guess summed up their afternoon. Wales could still qualify from the group, but they'll need to beat Poland on Wednesday.
Scotland sucked again. Their disallowed goal looked like it could have been in, but I couldn't tell properly from the angle I saw.
Ireland were fantastic in Paris! They deserved more than a point. Henry got his chance to steal the points for France as usual, but his first touch was very Un-Henry like. I guess he isn't so fantastic in a French shirt.. or maybe it has to do with the colour of the shirt. Hmmm, maybe Arsenal should start playing in blue.
Northern Ireland look like they won't be qualifying again. 0-0 in Azerbaijan isn't a good result if you expect to get out of Group 6.
Portugal .. Holland .. Italy .. what went wrong!? I can understand Italy's result a little. Slovenia are no pushovers and if Italy didn't give them enough respect.. Holland really should be beating Macedonia though - they aren't one of the smaller nations that are becoming significantly better, like Slovakia, Latvia and Slovenia. Portugal .. now that is truely embarrassing. IMO, if you can't beat Liechtenstein, then who can you beat!?
(I just realised the obvious reply everyone could do with that comment!
I'll leave it in 'cause it's really funny!)
Group Tables Group 1
1. Finland. 9. (4)
2. Romania. 9. (4)
3. Holland. 4. (2)
4. Macedonia. 4. (3)
5. Czech Republic. 3. (2)
6. Andorra. 0. (2)
7. Armenia. 0. (3)
Finland may look to be in a good position, but they haven't played Holland or the Czech's yet. This group could prove to be very close once a few more matches are played and all the teams are on equal terms.
Group 2
1. Turkey. 5. (3)
2. Ukraine. 5. (3)
3. Georgia. 4. (2)
4. Denmark. 4. (2)
5. Albania. 3. (3)
6. Greece. 2. (3)
7. Kazakhstan. 0. (2)
I would not like to be in this group AT ALL! Georgia and Albania are capable of causing a shock and both already have done. Turkey, Ukraine, Denmark and Greece are all good teams. Two will be disappointed come next October .. it's even possible three will not finish in the top 2. I'd be willing to bet that this group will be close too.
Group 3
1. Slovakia. 10. (4)
2. Portugal. 7. (3)
3. Estonia. 6. (3)
4. Russia. 4. (2)
5. Latvia. 3. (3)
6. Liechtenstein. 1. (3)
7. Luxembourg. 0. (4)
To be put in a group with Luxemborug and Liechtenstein is truely a stroke of good luck .. to then draw with one of them is laughable for a team that reached the Final of Euro 2004. If neither Portugal or Russia finished inside the top 2, then it would again be a joke. Both are capable of beating every team in the group with no problems, with the exception of Slovakia.
Group 4
1. Switzerland. 5. (3)
2. Ireland. 5. (3)
3. France. 5. (3)
4. Israel. 5. (3)
5. Cyprus. 1. (3)
6. Faroe Islands. 1. (3)
Having gone to both France and Switzerland and come away with a point, I'd put Ireland as the team in the strongest position in Group 4. A win at home to the Faroes and a win away to Israel next Spring would certainly help to make that position look stronger. France have drawn two home games 0-0 and only just managed to beat the Faroes 2-0.. may the Swiss make their worries deeper next Spring!
Group 5
1. Slovenia. 7. (3)
2. Italy. 6. (3)
3. Belarus. 4. (2)
4. Norway. 4. (3)
5. Scotland. 1. (2)
6. Moldova. 0. (3)
Two home matches played - 1 point. Scotland need to win their next two games, or that's it realistically. Even with their underestimation of Slovenia, I can't see Italy not finishing inside the top 2. Norway and Slovenia are both strong teams. Scotland would do very well to finish above both.
Group 6
1. England. 7 (3)
2. Poland. 6. (3)
3. Austria. 4. (3)
4. Wales. 2. (3)
5. Azerbaijan. 2. (3)
6. Northern Ireland. (3)
For once, we're not chasing the first placed country. With arguably the two toughest away matches played for England, I'm feeling fairly confident that we can continue our good form and stay on top until the Group is completed. Atm I'd say Poland, Austria and Wales will scrap it out for 2nd.
Group 7
1. Lithuania. 4. (2)
2. Serbia & M. 4. (2)
3. Spain. 4. (2)
4. Bosnia. 2. (2)
5. Belgium. 1. (2)
6. San Marino. 0. (2)
San Marino will be thrashed, the rest could be fairly close for the top 2 places. I don't think this'll be a walk in the park for Spain - highlighted by their 1-1 draw in Bosnia. They travel to Lithuania on Wednesday, which is when we see just how serious Lithuania are about qualifying from this group. Belgium must beat Serbia next month..
Group 8
1. Croatia. 7. (3)
2. Sweden. 6. (3)
3. Bulgaria. 4. (2)
4. Hungary. 3. (3)
5. Iceland. 1. (3)
6. Malta. 1. (2)
I see this group divided into 2. Iceland and Malta battling amongst themselves for 5th place, with the rest battling for the Top 2. As Bulgaria have a game in hand against Malta, which could put them level with Croatia and a point ahead of Sweden; I'd say Hungary have the most work to do.