Norway held by neighbours

Norway failed to take advantage of Portugal not playing, but hold on to top spot in Euro 2012 qualifying Group H after a 1-1 draw with Denmark that sees them drop points for the first time in the campaign. Mohammed Abdellaoue, who played the full 90 minutes, will feel he could have contributed more after a seemingly anonymous performance, but the draw keeps Norway three points clear off both Denmark and Portugal behind them. 

Austria crumble under pressure

Austria failed to keep their momentum going in Group A as their international break came to a bitter end with 2-0 loses against both Belgium and Turkey. Emmanuel Pogatetz was one of the standout performers at the back putting in a stellar performance in both matches, but was helpless when it came to affecting the scoreline. Axel Witsel scored both goals for Belgium, while Arda Turan and Gökhan Gönül shared the spoils in Istanbul. Following the match against Belgium Pogatetz was quoted as saying: “We need to be realistic”, but after two defeats it’s fair to say that Austria have been snapped back to reality. The results have seriously dented their hopes of qualifying for Euro 2012 as both their opponents have leapfrogged them in Group A leaving Pogatetz and co. sitting in 4^th place, eight points adrift of leaders Germany.

Albania dreaming of a spot at Euro 2012

96-veteran Altin Lala captained Albania to a crucial 1-0 win over Belarus in Group D, lasting the full 90 minutes despite picking up a yellow card early on in the match. As ever Lala battled hard in midfield and fought for his teammates putting in a performance worthy of what we have come to expect of him. The three points see Albania draw level with their opponents Belarus on points, although they still trail France by four points.

Friendlies serve up a win and two loses

The ever-present Mikael Forssell was hoping to gain some more match practice whilst on international duty with Finland, but was limited to bit part roles in both friendly matches against a Turkish B-Team and Portugal. In Istanbul, the Finns managed to scrape a 1-0 win against their less internationally experience opponents with “Mixu” thrown into the mix in the 59th minute. He had even less time to affect the match against Portugal after only coming on in the 73rd minute with his side already 2-0 down with no change to the scoreline occurring following his introduction.

Karim Haggui was also involved in an international friendly as he once again captained his Tunisia side in a bitter 2-1 defeat to Oman. Sami Allagui of Mainz 05 did manage to pull Tunisia level in the 61st minute, but Oman were able to score a goal late on to take the spoils.

Rausch on the up and up

Following a 3-1 win over the Netherlands in which he played no part, Konstantin Rausch returned to the starting line-up for Rainer Adrion’s U-21 team for the match against Italy in Kassel. Looking for a similar result the German youngsters created several opportunities in front of goal, but it was left to Lewis Holtby to bag a brace either side of half time. Unfortunately they were made to rue their missed chances after goals from Gabbiadini and Borini in the last quarter of an hour saw the match end in a 2-2 draw. It was a disappointing result in front of 16,300 fans, but Reds fans can take heart from the fact that Rausch continues to impress on the international stage.