..::Football III::..

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European Championship Qualifying Fixtures 2015.03.27

European Championship Qualifying Fixtures 2015.03.27

Group C

Macedonia Vs Belarus

Slovakia Vs Luxemburg

Spain Vs Ukraine

Group E

England Vs Lithuania

Slovenia Vs San Marino

Switzerland Vs Estonia

Group G

Liechtenstein Vs Austria

Moldova Vs Sweden

Montenegro Vs Russia​

 

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Spain Vs Ukraine

Spain Starting Line-up

Iker Casillas
Gerard Piqué
Sergio Ramos
Juanfran
Jordi Alba
Sergio Busquets
Andrés Iniesta
Koke
David Silva
Isco
Álvaro Morata

&

Ukraine Starting Line-up

Andriy Pyatov
Yevhen Khacheridi
Olexandr Kucher
Viacheslav Shevchuk
Artem Fedetskiy
Anatoliy Tymoschuk
Taras Stepanenko
Andriy Yarmolenko
Yevhen Konoplyanka
Ruslan Rotan
Roman Zozulya
​

 

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Good Luck Spain!
​

 

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Half Time

Spain 1 Vs 0 Ukraine

​

 

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Full Time

Spain 1 Vs 0 Ukraine

Spain Goal(s)

Morata 28'
​

 

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Congratulations Spain!

VAMOS ESPANA

 

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Mourinho wrong to sell De Bruyne, insists Hazard

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Spain 1-0 Ukraine: Morata fires La Roja to victory

Alvaro Morata marked his first competitive start for Spain with the only goal as they beat a stubborn Ukraine 1-0 in Euro 2016 qualifying on Friday.

Morata's effort, scored just before the half-hour mark, saw Spain move three points ahead of their opponents in Group C, but they remain three adrift of leaders Slovakia, who beat Luxembourg 3-0.

Vicente del Bosque's side had to withstand a series of Ukraine attacks, though, particularly in the second half, with goalkeeper Iker Casillas to thank for a pair of crucial saves.Juventus forward Morata was included from the beginning after Diego Costa withdrew from the squad with a hamstring injury.

And he did not let his country down, scoring for the third successive game in all competitions to settle a tense contest in Seville.

Ukraine had to be alert early on as Yevhen Khacheridi intercepted David Silva's dangerous cut-back when the Manchester City man got in behind their defence.

Andres Iniesta looked dangerous, and played in Morata, who could only shoot wide, while Ukraine goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov did well to tip a fierce Koke effort over.Ukraine were not without their chances, as Artem Fedetskiy volleyed wide when free in the penalty area following a dangerous set-piece, and Ruslan Rotan narrowly missed the target after Fedetskiy found him with a clever header.

They were only half-chances but Ukraine were made to rue their failure to take them when Morata opened the scoring in the 28th minute.

The 22-year-old ran on to Koke's excellent first-time ball and held off the attention of Khacheridi before lifting over Pyatov despite going to ground.

Morata had the ball in the back of the net again - only for his effort to be ruled out for offside - and the woodwork was next to deny Spain, as Sergio Ramos' thumping header bounced off the crossbar from Silva's free-kick four minutes before the break.

The hosts were sluggish after the interval, though, and were grateful to Casillas for an excellent save after Rotan's free-kick was allowed to bounce and nearly crept in untouched.

Casillas then conceded possession in a dangerous area, but reacted well to keep out Rotan's effort, and Spain's malaise was summed up by a poor Iniesta pass - a true rarity.

Ukraine probably should have levelled when substitute Artem Kravets, an early substitution for the injured Roman Zozulya, centred for Rotan but he fired straight at Casillas from eight yards.

Jordi Alba limped off with a hamstring injury with 12 minutes remaining but Ukraine seemed to run out of energy in the latter stages, meaning there was no late rally from the visitors.

Instead it was Spain who could have scored again, after substitute Santi Cazorla and Isco linked well, but the former saw his shot superbly turned behind by Pyatov.

One goal was enough for Spain, though, as they recorded an important victory without hitting top form.

 

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England 4-0 Lithuania: Kane scores debut goal as Rooney closes in on Charlton record

England maintained their 100 per cent record in Euro 2016 qualifying as they eased to victory over Lithuania at Wembley.

Having hit the post in the opening moments, Wayne Rooney netted his 47th international goal as he headed in from close range after Danny Welbeck's shot was parried by Giedrius Arlauskis.

Rooney again hit the woodwork with a header before Welbeck doubled the Three Lions' lead as his header deflected in off Tadas Kijanskas.

Roy Hodgson's side continued to dominate after the half-time break, with Raheem Sterling making it 3-0 as he converted Rooney's low cross from the right.

Harry Kane made his debut off the bench after 71 minutes and netted his first England goal just seconds later as he headed in Sterling's cross.

Watching on from the bench, Kane might have felt he could have done a better job than Rooney when the captain struck the left-hand post from a promising position after five minutes.

However, Rooney – closing in on Bobby Charlton's record of 49 goals for England – made amends by heading in two minutes later, after Giedrius Arlauskis' save from a Welbeck strike bounced up kindly for him.

The goal was Rooney's 47th in international football, taking him within one of second-placed Gary Lineker.

Lithuania had half-hearted appeals for handball in the penalty area turned down in the 16th minute, before Rooney was denied by the woodwork again – this time sending a looping header onto the crossbar.

England continued to dominate proceedings, but Phil Jones had to be alert to slide in and prevent Deivydas Matulevicius getting on the end of a low Vytautas Andriuskevicius ball in from the left.

The home side looked to be heading into the break with a narrow advantage until Welbeck's header from a Jordan Henderson cross found the net via the thigh of Lithuania skipper Kijanskas to earn England a deserved second.

Fabian Delph drew an excellent save from Arlauskis with a left-footed volley four minutes into the second half, before Welbeck had appeals for a penalty turned down after going down under the challenge of Kijanskas.

Rooney was central to much of England's attacking play throughout and was on hand to provide the assist as Sterling touched home from close range two minutes before the hour mark.

Kane got his chance in the 71st minute and wasted little time in announcing himself on the international stage, heading in from a Sterling cross to put the match to bed.

 

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Spain must improve - Del Bosque

Vicente del Bosque says Spain have to improve after they let Ukraine "control the game" during their 1-0 Euro 2016 qualifying win over the Eastern Europeans on Friday.

Alvaro Morata's first-half goal was enough to secure the points for the defending European champions, who are now three ahead of their opponents but remain three behind Group C leaders Slovakia.

Del Bosque was disappointed in his side's second-half performance and hopes to see better from them in the future.

"We played well in the first half and created chances but we struggled to put them away," he told reporters. "Later, in the second half we brought on Juanfran and [Santi] Cazorla but still found it hard to score.

"We dropped in intensity and allowed them to control the game. Our second-half performance left a bad taste in the mouth. We’ve got to start improving."Everyone played well. We’ve got three points; the only downside was the second half.

"We’ll be making changes for the Netherlands game on Tuesday because some of the players need a rest."

The coach was full of praise for Morata, who scored his first Spain goal to win the game."He did what he was asked to do and scored. That’s why we he’s in the side. He made the most of a good pass from Koke and took his goal well.

"With more players up front we would have created more chances. We decided to make changes, despite the fact that he’s tall and can defend himself. We wanted more movement because Morata was starting to tire."

Jordi Alba was taken off late in the game with an injury and the coach has revealed that the left-back will return to Barcelona.

"Our medical team has been in touch with Barca’s doctors. He will leave the Spain camp and go back to Barcelona tomorrow to see what the problem is. "It’s a muscular injury but we’ll need to see the results of the tests. That’s all I know."

 

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Juventus: Marchisio injury not as bad as feared

Juventus have revealed that Claudio Marchisio's injury is not nearly as bad as originally reported.

The Italian FA (FIGC) had stated that an MRI scan on the midfielder's knee reavealed that he had ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament while training with the national team ahead of Saturday's Euro 2016 qualifying match with Bulgaria and would be out for the remainder of the season.

However, the club performed their own tests on the 29-year-old, which show that he has not torn the ligament.

"After returning from international duty on Friday afternoon, Claudio Marchisio underwent medical examinations conducted by Juventus’ club doctors and Dr. Flavio Quaglia," a statement from the Turin side read.

"The 29-year-old then underwent an MRI scan on his right knee this evening. The tests, supervised by Dr. Carlo Faletti at Turin’s Fornaca Clinic, ruled positive, excluding the possibility of a tear to the anterior cruciate ligament.

"Marchisio will now rest and his condition is to be monitored on a day-to-day basis."

The news will come as a pleasant surprise to Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri, whose side are still competing in Serie A, the Champions League and Coppa Italia.

 

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Sterling and Welbeck to miss Italy friendly, says Hodgson

England manager Roy Hodgson says he expects Raheem Sterling and Danny Welbeck to miss the Three Lions' friendly with Italy on Tuesday after picking up injuries in the 4-0 win over Lithuania.

The duo were both on target as England cruised to a comfortable victory that sees them maintain their 100 per cent Euro 2016 qualifying record.

Next up for the Three Lions is a friendly in Turin but Hodgson says he expects Welbeck to join Sterling in missing the game.

"It's two blows in a way because I've always known Raheem Sterling has been waiting for an injection in his toe - he has been playing through an injury for a while now," he told ITV Sport.

"He does ever so well when he does play through it but I've always known that he needed this injection.

"I agreed with him and Brendan Rodgers that he would play tonight's game which is of course the qualifier, but that he would have the injection.

"If we're unlucky we're going to lose him and Welbeck, which is a blow for us, not only because they played well tonight but because they're an important part of a system that we're trying to play."

Welbeck is struggling with a knee problem and while Hodgson insisted it was not a serious injury, he does feel the Arsenal man may not be quite ready to face Antonio Conte's men.

"Welbeck’s injury towards the end of the game will probably keep him out of Tuesday’s game, it’s a little bit unfortunate for a game that means a lot to us going back to Italy that we are going to be short of a few players," he told reporters.

"It’s a tweak to the knee, he’s being assessed by the medical staff now. We won’t get a clear idea until tomorrow. The medical staff have given me the impression they aren’t terribly worried but Tuesday may be too soon."

Hodgson also confirmed that James Milner and Leighton Baines would also be returning to their clubs for treatment with Ryan Bertrand set to be called up for the Italy game

 

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'Fans have cost Montenegro Euro 2016 chance'

Montenegro coach Branko Brnovic believes his side's chances of reaching Euro 2016 are now over after their qualifying match with Russia was abandoned. The fixture between the two sides was suspended within the first 30 seconds after Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev was struck by a flare.

Play resumed 20 minutes later, but further chaos ensued in the second half after a contentious penalty was awarded to the visitors.

The spot kick was saved but the home fans began to launch missiles onto the pitch before players of both sides clashed as the atmosphere intensified, leading to referee Deniz Aytekin abandoning the game with over 20 minutes still to play.

Brnovic says his players were left frustrated and speechless after the incidents and believes they will be heavily punished by Uefa.

"My players are demoralised, none of them know what to say. Even I don't know what to say," he told RTCG. "Now we've lost all chance to qualify and we will play in front of an empty stadium in our upcoming home games.

"We are lucky that our FA president, Dejan Savicevic, has great respect in Uefa. We can't do anything else but try to get the best results in our next matches. It is most important that the team regains stability and gets back to winning ways."

As things stand, Montenegro and Russia both have five points in Group G and lie fourth and third respectively. Austria lead the way with 13, ahead of Sweden, who have nine, and should the Russians be awarded the victory for the abandoned match as anticipated, it will leave Brnovic's men to go on a very fine run indeed to make the top three.

 

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Rooney: Teams will be scared of England

England captain Wayne Rooney says teams around Europe will start to fear the Three Lions after their 4-0 win over Lithuania at Wembley to maintain their 100 per cent record in Euro 2016 qualifying.

The Manchester United forward opened the scoring for Roy Hodgson's side after just six minutes before Danny Welbeck added a second and Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane both scored their first international goals.

Roy Hodgson's side have now won all seven of their matches since exiting the World Cup during the group stage, and Rooney believes their form will have other sides worrying about facing them.

"I think since the World Cup we've been fantastic," he told ITV Sport. "Some great victories, we're scoring goals, really energetic team, a lot of pace and I think a lot of teams around Europe will be looking at this team and they'll be frightened."

The former Everton forward was replaced by Kane in the 71st minute, and the substitute made an immediate impact as he headed in a debut goal with just his third touch.

And Rooney was full of praise for the Tottenham striker, saying: "Fantastic. International football is different, so to score after 80 seconds is incredible for Harry. We're all delighted and hopefully it's the first of many."

Kane himself described scoring on his debut as "a dream come true", though he was unable to recall the details of his memorable strike.

"It's the start that I dreamed of, and to see it come true is just amazing," he said. "It's all a bit of a blur but I'm delighted, delighted for the lads and the most important thing is we got the win.

"To represent your country at senior level is the top and hopefully I can continue to do it and keep doing well."

 

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Morata: Forget my goal - I must do more

Alvaro Morata was not in the mood to revel in his first Spain goal, which secured a 1-0 win over Ukraine, as he admitted that he was disappointed in his overall performance.

The attacker struck the only blow of the Euro 2016 qualifier in his first competitive start for his country with a scoop over goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov in the 28th minute after holding off a defender.Morata, though, was not too upbeat because he believes he should have done better.

"Well, I want to keep playing games. But it was not my best game," he told reporters. "I think it could have been better. I'm happy because we won, but I have to work.

"I can be even better. I am not that self-critical, I'm just realistic. I could have scored two goals."The Juventus forward admitted that it was a tough game for his side, who stayed in the lead thanks to some fine saves from Iker Casillas.

"It was very tough and very physical. You have to play these games and win, which many think is easy, but what matters are the points."The striker has the No.7 jersey, which was once worn by legendary Roja attacker Raul, but he feels no extra pressure in it.

"It's just another number. It doesn't matter. The important thing is to be here."
Victory for Spain has carried them clear in second place in Group C with 12 points, though they continue to trail Slovakia, who have a perfect record through five matches, including a 2-1 win over the reigning champions.

 

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Russia anger after Montenegro Euro 2016 qualifier abandoned

The Russia Football Union (RFS) has expressed its anger after the country's Euro 2016 qualifier against Montenegro was abandoned after fans threw objects at the visiting players.

The match had been suspended inside the first minute when visiting goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev was stretchered off after being hit on the neck by a flare, which came from behind the goal.

Play resumed 20 minutes later but further chaos ensued later in the game. Roman Shirokov saw a controversial penalty saved and after the ball went out for a throw in, fans began to launch missiles onto the pitch.

Players of both sides clashed as the atmosphere intensified, leading to Germany referee Deniz Aytekin suspending the match for a second time and later abandoning it with over 20 minutes still to play.Russia boss Fabio Capello revealed after the game that his side were left with little choice but to play on after the first interruption.

"Officials told us to continue after first break, so we had to!" he revealed. "The decision to abandon the game after second break was correct."

A spokesman for the RFS said: "We don't understand why the match was continued in the first place because Akinfeev is one of our most important players and his inury could have had a direct effect on the outcome of game."

Meanwhile, home coach Branko Brnovic appeared embarrassed by the actions of his side's fans."I would like to apologise to the Russian players and coaching staff because of everything that has happened. It is normal that the match was abandoned, because the incident was the second one in the game," he told RTGC.

Prior to the match, violent clashes between fans had taken place in Podgorica, and following the abandonment of the game there were further incidents.

It is the second game in the Euro 2016 qualifiers to be abandoned, after Albania's match against Serbia was called off when players and fans fought after a drone carrying an Albania flag flew over the pitch.

After a Uefa investigation into that encounter, Serbia were awarded the three points, though were subsequently docked these due to a pitch invasion from their supporters.

Russia and Montenegro both currently have five points in Group G and are scrapping for third place behind Austria and Sweden, who have earned 13 and nine marks respectively. As a result, the governing body's decision over the outcome of this fixture could play a critical role in the pool.

 

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PSV and Valencia reach agreement for Guardado

PSV have announced the permanent capture of Valencia midfielder Andres Guardado.

The Mexico international has spent this season on loan in Netherlands after a similar spell at Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga during the previous campaign.
The midfielder has been a key part of the side which currently sits atop the Eredivisie and he has been vocal about his desire to remain in Eindhoven on a permanent deal.

The club revealed that a three year contract is waiting for Guardado to sign after the international break, with sporting director Marcel Brands adding that he is delighted to end the transfer saga."PSV will go to the table with the midfielder to settle the final details," a statement read on the official website. "There is for a three-year contract until 2018 ready for him to sign."

Brands added: "We are pleased that he will belong to PSV after the loan period this season."Andres is good business for PSV and the entire Eredivisie. We hope to enjoy the years ahead of him as a player of PSV."

Since arriving at Philips Stadion in August, Guardado has made 29 appearances in all competitions and helped Phillip Cocu's side open up an eight-point cushion at the top of the table.

 

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Lukaku injury down to fatigue, says Martinez

Everton manager Roberto Martinez believes fatigue played a huge role in sidelining Romelu Lukaku, who has joined Darron Gibson and Arouna Kone as a player who might miss their next match against Southampton after the international break.

Toffees' record signing Lukaku pulled out of the Belgium squad due to a hamstring injury, while a stomach strain prevented midfielder Gibson from featuring for Republic of Ireland.

Fears that Kone was facing another long spell on the sidelines were allayed when the striker underwent a scan and Martinez hopes that all three could take on Ronald Koeman's side at Goodison Park.

He told the club's official website: "Romelu had his scan with the Belgian set-up and he's going to be receiving treatment for the next few days and we'll see how that evolves.

"It's a bit of a hamstring strain due to the amount of games that we've played and the amount of fatigue we've accumulated in those games.

"We're quite positive because of the way Rom usually reacts to these types of treatments and how fit he is as an individual.

"It's too early to say how long he's going to be out or if he's going to miss any games but he's concentrating on getting back fit to train with the group.

"With Darron, he had a little bit of a stomach strain. He made sure that he finished the game [against QPR last time out] but he felt it in the last 10-15 minutes. After the game, when his body cooled, he then felt a real difficulty walking and trying to exercise on it.

"He's been receiving treatment and obviously he met with the Irish party and now we're going to assess him and see how long it will be before he can join the group again.

"In both cases, I don't think they are major injuries but they are injuries that need to be well looked after and we'll see if both players are available or not for the Southampton game."

When asked about Kone's fitness, the Spaniard replied: "We were delighted with the results of the scan, which showed first and foremost that Arouna's ankle and knee are really strong.

"In the last two days, his joints have practically been back to normal so we're very confident he could be fully fit for the game against Southampton, although it will be important to see him working with the group and see how he adapts throughout next week."

 

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Juventus midfielder Marchisio ruled out for rest of season

Juventus will be without Claudio Marchisio for the rest of the season after the midfielder injured a cruciate knee ligament on Friday with the Italy squad.

The Italian FA (FIGC) had confirmed earlier in the day that the 29-year-old would miss Saturday's Euro 2016 qualifier with Bulgaria, with reports suggesting the injury was serious.

Those initial fears have proven accurate, dealing a potentially huge blow to Juve's trophy hopes as they are now without Marchisio until 2015-16 and Paul Pogba until mid-May.

"While warming up the player was suspected to have suffered just a sprain to his right knee," Italy doctor Enrico Castellacci said in a statement on the FIGC's official website.

"An MRI scan was performed immediately, however, and it showed he had ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament."After consulting with the medical staff of Juventus, it was decided to release the player to his club for treatment."

Anterior cruciate ligament injuries usually take at least half a year to recover from, putting Marchisio's comeback date towards the end of 2015.Although there is no international tournament that he will miss out on in the summer, his injury could deal a blow to Juventus' hopes of winning the treble.

They are currently 14 points clear in Serie A, but they are 2-1 down ahead of the away leg in their Coppa Italia semi-final against Fiorentina and face a testing clash with Monaco in the Champions League quarter-finals.