NAN Archive

Loading

NAN Archive

Tag Euro 2020 qualifiers

Sport

England secure Euro 2020 seeding slot with 4-0 win in Kosovo

Slot

Pristina, Nov. 17, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Harry Kane scored his 12th goal of the campaign as England secured a place among top six seeds for next year’s European Championship with a flattering 4-0 win in Kosovo in their final qualifier on Sunday.

England were in second gear for much of the match after Harry Winks had put them ahead in the 32nd minute.

However, goals by Kane, Marcus Rashford and Mason Mount in the latter stages secured yet another big win and took their goal tally to 37 from their eight qualifiers.

England, already assured of a place at the finals, finished top of Group A with 21 points, their only blip being last month’s 2-1 defeat in the Czech Republic, who have qualified as runners-up.

In their first Euros campaign since being recognised as an independent nation, Kosovo finished third on 11 points.

Their chances of automatic qualification disappeared after a 2-1 defeat by the Czechs on Thursday but they could advance via the playoffs.

England took a while to impose themselves on the game but eventually broke through thanks to Winks.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain slid a pass into the path of Winks who was given all the time and space he needed to slot it into the bottom corner for his first international goal.

Two months ago England led the corresponding home fixture 5-1 at halftime.

But this time, their somewhat sloppy display, short on intensity and with several squad players not grasping their opportunity having being given a start by Gareth Southgate, left them way short of those levels.

Kosovo, who exposed England’s defence a few times in their 5-3 loss in September, were less threatening but Amir Rrahmani headed wide early in the second half.

Kane, who got a hat-trick in Thursday’s 7-0 thrashing of Montenegro, hit a post after an hour but was on target in the 79th minute with a sharp shot after Kosovo failed to clear a Raheem Sterling cross.

His 12th goal made him the leading scorer across the competition and the first England player to score in every match of a qualifying campaign.

Sterling, back in the side after his one-match ban for attacking team mate Joe Gomez, was the provider again three minutes later for Rashford, who scored with a neat first time shot.

Substitute Mount then claimed his first England goal in stoppage time, cashing in on another defensive error and a neat pass from Kane.

“It’s a dream come true to score for my country,” said Winks, who enjoyed playing in a more attacking midfield role.

“To score and also with the way we were playing as well, it’s a great moment for me.

“I like to consider myself as someone who can play in pivot or as a number eight as well.

“I like both, it’s difficult to say what I prefer so as long as I play for England that’s all that matters.” (Reuters/NAN)

KIA/JPE/ABI

Edited by Joseph Edeh

================

Sport

Ronaldo moves onto 99 as Portugal qualify for Euro 2020

Ronaldo

Luxembourg, Nov. 17, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 99th international goal as the defending champions edged past Luxembourg 2-0 in difficult conditions away from home on Sunday to qualify for Euro 2020.

Bruno Fernandes broke the deadlock in the 39th minute and Ronaldo wrapped it up with four minutes left to ensure that Portugal finished second in Group B with 17 points, three ahead of Serbia who drew 2-2 with Ukraine.

Diogo Jota’s shot appeared to be going in any way but Ronaldo prodded it over to claim the goal.

He is one short of joining Iran’s Ali Daei, the only player to have scored a century of goals for a national team.

“I would have been very proud to have scored my first goal for the national team, but the important thing is we won.

“It doesn’t matter who scores — we are in the Euros and that is what we wanted,” Jota said.

Portugal survived several early scares as they struggled to impose their game on a rain-soaked pitch full of divots at the Josy Barthel stadium.

Ronaldo, in particular, was not enjoying the conditions and gestured angrily at the pitch after sending a speculative wide in the first half.

Needing a win to qualify without having to worry about Serbia’s result, Portugal were in trouble early on as Luxembourg saw a chance to spring an upset.

Maurice Deville got above his marker and headed over from Laurent Jans’ cross and Vincent Thill, a thorn in Portugal’s side, had a goalbound shot blocked by Ruben Dias.

Luxembourg were even closer when a corner found Gerons Rodrigues unmarked but he headed over.

Portugal began to adapt to the conditions and their more direct approach was rewarded with a goal.

Bernardo Silva floated a pass over the Luxembourg defence from deep inside his own half and into the path of Fernandes who took it superbly in his stride and fired a low shot between Anthony Moris and the near post.

The second half was more comfortable for Portugal as they dominated possession although there still anxious moments.

Ronaldo nearly sealed it when he curled a free kick narrowly wide from the edge of the area.

With four minutes left, Silva’s cross found Jota and Moris got a hand to it but could not stop it crossing the line and Ronaldo poked it home for good measure.

“We won’t be favourites but we are going there to win,” said Portugal coach Fernando Santos, whose side also won the inaugural Nations League this year.

“We are not the prettiest team but we have won two European tournaments in the last four years.” (Reuters/NAN)

KIA/JPE/ABI

Edited by Joseph Edeh

=================

Sport

Euro 2020 qualifiers: Hazard brothers shine as Belgium thump Russia 4-1

Hazard

St Petersburg (Russia), Nov. 16, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Belgium secured top spot in Euro 2020 qualifying Group I and stretched their perfect record to nine wins after a sparkling 4-1 win in Russia on Saturday.

Two goals from Eden Hazard and one by his brother Thorgan inspired them to victory against home side Russia.

With one round of games remaining, Belgium have a maximum 27 points and second-placed Russia 21, both sides having booked their places at next year’s 24-nation tournament.

Although there was only pride to play for, the game got off to a pacy start and Thorgan Hazard fired the visitors ahead with a superb 19th-minute goal.

Eden Hazard made it 2-0 in the 33rd with another fine effort, volleying a low drive past Russia’s Brazilian-born goalkeeper Guilherme after striker Romelu Lukaku headed a lofted pass into his captain’s stride.

The livewire forward doubled his tally shortly before halftime from a brilliant move, with midfielder Kevin De Bruyne squaring the ball unselfishly for Hazard to stroke into an empty net from 12 metres.

Only poor finishing by Lukaku and two good saves by Guilherme denied the Belgians a bigger lead in the opening hour as Russia failed to create anything in front of a partisan home crowd.

Ruthless Belgium struck again in the 72nd minute as Lukaku made amends for his early miss, rifling a scorcher inside the near post from 16 metres with Guilherme clutching nothing but thin air.

Georgi Dzhikiya finally gave the subdued home fans something to cheer about when he swept home a close-range rebound in the 79th.

It was however scant consolation for a crushing defeat by last year’s World Cup semi-finalists. (Reuters/NAN)

KIA/JPE/SH

===========

Edited by Joseph Edeh/Sadiya Hamza

Sport

Ginter the inspiration as Germany clinch Euro 2020 spot

Goal

Moenchengladbach (Germany), Nov. 16, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Defender Matthias Ginter scored one goal and was involved in two more as Germany comfortably saw off Belarus 4-0 on Saturday.

The victory ensured that Germany clinched their place at Euro 2020, qualifying for the finals for a record 13th time in a row.

The inspired Ginter broke the deadlock in the 41st minute with a clever backheel, provided a dummy which allowed Leon Goreztka to score the second and the pass for Toni Kroos to add the third.

Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer saved a penalty from Igor Stasevich in the 75th minute.

And Kroos added a fourth goal to complete his first national team brace since the 7-1 World Cup semi-final win over Brazil in 2014.

Group C leaders Germany were given a helping hand by arch-rivals the Netherlands who held Northern Ireland 0-0 away to ensure the Dutch and Germans qualified with one match to spare.

Germany have 18 points —- from six draws and one defeat — while the Dutch have 16 and Northern Ireland 14.

Belarus have four points but could still qualify as they have reached the playoffs of the Nations League which offers four more places.

As expected, Germany quickly took control although their early attacks were somewhat predictable.

They were given a fright when Stasevich’s dipping long-range shot forced Neuer into a difficult save and they went ahead shortly afterwards.

Serge Gnabry wriggled past his marker and fired a low ball across the face of goal which was flicked in by Ginter for his first Germany goal on his 29th appearance.

Germany increased their lead four minutes after halftime when Kroos sent a low corner to the edge of the area, Ginter dummied and Goretzka fired home.

Six minutes later, Ginter’s pass found Kroos on the edge of the area and he swept the ball home with a trademark first-time shot.

Belarus were awarded a penalty when Robin Koch tripped Pavel Nekhaychik but Neuer dived to his right to save Stasevich’s spot-kick.

Kroos rubbed it in when he collected the ball in the area, spun past his mark, evaded another and fired a low shot past Aleksandr Gutor to complete the rout. (Reuters/NAN)

KIA/SH

======

edited by Sadiya Hamza

Sport

Turkey qualify for Euro 2020 with draw against Iceland, France also secure spot

Qualification

Istanbul, Nov. 14, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Turkey qualified for the Euro 2020 finals with a goalless draw in a Group H against Iceland on Thursday, with the result also ensuring France a place in the championships.

They join Belgium, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain and Ukraine as the teams who have already qualified for the tournament that will be staged across 12 European countries from 12 June to 12 July 2020.

Turkey lead Group H with 20 points although France can overtake them at the top if they beat Moldova later on Thursday.

Third-placed Iceland are out of the running as they have 16 points with one qualifier remaining.

Both teams struggled to make an impact with Turkey striker Burak Yilmaz failing to find a way past Iceland keeper Hannes Halldorsson.

The hosts pressed harder in the second half but Iceland’s defence kept them from scoring.

Midfielder Ozan Tufan came close to scoring in the 63rd minute but his effort brushed past the crossbar.

Iceland also missed a chance to score in the closing stages when Hordur Magnusson’s header was blocked by Turkey defender Merih Demiral on the line.

Before kickoff, Turkish fans whistled as Iceland’s national anthem was played. (Reuters/NAN)

KIA/AFA

=======

Edited by Felix Ajide

 

Sport

Italy maintain perfect record with easy win in Liechtenstein

Perfect

Vaduz, Oct. 15, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Italy maintained their perfect record in Group J and clocked up their ninth international win in a row with a 5-0 thumping of Liechtenstein on Tuesday.

Nothing but a perfect record was at stake for the Italians on Tuesday, as they had already qualified for Euro 2020.

Federico Bernardeschi set Italy on the way in the second minute before Andrea Belotti added a brace.

Alessio Romagnoli and Stephan El Shaarawy added further goals in the final 20 minutes as Roberto Mancini’s team made it eight wins out of eight in the group.

Elsewhere in the group, Teemu Pukki scored twice as Finland beat Armenia 3-0 to strengthen their grip on second place and move closer to a first-ever appearance at either the Euro or World Cup finals.

Fredrik Jensen opened the scoring in the 31st minute.

Finland, who have 15 points from eight games, moved five clear of both Armenia and Bosnia & Herzegovina, who lost 2-1 in Greece, with two games each to play. (Reuters/NAN)

KIA/JPE/MZA

Edited by Joseph Edeh/Maharazu Ahmed

===============

Sport

Spain draw 1-1 with Sweden to qualify for Euro 2020

Qualification

Stockholm, Oct. 15, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) A stoppage-time strike by substitute Rodrigo cancelled out Marcus Berg’s opener for Sweden and gave Spain the draw they needed to qualify for Euro 2020 in a Group F game that finished 1-1 on Tuesday.

Spain dominated the opening 20 minutes and looked set to easily book their berth in next year’s finals but Sweden goalkeeper Robin Olsen pulled off a string of superb saves as his side grew into the game.

Striker Berg put Sweden in front early in the second half after his initial header was saved, as was Emil Forsberg’s shot, but Berg nodded home from close range at the second attempt to give his side the lead.

Spain goalkeeper David De Gea left the fray injured on the hour mark and, despite plenty of possession, the Spaniards had to wait until stoppage time to get an equalizer.

Rodrigo finally found a way past Olsen, firing home to send his group-leading side to the finals. (Reuters/NAN)

KIA/MZA

Edited by Maharazu Ahmed

Sport

Euro 2020 qualifiers: England thrash Bulgaria after game was temporarily halted over racist abuse

Qualifiers
Sofia, Oct. 14, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) England bounced back from their first tournament qualifying defeat for 10 years with a 6-0 thrashing of toothless Bulgaria on Monday in Sofia in a Euro 2020 Group A clash.

The game was, however, marred by racist incidents in the first half.

The match at the Vasil Levski stadium was temporarily halted by the referee in the first half under a three-step UEFA protocol to tackle racist abuse from the crowd.

Racist chanting was heard from the stands and reported by England players to manager Gareth Southgate, with the referee informed and a public announcement made on two occasions.

On the pitch, England midfielder Ross Barkley netted twice after Marcus Rashford had opened the scoring in the seventh minute.

Southgate’s side highlighted the gap in quality with the hosts before Raheem Sterling struck just before half-time.

England’s comfortable victory was rounded off by Sterling’s second goal midway through the second half.

And a cool finish from captain Harry Kane five minutes from the end inflicted on Bulgaria their heaviest-ever home defeat.

England, who moved closer to a place at Euro 2020, are top with 15 points from six games.

They are three ahead of the Czech Republic and four in front of Kosovo who beat Montenegro 2-0.(Reuters/NAN)
KIA/DOE/OLAL
==============

(Edited by Dianabasi Effiong and Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Coman double helps France beat Albania to stay top of Group H

Double
Paris, Sept. 8, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) France stayed in command of their Euro 2020 qualifying group on Saturday with a 4-1 home win against Albania.

Kingsley Coman’s double and goals from Olivier Giroud and debutant Jonathan Ikone earned them the victory.

The world champions, who conceded a late penalty kick converted by Sokol Cikalleshi, have 12 points from five games in Group H.

They lead second-placed Turkey on goal difference after they beat Andorra 1-0 with a last-gasp Ozan Tufan goal.

Iceland are third, also on 12 points, after claiming a routine 3-0 victory against Moldova.

France next face Andorra at the Stade de France on Tuesday when Albania take on Iceland and Turkey travel to Moldova.(Reuters/NAN)
KIA/OLAL
==========

(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Portugal rekindle Euro 2020 hopes with 4-2 win in Serbia

Qualifiers
Belgrade, Sept. 8, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Portugal got their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign back on track with goals from William Carvalho, Goncalo Guedes, Cristian Ronaldo and Bernardo Silva in a pulsating 4-2 victory in Belgrade on Saturday.

The victory over Serbia lifted the European champions to second place in Group B on five points from three games, eight behind runaway leaders Ukraine.

Ukraine have 13 points from five matches after their 3-0 win in Lithuania earlier on Saturday.

Third-placed Luxembourg and Serbia in fourth both have four points from as many games while Lithuania are bottom with one point from four matches.

Portugal dominated the opening half and Carvalho fired them ahead in the 42nd minute when he poked the ball into an empty net from three metres.

Serbia goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic had spilled a Bruno Fernandes cross from the right.

Cristiano Ronaldo looked subdued in the opening half.

He was given a hostile reception at Red Star stadium as Serbian fans jeered him every time he touched the ball, but he twice came close early in the second half.

He fired inches wide from the edge of the penalty area after cutting in from the left and then curled a free-kick narrowly off target.

Forward Guedes then doubled Portugal’s lead with a fine individual effort.

He capped a flowing move as he sidestepped a defender and rifled in an unstoppable shot past Dmitrovic into the far corner from 12 metres to silence the raucous home crowd.

Centre-back Nikola Milenkovic pulled one back for Serbia in the 68th minute, heading a Dusan Tadic corner past goalkeeper Rui Patricio.

Taunted by chants of “Messi” from Serbia’s die-hard fans, Ronaldo demonstrated his class in the 80th minute.

He took a Bernardo Silva pass in his stride and coolly dinked the ball over the advancing Dmitrovic.

Serbia refused to roll over as Aleksandar Mitrovic drove a shot from inside the penalty area into the roof of the net after a defensive blunder in the 85th minute.

But Silva sealed the contest with a clinical finish barely 60 seconds later. (Reuters/NAN)
KIA/OLAL
=========

(Edited by Olawale Alabi)