In Group A, Germany maintained their perfect record in the qualifiers. They beat Austria 6-2 at Gelsenkirchen to stay at top of Group A. Midfielder Mesut Ozil scored a brilliant hat trick, with Mario Gotze, Lukas Podolski and Andre Schurrle were also on the scoresheet. Marko Arnautovic and Martin Harnik scored the two consolation goals for Austria. Turkey beat Kazakhstan 2-1 in a dramatic fashion. Atletico Madrid midfielder Arda Turan scored from a free kick on 95th minute to give the Hosts full three points and also the second spot in the group. On the other hand Belgium were held to a 1-1 draw against Azerbaijan at Baku. Germany have 24 points from their 8 matches and they look clear favorites to qualify from the group. It will be a tough fight between second place turkey who have 13 points and third placed Belgium who have 12.
Euro 2012 Qualifying Results
In Group B, Ireland were held to a goalless draw against Slovakia at home. Whereas Russia got a narrow 1-0 win against Macedonia. Igor Semshov scored the winner for Russia. Who now lead the group with 16 points closely followed by Slovakia who have 14 points. In another Group B match Armenia beat Andorra 3-0. This helps them to stay in the mix with 11 points.
In Group C, Italy secured a win against minnows Faroe Island. Despite putting a very sluggish performance the solitary goal from Antonio Cassano was enough to seal victory for the Italians. They now top the group with 19 points and are almost sure of qualification. In other matches Serbia beat North Ireland 1-0 through a Marko Pantelic goal and Estonia also beat Slovenia 2-1.
In Group D, France beat Albania 2-1. Goals from Karim Benzema and Yann M’Vila helped the French side clinch victory. They are now tied with Bosina at the top but have played one game less. Bosnia also won their match against Belarus 2-0. Whereas Romania also grabbed a 2-0 victory thanks to Gabriel Torje who scored both the goals.
In Group E, The Netherlands ranked 1 team in the world showed their class by beating San Marino11-0.
Robin Van Persie scored 4 goals, Wesley Sneijder and Klaas Jan Huntelaar both scored two goals each. Hungary also secured a 2-1 win against Sweden which makes them level on 15 points with Sweden but they have played a game more. Other group member Finland also beat Moldova 4-1.
In Group F, Greece secured an important win over Israel. Winger Sotiris Ninis scored the all important goal to give the Greeks 1-0 win. Croatia won 3-0 against Malta and Latvia beat Georgia 1-0. Greece top the group with 17 points, closely followed by Croatia who have 16 points.
In Group G, England beat Bulgaria 3-0. Goals from striker Wayne Rooney who scored a brace and defender Gary Cahill helped England to secure a comfortable victory at Sofia. In other matches Wales beat Montenegro 2-1 at Cardiff. Captain Aaron Ramsey and Steve Morison helped Wales to secure a precious win. England lead Group F, they have 14 points whereas Montenegro lies second with 11 points.
In Group H, group leaders Portugal were able to win 4-0 against minnows Cyprus. Cristiano Ronaldo’s brace helped Portugal winning the tie. Whereas Norway grabbed a 1-0 win against Iceland with the help of a very late penalty converted by Mohammed Abdellaoue. Portugal and Norway stay tied at the top whereas Denmark lies in second place with 10 points.
In Group I, only one match took place between Lithuania and Lichtenstein, which ended in a goalless draw. Spain lead the group with 15 points, they also have a 100% win record.
Tags: England, EURO 2012, Football, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal
