BEN SAAR
Israel - Estonia - 4-0. Israel has traditionally been able to play games on their field for two qualifying rounds in a row. Yesterday, the rival was not at all against the hostility of the wards of Dror Kashtan - the Estonians resisted Israel much less stubbornly than Russia. The lack of political motivation and leading central defender Andrei Stepanov, coupled with the quick goals of Tal and Kolautti, killed the intrigue in the first half. Israel surprised: having exemplarily served in the rear in the game with England, the team could easily reorient itself to the attack in three days. Leaving behind the brackets the factor of their field, we note that the Estonians, in contrast to the match with Russia, allowed the attacking midfielders of the rival to clear up. Benayun and Ben-Shushan played the team more often, and entered the selection less often than, say, Bilyaletdinov and Torbinsky. Of course, the upcoming offensive verification of offensive potential in Macedonia will become more serious - but in relatively favorable conditions, the balls of the Israeli forwards fit into the net with a bang. What convincingly proved the substitute Chelsea striker Ben Saar, having placed two debut goals for the national team in three minutes. Israel, it turns out, is strong not only with naturalized scores - and there are some of its own.
STEVEN JERRARD
Andorra - England - 0: 3. The British media began to bury their own team and dismiss Steve McLaren after the first half - on the scoreboard of the Barcelona stadium "Montjuic" zeros shone. Nevertheless, the British had enough fifteen minutes of rest to realize that Puyol, Vieira and Ayala in Andorra were just namesakes of formidable players. The class decided everything - both the national team as a whole, and its ringleaders Stephen Gerrard. The Liverpool player scored twice and scored a defensive pass by Defoe, whose rightful place in the protocol was taken by team debutant David Nugent, who finished the ball off the goal line. Having breathed a sigh of relief, the English headquarters will not hesitate to think: did Frank Lampard's injury strengthen the midfield of the national team? It seems that Hargreaves and Gerrard share roles in the middle of the field much better. However, due to the low level of the enemy, the experiment did not come out clean - and in the next match against Estonia, McLaren will again have to prove his coaching ability. Indeed, even in the match with Andorra, an alarming bell rang: the English folly more often!
LUKA TONY
Italy - Scotland - 2: 0. The most important match for the Italian team left her in fourth place in Group B, but significantly improved the situation: besieging the Scottish upstarts, the world champions have already beaten them by the lost points. In the next matches of the group, the leaders - the French and the Ukrainians will understand each other, while Italy will go on a voyage to the Faroe Islands and the Baltic states. Thus, “Azzurra Squadra” has every chance to strengthen its tournament position - especially since two goals of Tony striker and the team’s common attacking style of play forced him to raise his thumb for the first time after July 9th.
David Healy
Northern Ireland - Sweden - 2: 1. The Northern Irish, like the Scots, were listed in the main surprises of the EURO 2008 qualification - as if to compensate for the British failure, not giving offense to the British football brand. The wards of Lori Sanchez remained a sensation: stopping the victorious tread of the Swedish team in Belfast, they jumped to the first line in group F. Northern Ireland s strong-willed victory was brought by Leeds striker David Healy, who also became the leader among the nine-goal qualifiers.
Hamit Altintop
Turkey - Norway - 2: 2. Having defeated the Greeks in Athens, the Turkish national team almost lost ground in an absentee dispute with the most important opponents. The European champions got inert Malta, but the Turks had to fight the Norwegians with the angry home defeat from Bosnia. In order to catch a draw and keep the lead away from the Greeks, the team of Fatih Terim needed to enter the last minute of regular time into the scoring protocol - it was then that Schalke player Hamit Altıntop scored a double and saved the match.
Emin Imamaliev
Azerbaijan - Finland - 1: 0. The goal of the Azerbaijani national team player complicated the situation in Group A, dropping the Finnish national team that was dispersed by two lines and leveling it by points with Serbia and Portugal. Ahead of all are the Poles.
REGVIE JACOBSEN
Georgia - Faroe Islands - 3: 1. Faroe Islands team's first goal in the current qualifying round - scored away! - put her in an illusory contest above Estonia and Armenia, who have not yet seen the ball in the gates of others.