7 October 2006: Italy 2-0 Ukraine (Rome)
World champions Italy finally registered their first win in Euro 2008 Qualifying Group B to lift the pressure on beleaguered coach Roberto Donadoni.
Massimo Oddo broke the deadlock from the penalty spot after 71 minutes and Luca Toni made it 2-0 ten minutes from time to hand the Azzurri the three points against Ukraine - and give Donadoni his first win in charge. It wasn't achieved without several nervy moments as Ukraine - even without star striker Andriy Shevchenko, who had a virus - posed the hosts several problems at the Stadio Olimpico.
Italy's struggles since their World Cup triumph in Germany over the summer have been well documented and they lacked self-belief in the early stages as Ukraine created two decent chances to take the lead. The first saw Anatoliy Tymoschuk test Gianluigi Buffon with a 30-yard drive and the second resulted in Oleg Gusev firing a shot straight at the Juventus custodian.
Italy finally started to settle and Alessandro Del Piero came close with a 12-yard shot after 20 minutes. Toni netted twice against Ukraine in the World Cup quarter-finals in Hamburg, but the Fiorentina star wasted a wonderful chance to add to his international haul on the half-hour mark, heading straight at visiting keeper Olexandr Shovkovskiy from Oddo's pin-point cross.
Toni and Tymoschuk then traded chances as the game finally started to open up after a scrappy start. AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso is not renowned for his attacking prowess but he twice came close after half-time. And, as Italy started to press, Vincenzo Iaquinta also tried his luck, his shot well parried by Shovkovskiy.
The pressure finally told when Andriy Rusol fouled Toni inside the area, referee Kyros Vassaras showing no hesitation in pointing to the spot. And Oddo showed commendable cool to slot the spot-kick into the top right-hand corner.
The hosts sealed the points eight minutes later, Toni volleying home Antonio Di Natale's left-wing cross.
Di Natale almost got his name on the scoresheet with nine minutes left but Shovkovskiy made a fine save. It mattered little though as Italy finally got their campaign up and running.
Italy: Buffon, Oddo, Cannavaro, Materazzi, Zambrotta, Gattuso, Pirlo, De Rossi, Iaquinta (Camoranesi 76), Toni (Inzaghi 85), Del Piero (Di Natale 61).
Ukraine: Shovkovskyi, Nesmachnyi, Shershun, Tymoshchuk, Yezerskyy, Rusol, Shelayev, Gusiev, Voronin, Vorobey (Milevskiy 73), Nazarenko (Kalinichenko 59).
Ref: Kyros Vassaras (Greece).
Other Group B Matches
Scotland sit proudly at the top of Group B after a fabulous win over France at Hampden Park. Thierry Henry hit the post as France dominated the first 45 minutes but Scotland improved after the interval. And Gary Caldwell, who was outstanding in defence, turned goal hero when he stabbed the ball home from a Paul Hartley corner kick on 67 minutes. France enjoyed the bulk of possession but Walter Smith's well-organised team worked hard for a famous victory.
Lithuania claimed their first win in the group after a late 1-0 success in the Faroe Islands. The Baltic nation dominated proceedings in Torshavn, but found the Faroes in resilient form, with goalkeeper Jakup Mikkelsen making a number of saves for the home side. It proved not enough in the end, as Lithuania broke the hearts of their hosts with a last minute winner from Andrius Skerla on his 50th appearance for his country. Skerla headed home Mindaugas Kalonas's outswinging corner from the right to give Lithuania three valuable points away from home.
Group A
Serbia top Group A after emerging with a win from a tight tussle against Belgium. Nikola Zigic's 54th minute close range finish ultimately proved enough to account for the visitors, who are in third place with four points from their first three fixtures.
Portugal record their opening victory in their second game of the group stage as they easily dispatched Azerbaijan 3-0 at Estadio do Bessa in Oporto. Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo continued his great form with two goals (25 & 63), which sandwiched an effort from Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho (31).
Poland also picked up their first win in the group with a useful 1-0 victory in Kazakhstan. After losing to Finland and drawing with Serbia, Leo Beenhakker's men got their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign back on track in Almaty. Ebi Smolarek was the match-winner when the Borussia Dortmund striker fired home with his right foot on 52 minutes.
Roy Hodgson's Finland were left frustrated by Armenia's rearguard action in Yerevan. The Finns dominated much of the match, but could not find the all-important goal to prevent a 0-0 stalemate.
Group C
Turkey maintained their perfect start to their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign with a 1-0 win over Hungary in Group C. The only goal of the game was a tremendous effort from Fernbahce forward Sanli Tuncay. It came just before the interval as Cetin Servat headed into his path and he brilliantly lobbed over Gabor Kiraly to seal the win. Zoltan Gera almost levelled in the second half with a fee kick but his effort hit the bar and Turkey hung on to claim the victory.
Turkey are now level on top of the group with Norway - after the Scandinavian nation lost 1-0 to European champions Greece. The only goal of the game in Athens came just after the half hour mark when Kostas Katsouranis fired home.
A terrific second half come back from Bosnia-Herzegovina gave them a 2-2 draw in Moldova. The home side raced into a two-goal lead as Sergei Rogaciov fired home twice (13 & 32 pen). Bosnia, though, battled back well and pulled one back on the hour-mark through Zvjezdan Misimovic. They then sealed a share of the spoils with 22 minutes left as Ivica Grlic pounced.
Group D
The Republic of Ireland suffered a nightmare night in Nicosia as Cyprus humiliated Steve Staunton's side in the Euro 2008 qualifier. After Stephen Ireland's early strike, goals from Michalis Constantinou and Alexis Garpozis put Cyprus ahead. Richard Dunne levelled before half-time but Constantinou's penalty restored the Cyprus lead on 50 minutes. Two Constantinos Charalambidis goals plus Richard Dunne's sending off completed the Republic's awful evening.
Wales' Euro 2008 hopes suffered a major blow as they were soundly beaten by an impressive Slovakia side in Cardiff. Dusan Svento slotted home the first to kick off a horror afternoon for keeper Paul Jones on his 50th appearance. A fluffed Jones clearance saw Marek Mintal score from 35 yards before Gareth Bale responded with a free-kick. Mintal's 25-yard screamer put Slovakia back in control, before Miroslav Karhan's chip and Robert Vittek's cool finish compounded Welsh misery.
Czech Republic handed out the anticipated thrashing to San Marino, by chalking up a 7-0 win in Liberec, to maintain their 100 percent start to qualifying. Marek Kulic gave the Czechs a 15th minute lead with his first goal for his country, and Jan Polak's right foot shot doubled the lead for Karel Bruckner's team seven minutes later. Milan Baros's left foot effort (28) and Jan Koller's header (43) erased any doubt over the destination of the three points. David Jarolim claimed his first international goal at the start of the second period, and Koller scored his side's sixth goal from close range in the 52nd minute. Baros's downward header twenty minutes from time completed the scoring - mercifully for the visitors, who have now conceded 20 goals in their first two qualifiers.
Group E
England's Euro 2008 qualifying campaign stuttered after a disappointing draw against Macedonia at Old Trafford. Steve McClaren's side wasted several chances, with Gary Neville and Steven Gerrard hitting the woodwork. Macedonia keeper Jane Nikoloski saved well from Frank Lampard and Peter Crouch, but Igor Mitrevski's header was only inches away from shocking England. Wayne Rooney was substituted on his return and Gerrard will miss the clash with Croatia after a yellow card.
Russia drew at home for the second qualifier in a row as Israel fought back to seal a 1-1 stalemate. Guus Hiddink's side could not beat Croatia in their opening encounter, and Israel proved to be another tricky prospect in Moscow, as Amit Ben Shushan cancelled out Andrei Arshavin's opener. Russia made a quick-fire start and broke the deadlock after just five minutes when Arshavin picked up a pass from Pavel Pogrebniak and fired home with his left foot. However with six minutes to go Ben Shusan silenced the home support as he beat Igor Akinfeev at the second attempt.
Croatia claimed their first win of the qualifying stages and an emphatic one it was as they hammered Andorra 7-0 in Zagreb. The hero of the evening was undoubtedly Basel striker Mlaen Petric - who helped himself to four goals. Petric had a brace by half time (12 & 37) before completing his hat-trick on 48 minutes and then adding another just two minutes later. Werder Bremen striker Ivan Klasnic made it 5-0 on the hour before Bosko Balaban (62) and Luka Modric (83) sealed victory.
Group F
Northern Ireland put in an impressive defensive display to claim a point in their Group F qualifier against the Danes in Copenhagen. Denmark dominated from the start with Jon Dahl Tomasson and Peter Lovenkrands going close before Jonny Evans made a vital clearance just before the break. The visitors offered little in attack while Denmark continually pressed and Daniel Agger hit the crossbar late on. A booking rules Michael Duff out of Wednesday's game against Latvia.
Sweden recorded an excellent 2-0 win over Spain to maintain their 100 percent start to Euro 2008 qualifying, but Luis Aragones's side have now suffered back-to-back defeats. Johan Elmander gave the Swedes the lead in the 10th minute - his crisp shot from Marcus Allback's cross finding the back of the net. Allback himself got on the scoresheet eight minutes from time to round off the win. The former Aston Villa man collected a cross from Christian Wilhelmsson before rifling home. Their third win sees the Scandinavians consolidate leadership of the group, but Spain are ailing and would appear, even if at this early stage, to have their work cut out to ensure a smooth passage to Austria & Switzerland.
Latvia earned a first three-point haul with an emphatic 4-0 victory over Iceland. The hosts effectively confirmed their victory inside 25 minutes - Girts Karlsons's 14th minute shot and Maris Verpakovskis's header less than 60 seconds later doing the early damage. The latter struck again just before the half hour, and Aleksejs Visnakovs's 20 yard shot in the 52nd minute completed the rout.
Group G
Romania moved top of their section following a 3-1 win over Belarus. Adrian Mutu got the ball rolling for Romania, when he turned in a cross from Florentin Petre just seven minutes in. And the lead was doubled by Ciprian Marica from long range just three minutes later. Belarus reduced the arrears in the 20th minute, however, when Sergei Kornilenko converted a chance created by Alexander Hleb. The hosts were made to sweat for the three points, but made sure of victory through Dorin Goian's header from another Petre assist.
Arsenal's Robin van Persie continued his fine recent form with an equaliser for the Netherlands against Bulgaria. Martin Petrov gave the hosts a 12th minute lead in Sofia, but van Persie's close range finish rescued a point for Marco van Basten's side, who are second in the group, having claimed seven points from their first three fixtures.
Slovenia got their own campaign off and running against Luxembourg with a 2-0 win. Milivoje Novakovic (30) headed his first international goal for the hosts, and striker Robert Koren wrapped up the three points just before the interval with a superb strike from distance.
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