By FRANCO PANIZO
England suffered a setback in its quest to qualify for the 2012 Euro Cup, getting held scoreless for the first time at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium by Montenegro on Tuesday.
England couldn't get one passed goalkeeper Mladen Bozovic despite having a 12-5 advantage in shots taken. The scoreless draw was made worse for the Three Lions as fans at Wembley jeered the team following the match. Having played one more game than the rest of the teams in the group, Montenegro is currently in first place with 10 points.
Spain remained undefeated in Group I, defeating Scotland with a 79th-minute goal from Fernando Llorente in a 3-2 affair. Scotland fought back from a 2-0 deficit, but Llorente's goal handed the Scots their second loss in four qualifiers.
Other of Tuesday's matches with intriguing scorelines included a 4-4 draw between Belgium and Austria in Group A. Italy and Serbia also grabbed headlines after the match at Genoa's Luigi Ferraris Stadium was abandoned just six minutes in for crowd violence.
Here is a full rundown of Tuesday's results:
GROUP A
Azerbaijan 1-0 Turkey
Belgium 4-4 Austria
Kazakhstan 0-3 Germany
GROUP B
Armenia 4-0 Andorra
Slovakia 1-1 Ireland
Macedonia 0-1 Russia
GROUP C
Faroe Islands 1-1 Northern Ireland
Italy 0-0 Serbia (The match was abandoned due to crowd disturbances.)
Estonia 0-1 Slovenia
GROUP D
Belarus 2-0 Albania
France 2-0 Luxembourg
GROUP E
Finland 1-2 Hungary
San Marino 0-2 Moldova
Netherlands 4-1 Sweden
GROUP F
Latvia 1-1 Georgia
Greece 2-1 Israel
GROUP G
Switzerland 4-1 Wales
England 0-0 Montenegro
GROUP H
Denmark 2-0 Cyprus
Iceland 1-3 Portugal
GROUP I
Liechtenstein 0-2 Czech Republic
Scotland 2-3 Spain
————
What do you think of these results? Why do you think England couldn't defeat Montenegro? Surprised Spain had to squeak by Scotland?
Share your thoughts below.
If Rooney doesn’t play well, England doesn’t play well.
haha summed up in two words. Nice.
what about yura movsisyan scoring in 2 qualifiers?
I thought azerbaijan beating turkey was certainly an eyebrow raiser.
I found this hilarious
They suck. In other news, the sun rose in the East this morning.
My boss (an Italy native) watched it (he’s home on vacation). Apparently there were fences torn down, and flares thrown on the field.
There was a yellow card that started the festivities, but he gave me the impression that the instigators were just looking for the excuse.
Game was in Genoa, Italy, but Serbian supporters apparently started the trouble.
Exactly. He’s laying the groundwork for the FIFA Player of the Year award for 2011-12.
How do you not mention that Branko Boskovic started and played 82 minutes for Montenegro against England? I mean, that’s kind of a big deal considering they’re on top of their group. I’m not even a DC United fan but I think that’s pretty cool.
The English invented the modern game & got lucky at home in 1966. That is the extent of what they’ve done. All their best teams are comprised of foreigners. They are the most overrated team in the world. The US will win a world cup before they do. At least the US knows it needs to improve. England thinks they’re contenders and they’re just not.
BTW, my family is ancestrally from Sheffield so it’s not like I dislike the English. I am just calling it as it is.
karma for neven subotic
In qualifying games results like this happen sometimes but, to the larger point England is always overrated.
Umm, can someone please tell me what’s happening to England?
First they barely make it out of the “EASY” group in South Africa. Now they’re getting shutout by Montenegro? … @ Wembley? Smh.
Just saw a video on YouTube with the crowd in Genoa. The comment section has become tit for tat jingoism between Serbs and Albanians. From what I gather it sounds like a bunch of Albanians crashed the game…but I don’t know for sure. Will make interesting reading later on.
I guess they threw fireworks and flares onto the field, causing the Italian riot squad to storm the field. Crazy stuff
“the match at Genoa’s Luigi Ferraris Stadium” It was in Italy, but Serbia’s fans caused the problems
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/9086046.stm
England couldn’t beat Montenegro because they are grossly overrated and, actually, not very good.
Damn how bad did it get in Serbia for tehm to cancel the game?
Netherlands, Spain, and Germany are the class of Europe. The other nations seemed to have slipped. Weird that there seems to be such a divide.