Internationals took the focus for the past 10 days in the football world, so here’s the round-up of what happened in a busy week of fixtures with qualifiers and friendlies galore.
German boos Die Mannschaft may have eased to a comfortable 4-0 win over lowly Kazakhstan in Kaiserslautern but it didn’t please the locals who booed their side, despite retaining their 100 per cent record in qualifying and Miroslav Klose edging closer to the all-time German goalscoring record. To make matters worse, a weakened Germany then lost to Australia 2-1 in a friendly in Moenchengladbach. Boss Joachim Loew wasn’t too bothered though.
Belgian boost Belgium’s Euro 2012 hopes got back on track in Group A after successive victories. Firstly, Belgium won 2-0 at Austria before a 4-1 home win over Azerbaijan put them in second spot in the group, after collecting just four points from their first four games. Still, they won’t catch Germany in Group A.
Rub of the green Ireland moved into pole position in Group B after their hard-fought 2-1 win over Macedonia, with Robbie Keane hitting the winner. Elsewhere, Russia’s woes worsened after a goalless draw at Armenia, was followed by a friendly draw with Qatar.
Touch of Brazil for Italy The Azzurri kept their automatic Euro 2012 qualifying hopes on track after a 1-0 away win against 2010 World Cup finalists Slovenia, who are second in Group C. Brazil-born Thiago Motta got the winner for the Italians. Italy then went onto win 2-0 in Kiev against Ukraine in a friendly.
Laborious Les Bleus France remain top of Group D in qualifying but they hardly inspired their fans after an uneventful 2-0 win at Luxembourg. Franck Ribery and Patrice Evra returned for Les Bleus but they simply did enough against lowly Luxembourg. France’s competitors in Group D continue to do Les Bleus’ favour and fight it out for second spot, with Belarus losing to Albania. France continued to disappoint the fans after a goalless draw with Croatia in a friendly.
Double Dutch Hungary must have become sick of the sight of the Oranje this international break after the Netherlands defeated them 4-0 and 5-3 respectively. Ruud van Nistelrooy was back on the scoresheet for the Dutch, who retain their 100 per cent record in Group E and appear to be coasting to qualification.
Three Lions win Battle of Britain England moved into top spot in Group G with an easy 2-0 win over Wales, with early goals from Frank Lampard and Darren Bent settling the issue. Boss Fabio Capello had a difficult week and this result, while positive, hardly inspired. Therefore the 1-1 friendly draw with Ghana wouldn’t have helped ease the inevitable pressure.
Scandanavian derby Norway remain top of Group H but it wasn’t simply as Erik Huseklepp struck late to rescue a 1-1 home draw with rivals Denmark in a cagey match. Second-placed Portugal only played two friendlies this week, a 1-1 draw with Chile and 2-0 win over Finland.
Spanish armada World champions Spain stretched their advantage in Group I to six points after victories over Czech Republic (2-1) and Lithuania (3-1) this international break. The Spanish did it the hard way against the Czechs, coming from behind with David Villa scoring twice in the second-half to win it and eclipse Raul’s all-time goalscoring record. There were no goals for Fernando Torres either.
Brazil world tour Neymar> was the star for Brazil as they eased to a 2-0 victory over Scotland in London.
Argie bargie Argentina could only manage a 1-1 draw with United States, before a goalless draw with Costa Rica, with superstar Lionel Messi missing the latter fixture due to injury.
Mixed bag for USA Team USA claimed a nice 1-1 home draw with Lionel Messi’s Argentina before a disappointing 1-0 loss to Paraguay in Tennessee.
Muchos Mexico Mexico recorded a 3-1 win over Paraguay before a 1-1 draw with Venezuela.
Aussie revenge The Socceroos stunned an under-strength Germany 2-1 in Moenchengladbach, much to the delight of their German boss Holger Osieck.
Korea full of Seoul South Korea produced a fine performance as they eased past Honduras 4-0 in Seoul, as they began life after Park Ji-Sung’s retirement.