England, Spain impress but France gets beaten

Euro 2012 qualifiers kick off with mixed results for big teams

PARIS: Spain made an impressive start to their quest for a historic treble in the opening salvoes in Euro 2012 qualifying, which saw wins for England, Holland and Germany but defeat for France.

Spain are seeking to become the first country in history to annex a World Cup and two European titles as Vicente del Bosque’s men, in their first competitive outing since scaling football’s global summit at Soccer City, swept aside minnows Liechtenstein 4-0.

Relief for Capello

England handed under-fire manager Fabio Capello some badly needed breathing space as a Jermain Defoe hat-trick saw them romp to a 4-0 victory over Bulgaria.

Defoe’s first hat-trick for England and a late strike from Manchester City youngster Adam Johnson sealed the Group G points for Capello’s side, desperate to bounce back from a traumatic World Cup campaign.

France continue dismal run

France’s campaign to qualify for Euro 2012 began in disappointing fashion as they lost 1-0 to Belarus in Laurent Blanc’s first competitive game in charge.

Blanc, however, refused to press the panic button despite seeing France fall to a dispiriting defeat at home. With a number of key players unavailable, France struggled to prise open the Belarusian defence and were beaten by an 86thminute goal from substitute Sergei Kislyak. “We didn’t have Karim Benzema, our best goal-scorer, ” said Blanc.

“We didn’t have people who are used to scoring goals for France.” Meanwhile, Germany, who so cruelly exposed England at the World Cup, stole a 1-0 win over Belgium in Brussels and Holland, World Cup final runners-up, were also quick out of the blocks dishing out a 5-0 beating to minnows San Marino.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5^th, 2010.