A host of games last night saw Fantasy managers hold their breath with plenty Premier League stars in action. Aside from one or two reported knocks, it seems we’ve got off lightly ahead of the weekend. Here’s our comprehensive rundown on how the night panned out:
EURO 2012
Belgium’s 3-1 loss in Germany ended their chances of a place in next summer’s competition. As many as five Premier League players took to the field for the visitors- Simon Mignolet, Vincent Kompany, Marouane Fellaini, Moussa Dembele and Romelu Lukaku all come through unscathed, with Fellaini grabbing his country’s consolation. Per Mertersacker also featured, playing the whole ninety minutes for the hosts.
The Republic of Ireland sailed through to the play-offs after a 2-1 home win over Armenia. Richard Dunne grabbed the all-important goal for the hosts in a game that saw Kevin Doyle sent off. Giovanni Trappatoni started with eight Premier League players in his first XI, including the likes of Shay Given, Damien Duff and Simon Cox –chosen ahead of West Brom team mate Shane Long. The second half subs saw Stephen Hunt and Jonathan Walters appear as subs.
Roman Pavlyuchenko and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov were both on the scoresheet as Russia clinched their place as Group B winners with a comprehensive 6-0 demolition of Andorra. Andrei Arshavin also took part and pulled the strings, picking up a couple of assists as Dick Advocaat’s side qualified in style.
Chris Baird and Gareth McAuley were part of the Northern Ireland side that went down 3-0 in Italy. Nigel Worthington’s final game in charge brought little cheer and McAuley’s misery was compounded late on when a misunderstanding with goalkeeper Maik Taylor led to an own goal from the West Brom player.
Serbia’s match in Slovenia saw Nemanja Vidic make his first appearance since suffering a calf injury in the opening day of the season. The Man United skipper must wish he hadn’t, though- his decision to step up and take a penalty proved disastrous, with his second half miss helping maintain the hosts’ 1-0 lead and sending Serbia out of the competition. Aleksandar Kolarov, Branislav Ivanovic and Radosav Petrovic also started for the away side. Post-match, Vidic announced his retirement from international football.
France’s match with Bosnia finished all-square thanks to a couple of Man City players. The 1-1 draw in Paris gives Laurent Blanc’s side automatic qualification, with the away side now focussing on next month’s play-offs. Samir Nasri grabbed the all-important goal for France, with Yohan Cabaye and Patrice Evra both recovering from ankle and thigh injuries respectively to take their place in the French starting XI, alongside Florent Malouda as Younes Kaboul dropped to the bench. Edin Dzeko fired the visitors ahead and Asmir Begovic also came on in the second half, performing heroics between the posts to kept the hosts at bay.
Sweden’s thrilling 3-2 home win over Holland saw them clinch an automatic place as best runners-up across the groups. Seb Larsson scored a penalty and Martin Olsson also took part for the hosts, while the Dutch –despite already sealing their qualification as group winners last week- fielded a strong line-up. Michel Vorm, Rafael Van der Vaart, Robin Van Persie and Dirk Kuyt all started, with the latter grabbing a goal.
A victory for Greece in the other Group F game means Croatia will take part in the play-offs. Slaven Bilic’s side won 2-0 at home to Latvia last night, but it wasn’t enough to secure top spot. Vedran Corluka was withdrawn just after the half-hour mark- as of yet, there are no reports to indicate what the problem was. Luka Modric and Niko Krancjar also played, with the latter replaced midway through the second half for tactical reasons.
A goal from Gareth Bale helped Wales to a third place finish in Group G, with a 1-0 win in Bulgaria. Gary Speed fielded nine Premier League players in his starting XI, with Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen the recipients of high praise as their country finished the Euro campaign on a high, after starting the competition with four straight defeats. Stiliyan Petrov also took part, playing the full ninety minutes for the defeated home side.
Switzerland’s 2-0 home win over Montenegro proved scant consolation for the hosts; Montenegro’s draw against England last Friday had already ensured their play-off place. Johan Djourou was the only Premier League player involved in the fixture.
Denmark’s 2-1 home win over Portugal ensured their automatic qualification. Nicklas Bendtner maintained his recent good form, scoring the Danes’ second in a match that also saw Thomas Sorenson feature for the victors. Nani and Raul Meireles at least have the play-offs to fall back upon.
Norway’s 3-1 win over Cyprus wasn’t quite enough to see them through, with results elsewhere leaving them behind Portugal in third place. Morten Gamst Pederson and John Arne Riise both started for Egil Olsen’s side, with the Blackburn man firing the opener on twenty-four minutes. Pederson didn’t emerge for the second half, though while the above-linked match report suggests he was injured, Blackburn’s official site suggests it was a tactical reshuffle.
The Czech Republic cruised to a 4-1 win in Lithuania last night. Combined with Spain’s victory over Scotland, this ensured a play-off place is now on the cards for Petr Cech and co.
A masterclass from David Silva put paid to Scotland’s slim play-off hopes. The Man City man weaved his magic with two goals and an assist in Spain’s 3-1 win, before departing the proceedings on fifty-five minutes. Silva was the only Premier League player on show for the home side, with Juan Mata and Fernando Torres both dropping to the bench. Scotland started with eight Premier League players- Barry Bannan played with strapping on an Achilles problem and Darren Fletcher also recovered from an ankle knock, though it was sub David Goodwillie who grabbed the visitors’ goal from the penalty spot midway through the second half.
World Cup Qualifiers
In the race to qualify for Brazil 2014, Luis Suarez played the full ninety minutes in Uruguay’s 1-1 draw with Paraguay. Gonzalo Jara also lasted the full game for Chile in their 4-2 win over Peru. Pablo Zabaleta started in Argentina’s surprise 1-0 defeat in Venezuela but was subbed off just after an hour as the visitors searched in vain for an equaliser.
Ali Al-Habsi featured for Oman in the 3-0 defeat to Australia. South Korea defeated UAE 2-1, with Chu young-Park and Ji Dong-Won both featuring- the former grabbing a goal.
Friendlies
A handful of friendlies also took place over the last twenty-four hours. Poland’s 2-0 win over Belarus saw Lukasz Fabianski keep a clean sheet. John Obi-Mikel came on as a late second half sub in Nigeria’s 0-0 draw with Ghana. Antonio Valencia played sixty-three minutes in Ecuador’s 1-0 away win over the US. Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey managed the full ninety for the home side.
Javier Hernandez played the entire game in Mexico’s 2-1 home defeat to Brazil in the early hours of this morning, with Giovanni dos Santos getting eighty-two minutes. For the visitors, Lucas and David Luiz also featured, with the latter scoring an own goal.
