|
|
09/07/10 06:00:00
Printable Page
09/07 17:55 CDT WCup flop France finally wins in Euro qualifying
WCup flop France finally wins in Euro qualifying
By ROB HARRIS
AP Sports WriterFrance's recovery from a humiliating World Cup finally began
with a first win in European Championship qualifying on Tuesday night, while
Germany and the Netherlands earned their second straight victories.
The French had begun with a surprising loss in Group D to Belarus on Friday,
but Karim Benzema and Florent Malouda led them to a 2-0 victory at
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Italy and England also put miserable World Cup campaigns behind them by making
it two wins out of two on the path to Euro 2012.
Following Sunday tabloid stories alleging he cheated on his pregnant wife last
year with a prostitute, Wayne Rooney ended his yearlong goal drought for
England in a 3-1 victory over Switzerland.
Italy cruised to a 5-0 victory over the Faeroe Islands, Miroslav Klose's two
goals helped Germany beat Azerbaijan 6-1, and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored twice
for the Netherlands in a 2-1 victory over Finland.
Spain was beaten for the first time since winning the World Cup, allowing its
most goals in a decade it a 4-1 exhibition loss at Argentina.
Spain trailed 3-0 down by halftime after goals by Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain
and Carlos Tevez.
Sergio Aguero added Argentina's fourth in second-half injury time after
Fernando Llorente scored for Spain. Interim coach Sergio Batista won his second
game since replacing Diego Maradona.
Having lost its previous four games, France had little margin for error in
Bosnia. But it took until the 72nd minute for Benzema, who had recovered from a
sore ankle, to put the visitors ahead with a left-footed shot after turning a
defender.
Malouda doubled the lead six minutes later to give Laurent Blanc his first win
since taking over from coach Raymond Domenech after the first-round exit in
South Africa.
"This match summarized all the good things I saw during our preparations but
that we failed to put in place against Belarus," Blanc said. "It could be the
start of something good."
France is third in Group D behind Albania and Belarus, which both have four
points. Hamdi Salihi's goal led Albania to a 1-0 win over Luxembourg, while
Belarus was held 0-0 by Romania.
Italy looked a shadow of the side that struggled to beat Estonia 2-1 on Friday.
At his home ground, Fiorentina's Alberto Gilardino headed Italy ahead after 11
minutes against the Faeroe Islands after 11 minutes.
Daniele De Rossi and Antonio Cassano added further goals before halftime, while
substitute Fabio Quagliarella scored from close range in the 81st and Pirlo
completed the rout in the 90th.
Italy has a two-point lead in Group C over Serbia, which was held to a 1-1 draw
by Slovenia.
New Jersey-born Giuseppi Rossi at forward started for Italy, while Neven
Subotic, a defender from Salt Lake City, started for Serbia in a 1-1 tie
against Slovenia.
Former Real Salt Lake forward Yura Movsisyan scored his first international
goal, helping Armenia gain a 2-2 tie at Macedonia. A 23-year-old who holds a
U.S green card, Movsisyan potentially was eligible to play for the U.S.
national team but made his debut for Armenia last month.
Playing his third international match, he opened the scoring after cutting
through Macedonia's defense in the 40th minute.
Mario Gjurovski tied the score a minute later. Edgar Manucharyan put Armenia
ahead in second-half stoppage time, but Ilco Naumovski retied it moments later.
The buildup to England's match had been overshadowed by tabloid allegations
against Rooney.
But the Manchester United forward shrugged off his personal crisis to score his
first England goal since last September, slotting home in the 10th minute after
meeting Glen Johnson's cross unmarked.
Adam Johnson added another in the 69th, four minutes after Swiss right back
Stephan Lichtsteiner was ejected for fouling James Milner.
Xherdan Shaqiri scored for Switzerland, but Darren Bent sealed England's win
with his first international goal.
England tops Group G on goal difference ahead of Montenegro, which beat
Bulgaria 1-0 thanks to Elsad Zverotic's long-range shot.
Unlike their European rivals, the Portuguese are still not over their World Cup
woes. With coach Carlos Queiroz suspended for six months for insulting
anti-doping officials, the team lost 1-0 to Norway, having only managed a 4-4
draw with Cyprus last week.
Norway tops Group H, while Denmark moved up to second by beating Iceland 1-0 in
its first qualifier on Thomas Kahlenberg's injury-time goal.
Germany's 6-1 victory over Azerbaijan keeps it ahead of Turkey in Group A on
goal difference. Turkey beat Belgium 3-2 after defender Vincent Kompany was
ejected.
Olof Mellberg's 34th-minute sending off made no difference to Sweden, which was
already leading 3-0 and went on to rout San Marino 6-0 for the Group E lead.
Ireland moved into the Group B by beating Andorra 3-1. Slovakia behind Ireland
on goal difference after stunning Russia 1-0 to earn its second straight
qualifying win.
In Group I, Stephen McManus headed in a dramatic winner seven minutes into
second-half stoppage time as Scotland came from behind to beat Liechtenstein
2-1. Scotland has four points and is even with Lithuania, which won 1-0 in the
Czech Republic.
|
