Italy and Spain eye qualification
Italy and reigning European champions Spain can join Germany in qualifying for the Euro 2012 finals by winning on home soil on a busy day of international action today. Germany – beaten finalists in Vienna in 2008 – made sure of their place at next...
Italy and reigning European champions Spain can join Germany in qualifying for the Euro 2012 finals by winning on home soil on a busy day of international action today.
Germany – beaten finalists in Vienna in 2008 – made sure of their place at next summer’s tournament by hammering Austria 6-2 on Friday to make it eight wins out of eight in qualifying Group A.
Joachim Loew’s side can relax as they travel to Poland for a friendly today, but the chance is there for two other major nations to clinch qualification.
Fresh from overturning a two-goal deficit to beat Chile 3-2 in a friendly in Switzerland, Spain need only beat the minnows of Liechtenstein in Logrono to make sure of first place in Group I.
The fighting spirit shown by Vicente del Bosque’s side helped calm fears of a rift in the camp between rival Real Madrid and Barcelona factions, and Cesc Fabregas insisted that the squad are united in their goal to retain their European crown.
“Here we are all team-mates and we all want to do our best for the national team,” said the Barcelona midfielder.
“Nobody will ever change that. It’s time to put this subject to bed once and for all. We have to be more together than ever if we want to repeat what we did at Euro 2008 and at the World Cup.”
Italy made heavy weather of beating the unfancied Faroe Islands on Friday, but Antonio Cassano scored the only goal of the game and now Cesare Prandelli’s side can guarantee first place in Group C by beating Slovenia in Florence.
“I won’t change too much against Slovenia,” said Prandelli.
“We will be up against a side that have to win to keep their hopes alive and that should work in our favour. We should have more space to play in and attack them as a result.”
Fresh from recording a record 11-0 win over San Marino, the Netherlands could also seal qualification. They travel to Finland looking to maintain their perfect record in Group E, but Bert van Marwijk’s men will only officially be through to the finals with two games to spare if they win and Sweden slip up in San Marino.
England will all but seal qualification from Group G with a win at home to neighbours Wales while Scotland must beat Lithuania at Hampden to keep their hopes of taking second spot in Group I alive.
Group D leaders France travel to Romania looking to stretch an unbeaten run of 12 games.
Group A
Playing today
Austria vs Turkey
Azerbaijan vs Kazakhstan
October 7
Azerbaijan vs Austria
Turkey vs Germany
Belgium vs Kazakhstan
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Germany | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 5 | 24 |
| Turkey | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 13 |
| Belgium | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 11 | 12 |
| Austria | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 7 |
| Azerbaijan | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 19 | 4 |
| Kazakhstan | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 17 | 3 |
Group B
Playing today
Slovakia vs Armenia
Macedonia vs Andorra
Russia vs Ireland
October 7
Armenia vs Macedonia
Slovakia vs Russia
Andorra vs Ireland
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Russia | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 16 |
| Ireland | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 14 |
| Slovakia | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 14 |
| Armenia | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 7 | 11 |
| Macedonia | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 4 |
| Andorra | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 16 | 0 |
Group C
Playing today
Italy vs Slovenia
Serbia vs Faroe Islands
Estonia vs N. Ireland
October 7
Serbia vs Italy
N. Ireland vs Estonia
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Italy | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 19 |
| Slovenia | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 11 |
| Serbia | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 11 |
| Estonia | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 10 |
| N. Ireland | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 9 |
| Faroe Islands | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 23 | 4 |
Group D
Playing today
Romania vs France
Bosnia vs Belarus
Luxembourg vs Albania
October 7
Romania vs Belarus
Bosnia vs Luxembourg
France vs Albania
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| France | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 3 | 16 |
| Bosnia | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 13 |
| Belarus | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 12 |
| Romania | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 11 |
| Albania | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 8 |
| Luxembourg | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 15 | 1 |
Group E
Playing today
Finland vs Netherlands
Moldova vs Hungary
San Marino vs Sweden
October 7
Finland vs Sweden
Netherlands vs Moldova
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Netherlands | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 5 | 21 |
| Sweden | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 8 | 15 |
| Hungary | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 14 | 15 |
| Finland | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 12 | 9 |
| Moldova | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 6 |
| San Marino | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 44 | 0 |
Group F
Playing today
Croatia vs Israel
Latvia vs Greece
Malta vs Georgia
October 7
Latvia s Malta
Greece vs Croatia
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Greece | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 17 |
| Croatia | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 4 | 16 |
| Israel | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 13 |
| Georgia | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 9 |
| Latvia | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 7 |
| Malta | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 16 | 0 |
Group G
Playing today
England vs Wales
Switzerland vs Bulgaria
October 7
Wales vs Switzerland
Montenegro vs England
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| England | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 14 |
| Montenegro | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 11 |
| Switzerland | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 5 |
| Bulgaria | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 5 |
| Wales | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 3 |
Group H
Playing today
Iceland vs Cyprus
Denmark vs Norway
October 7
Cyprus vs Denmark
Portugal vs Iceland
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Portugal | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 7 | 13 |
| Norway | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 13 |
| Denmark | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 10 |
| Cyprus | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 2 |
| Iceland | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 1 |
Group I
Playing today
Spain vs Liechtenstein
Scotland vs Lithuania
October 7
Czech Rep. vs Spain
October 8
Liechtenstein vs Scotland
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Spain | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 5 | 15 |
| Czech Rep. | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 10 |
| Scotland | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 5 |
| Lithuania | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 5 |
| Liechtenstein | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 4 |