Germany repeat World Cup form at Euro qualifiers
Germany coach Joachim Loew said he was pleased to see his side defeat Azerbaijan 6-1 in the Euro 2012 qualifiers.
COLOGNE:
Germany coach Joachim Loew said he was pleased to see his side defeat Azerbaijan 6-1 in the Euro 2012 qualifiers. Having struggled to beat Belgium 1-0 in Brussels last Friday, Germany reproduced some of their form in Cologne from their successful campaign in the World Cup which saw them finish third.
Miroslav Klose took his tally to 55 international goals with a double, while Cologne forward Lukas Podolski answered his critics with a well-timed goal and then set up Klose in a slick display. Germany top Group A with Turkey, who also have a flawless record in their qualifying campaign after their two games, much to their coach’s delight.
New beginnings
Wayne Rooney scored as England seized control of their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign with a comfortable 3-1 victory over 10-man Switzerland. Rooney, whose preparation for the match had been engulfed by lurid tabloid allegations about his private life, found the net after 10 minutes to help put Fabio Capello’s men on top of Group G with two wins out of two. Substitutes Adam Johnson and Darren Bent also scored for the visitors in what will be regarded as a hugely encouraging result for England.
France appeared to draw a line under their miserable World Cup experience, meting out a comprehensive 2-0 win, the points earned by goals from Karim Benzema and Florent Malouda. They looked fast and dangerous in their attack to get their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign back on track after Friday’s disappointing home defeat to Belarus.
Italy managed to secure an easy 5-0 win over the Faroes Islands, while Portugal did themselves no favour, losing 1-0 to Norway to leave them trailing in their Euro 2012 qualifying group after the opening skirmishes.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 9th, 2010.
Germany coach Joachim Loew said he was pleased to see his side defeat Azerbaijan 6-1 in the Euro 2012 qualifiers. Having struggled to beat Belgium 1-0 in Brussels last Friday, Germany reproduced some of their form in Cologne from their successful campaign in the World Cup which saw them finish third.
Miroslav Klose took his tally to 55 international goals with a double, while Cologne forward Lukas Podolski answered his critics with a well-timed goal and then set up Klose in a slick display. Germany top Group A with Turkey, who also have a flawless record in their qualifying campaign after their two games, much to their coach’s delight.
New beginnings
Wayne Rooney scored as England seized control of their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign with a comfortable 3-1 victory over 10-man Switzerland. Rooney, whose preparation for the match had been engulfed by lurid tabloid allegations about his private life, found the net after 10 minutes to help put Fabio Capello’s men on top of Group G with two wins out of two. Substitutes Adam Johnson and Darren Bent also scored for the visitors in what will be regarded as a hugely encouraging result for England.
France appeared to draw a line under their miserable World Cup experience, meting out a comprehensive 2-0 win, the points earned by goals from Karim Benzema and Florent Malouda. They looked fast and dangerous in their attack to get their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign back on track after Friday’s disappointing home defeat to Belarus.
Italy managed to secure an easy 5-0 win over the Faroes Islands, while Portugal did themselves no favour, losing 1-0 to Norway to leave them trailing in their Euro 2012 qualifying group after the opening skirmishes.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 9th, 2010.