We enjoyed some good football when the first round of the UEFA 2016 qualifiers for the year was played. All the British teams managed to get points in their games. Scotland dominated Gibraltar at home, winning with 6-1. Northern Ireland beat Finland 2-1. Republic of Ireland managed to get a 1-1 tie against Poland who is in the lead in group D. Wales beat Israel away with 0-3 in Haifa while England continues to play convincing in the qualifiers, beating Lithuania 4-nothing at Wembley Stadium.
Odd scenes in group G
In group G Sweden won away against Moldova, 2-0. The first goal came a few seconds into the second half when Moldova’s goalkeeper kicked the ball at Paris SG superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic who just turned his forehead which made the ball bounce back in the goal. Ibrahimovic also scored the second goal, through a penalty. This means Sweden keep their second place in the group after Austria who beat Liechtenstein.
Russia is trailing behind at third place. Their away game against Montenegro had to be abandoned because of fans throwing stuff on the field. Russia’s goalkeeper had to be transported to the hospital after being hit by a firework. The game will probably be decided a 3-0 victory for Russia. While Western Europe seems to have got their hooligans under control, eastern Europe have not..
Other interesting results
Former Swedish coach Lars Lagerbäcks Iceland beat Kazakhstan away 0-3. They are now placed second in group A after Czech Republic. In the same group Turkey almost beat Netherlands away, but Sneijder made it an even game with his 1-1-goal at injury time. An interesting group where Iceland have one foot in the 2016 European Championships. It will be interesting to follow them on their journey to their first championship. 2014 World Cup winner Germany beat Georgia 0-2 away. Germany and Scotland are 1 point behind Poland in group D. All first and second placed teams from the qualifiers will be directly qualified to the 2016 Euro Championships in France, together with the best third place. The other third placed teams have to fight for the remaining spots through play off.
