Euro 2012 Qualifiers Group E-I (Week 4)

By: Stephan Roehrenbaeck

Group E:

The Netherlands continues to roll in Group E with a 4-1 trouncing of Sweden.  Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Ibrahim Afellay both netted a pair of goals to keep the Netherlands atop group E. Hungary managed to stay hot on their heels with a 2-1 victory over Finland. Only 3 points separate the two squads making their March meeting all the more interesting. Sweden hangs on to the third spot in the group by goal differential over Moldova.

Group F:

Action today in Group F was light today, featuring matches between Greece and Israel and Latvia and Georgia. With a 2-1 victory, Greece maintains its one point advantage over Croatia in the group. Latvia and Georgia played to a 1-1 draw and Georgia remains at the middle of the group with 6 points, two behind Greece and only one point behind Croatia. This group is turning out to be a very close race as a win or a loss by either team will create some very interesting shifting in position.

Group G:

Today’s action featured the top two teams in Group G, England and Montenegro, playing to a 0-0 draw.  After dominating possession (65%) and shots on goal (12) England was still unable to find the back of the net and leaves them in second place in Group G. Switzerland floored Wales 4-1 leaving them in third place in the group but 7 points behind Montenegro.

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Group H:

Portugal ensured that Iceland remained at the bottom of Group H today with a 3-1 victory in which Cristiano Ronaldo netted a goal and Portugal outshot Iceland 12 to 5. The victory put Portugal 2 points behind group leading Norway and Denmark claimed third with its 2-0 win over Cyprus.

Group I:

First and second remains the same in Group I, as Spain beat Scotland 3-2 and the Czech Republic took down Liechtenstein 2-0. Spain was the clear aggressor, dominating 68% of the games possession and tallying up 11 shots on goal. The Czech Republic came away with the win despite only possessing the ball for a third of the match. Spain continues to hold a 3 point lead over the Czech’s and don’t look ready to concede any ground.