ENG U21 3-0 LTU U21

Colchester

England are through to the Play-Off Round of the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualifiers, after their 3-0 win over Lithuania in Group 9 secured their spot as one of the 4 best 2nd-Place finishers from across the 10 groups.

In a must-win game for the home team, there was no breakthrough in the first half at the Community Stadium, with the visitors coming closest by hitting the post. In the second half though, England would rally, and goals from Danny Welbeck (62′), Marc Albrighton (79′), and another late on from man-of-the-match Welbeck (90+1′), would give them a win that would prove to be crucial in the final standings.

For the other contenders from the British Isles, Wales came desperately close to winning Group 3, despite a 1-0 defeat in Italy, and even though they had a higher goal difference than the Italians, UEFA rules dictated that they missed out on top spot based on the away goals scored in the two nation’s head-to-head fixtures. To add insult to injury, Wales would finish 6th in the ‘best runners-up’ table, missing out on that by goal difference. It was better news for Scotland, though, who claimed a late 2-1 win over Austria to book their place as a group winner.

It will now be a few day’s wait before the 14 teams find out who they face in the two-legged Play-Off Round in early October, with the draw being made in Herning (Denmark) on Friday.

The nations that have qualified for the Play-Off Round are:

Group Winners:

Romania, Switzerland, Italy, Holland, Czech Republic, Sweden, Croatia, Ukraine, Greece, Scotland

Best Runners-Up:

Spain, England, Belarus, Iceland

Whoever claims that showboating on a football pitch never leads to anything constructive is wrong… just ask Morrocan international Hassane Alla, who superbly set up a goal for Brice Jovial in a game for French Ligue 2 club Le Harve.

ENG 4-0 BUL

London

England have put their World Cup disappointment behind them with an emphatic 4-0 triumph over Bulgaria in their opening UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifier at Wembley.

Sporting a new kit, England used the opportunity of a fresh start to spring into the lead, with Jermain Defoe smashing in from close range (3′). Despite good chances for both teams throughout, it would be England who seized the game, first through Defoe (61′), then a long-range effort from substitute Adam Johnson (83′), and another late on from Defoe (86′) to complete his hat-trick, and put him joint top of the top scorers chart at this early stage, with the team surging straight to the top if Group G on goal difference.

The next fixture for England is a Quaifier away to Switzerland on Tuesday evening in Basel.

ISR 3-1 MLT

Ramat Gan

A hat-trick from new Chelsea signing Yossi Benayoun has edged his country to a victory over Malta, in what was only the second in a long line of UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying fixtures over the next year-and-a-half.

Like Estonia and the Faroe Islands a few weeks ago, the two teams would have had a boost in the amount of international attention that they recieve due to being the only game of the day. Israel would want to win this match to make a statement about their ability to qualify for a major tournament for the first time since 1970 and their first-ever European Championship, and got off to a flying start through Yossi Benayoun (7′). Malta, though, would want to prove that they are no pushovers, and an equaliser would come via Jamie Pace’s header (38′). The second half would see the better opportunities go to the home team though, and it was the captain Benayoun who grabbed two more goals for his country (64′(p), 75′). The result, for a day at least, sends Israel top of Group F, and Malta bottom.

The other teams in Group F, Croatia, Greece, Latvia, and Georgia, will play their matches tonight, alongside no less than 20 other fixtures to be played this evening in the Qualification campaign. For the teams on the British Isles, Republic of Ireland will start the evening with an early kick-off away to Armenia, while Wales will visit Montenegro. Lithuania play host to Scotland, while England begin their campaign at home to Bulgaria, and Northern Ireland visit Slovenia. For almost all of the teams, it will be the first of 8 or 10 games (with two more shoud they be in the Play-Off Round) that will form the result of their efforts to reach the tournament in Ukraine and Poland in 2012.

On transfer deadline day yesterday, one of the main stories was the fact that Ghanaian striker, and World Cup star Asamoah Gyan has moved to Sunderland in a £13M deal from French club Rennes.

It was a move that looked set to happen for a long time throughout the summer, and on deadline day it was finally pushed through, with Steve Bruce probably set to use him as a replacement for recent Stoke recruit Kenwyne Jones.

In the World Cup, Gyan was one of the stars of a Ghana team which impressively made their way to the Quarter-Finals. Gyan got 3 goals, which included a late penaly winner against Serbia, an early penalty against Australia, and an extra time goal that saw off the USA in the Round of 16. In the Quarters against Uruguay, Gyan had the chance to make history, after Dominic Adiyiah’s goal-bound header in the last minute of extra time was denied with a deliberate handball from Luis Suarez. With the last kick of the match, Gyan had the opportunity to score from the penalty spot to put his country into the Semi-Finals, but unfortunately his shot hit the crossbar, and although he would score in the penalty shoot-out that followed, it was not enough to prevent Uruguay from winning.

Gyan will have to wait at least another four years to have another go at the World Cup, but for now the 24-year-old Ghanaian will want to help his new club to success.

The world of football has been stunned by the news that the last surviving player of the first-ever FIFA World Cup Final (in 1930), Francisco Varallo, has died at age 100 at his home in La Plata.

Argentine winger Varallo, aged 20 at the time of his country’s 4-2 defeat to host nation Uruguay all those years ago, has recently been referred to as the last surviving reference as to what it was like to play in that historic occasion, and due to special circumstances this year (he, the last surviving player, had turned 100, and it had been 80 years since the 1930 Final), was giving plenty of interviews to websites and magazines to share his experiences.

Varallo was also a success at club level, and until recently held the record for being all-time top goalscorer at Boca Juniors (the record of 190 goals was broken by Martin Palermo) to go with his World Cup silver medal.

It has been said that Varallo nearly missed out on the famed inagural final through injury, but he insisted on playing, saying that he “Wouldn’t miss it for the world”. The history books seem to be thankful of this decision, and although the subsequent defeat was his “biggest regret”, his mere presence in the match meant that he would be an ambassador of the game for many years to come.

INTER MILAN 0-2 ATLETICO MADRID

After winning the Italian Super Cup last week, Inter Milan could not claim their second trophy of the season, after Rafa Benitez’s side lost 2-0 to Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup at the Stade Louis II in Fonteville, Monaco.

After a dull first half, the UEFA Champions League winners conceded a goal after sloppy defending allowed Jose Antonio Reyes the opportunity to score (62′). Soon after Atletico had substituted their star striker Diego Forlan for a rest, they were 2-0 up, after an unalert Inter defence failed to notice Sergio Aguero coming over to convert a square ball into the open goal (82′). A few minutes after the goal, Inter had a chance to set up an exciting finish when they won a penalty, but David De Gea saved Champions League hero Diego Milito’s effort, and 2-0 was the final score.

The result meant that Atletico Madrid, the first-ever team to win the UEFA Europa League, also became the first Europa League winners to claim the Super Cup.

ASTON VILLA (3)2-3(4) RAPID VIENNA

Aston Villa have been knocked out of the UEFA Europa League in the Play-Off Round for the second season in a row, and for the second season running, it has come at the hands of Austrian club Rapid Vienna, almost a year to the day since the two teams last met at Villa Park.

It was a good start for Kevin McDonald’s side, with Gabriel Agbonlahor (who would later go off injured) opening the scoring (22′). However, the half-time break seemed to do wonders for Rapid, with Atdhe Nuhiu equalising (52′) to make it 1-1, a score which would take the match to extra time. Villa captain Stilyan Petrov had a chance to amend that prospect, but saw a tame penalty saved, with Emile Heskey blasting the rebound over the bar. Heskey would make up for his mistake soon after, after turning in an affort with his chest (77′).

For a moment, it looked as though Aston Villa would erase the sour memories of last years’ encounter with Rapid Vienna, but the Austrian club had other ideas. In fashion with their name, rapid strikes from Mario Sonnleitner (78′) and Rene Gartler (81′) turned the game around drastically, an aggregate lead which Villa would not be able to claw back.

Rapid now go into the pot for the UEFA Europa League Group Stage draw alongside 47 other clubs, including holders Athletico Madrid, and the two remaining English clubs, Manchester City and Liverpool. None of the Scottish or Welsh representatives managed to make it past the Play-Off Round.

BOL U15 5-0 HAI U15

Singapore City

Bolivia have won the final of the 2010 Youth Olympic Boy’s Football Tournament, after their second demolition of Haiti in the space of 2 weeks. Goals from Rodrigo Mejido (5′), Jorge Alpire (31′), Christian Arano (53′), and Luis Banegas (60′, 72′) gave the South American representatives over their Northern counterparts, which followed on from a 9-0 win over Haiti in the Group Stage. The Haitians will be proud of their efforts though, and will hope that their silver medal will restore some happiness to their recovering nation.

In an earlier game, host country Singapore took the Bronze medal with a 4-1 triumph over Montenegro in a match between the losing Semi-Finalists. The remaining teams that were knocked out in the Group Stage, Zimbabwe and Vanuatu, played a 5th-Place Play-Off a couple of days previously, with the Oceanians winning 2-0. As there were no qualification tournaments beforehand, each of the six continental confederations were asked to choose a nation to represent them in this event for Under-15 teams.

The 6-team tournament was one of the best-attended events of the 2010 Games (also surpassing the women’s tournament), in the first-ever Youth Olympic Games, which were staged in Singapore City (Singapore) (the next edition, in 2014, is to be staged in Nanjing (China)). The highest attendances came when the host nation were involved, with crowd levels at the Jalan Besar Stadium reaching the 6,000 capacity. The tournament, and the Youth Olympics as a whole, seem to have been viewed as a success, and the organizers will hope that this carries over into the next edition.

2010 Youth Olympics Football Tournament - Statistics

Final Standings:

1) BOL
2) HAI
3) SIN
4) MNE
5) VAN
6) ZIM

Other Statistics:

Top Scorer: Rodrigo Mejido (BOL), 6 goals
Total Goals: 44 (in 11 matches)
Highest Attendance: 6,000, SIN 0-2 HAI, Semi-Final, Singapore City

LIVERPOOL 1-0 TRABZONSPOR

Liverpool will take a one-goal lead to Turkey next week, after a fairly good performance resulted in a 1-0 win over Trabzonspor in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League Play-Off Round clash.

Although the Turkish club had a few good opportunities throughout the match, it was Liverpool who looked more dominant, and near the end of the first half, Joe Cole managed to put in a through ball for Ryan Babel, who scored with a comfortable finish (45+1′). In the second half, Liverpool could have had at least 3 goals on their tally, after Joe Cole missed a penalty, and Christian Poulsen had a close-range effort wrongly ruled out. It could be seen as a tricky second leg in Turkey, but Roy Hodgson’s side now have the comfort of an advantage…