1992 - European Championships - Qualifying

QUALIFICATION

For the qualification stage, there were thirty-three teams were put into seven groups, five of five teams, and two of four teams.

Group 1 saw the 1984 Finalists, France and Spain in the same group.  They were joined by 1976 winners, Czechoslovakia, Iceland and Albania.  After winning the 1984 tournament, France had failed to even qualify for 1988, neither had they made the 1990 World Cup in Italy.  Iceland and Albania were expected to be the whipping boys, so the group winner was going to come from France, Spain or the Czechs.   Each country had Iceland as their first opponents.  They all won and each by just one goal.  Then France met the Czechs in Paris.  Two goals from Papin gave the home side a 2-1 win.  But the Czechs bounced back when Spain visited Prague.  Danek put the Czechs in front but Roberto and Munoz turned things in Spain’s favour.  But Czechoslovakia came back and a 2^nd Danek goal as well as one from Moravcik gave the Czechs an important 3-2 win.  France then beat Albania by just one goal, but Spain were more clinical.  They hit Albania, 9-0 with Butragueno scoring four.  Two months later, France beat Spain, 3-1 in Paris and now Spain were really up against it to try and win the group.  It seemed apparent that the game between Czechoslovakia and France would decide the outcome of the group, and they met in Bratislava in September 1991  Nemecek put the home side in front in the first half, but then two more goals from Papin, including one in the last minute, won the game for France.  France had virtually qualified for the finals.  Iceland then pulled off a surprise beating Spain, 2-0 in Reykjavik, but Spain were already out of contention.  This was emphasised when they were then beaten at home, 1-2 by France as Papin scored again, his 9^th so far.  Then in November 1991, Spain then beat the Czechs, 2-1 in Seville.  When France then beat Iceland, 3-1 in Paris, they won the group and the matches ended as the final game between Albania and Spain was cancelled due to social unrest.   France had won the group by 6pts, winning all their eight matches.

Scotland were drawn in Group 2, in a group where none of the countries had qualified for the ’88 tournament.  They were up against Bulgaria, Romania, San Marino and Switzerland.  They got off to a great start when goals from Robertson and McCoist saw them come from behind to beat Romania, 2-1 at Hampden Park.  Romania then compounded their problems by losing at home to Bulgaria as well.  Scotland then continued their impressive form with another 2-1 win at Hampden when Switzerland were the visitors.  They then travelled to Sofia and another Ally McCoist goal earned them a 1-1 draw.  Both Switzerland and Romania thumped San Marino, and then Bulgaria visited Hampden Park in March 1991.  John Collins thought he won it with a goal in the 83^rd minute but Emil Kostadinov grabbed a late equaliser and the points were shared.  A month later Switzerland missed the opportunity to go top when they were held at home by Romania.  Goals from Strachan and Durie gave Scotland a win in San Marino, but they hadn’t done much to help their goal difference.  Switzerland came from 0-2 down to win 3-2 in Bulgaria, and they and Scotland had moved clear at the top.  In June, Switzerland beat San Marino, 7-0, and moved ahead of Scotland, although they’d played a game more.  Scotland travelled to Berne to meet Switzerland in September 1991, and 2 goals in 8 minutes at the end of the first half gave Switzerland a 2-0 half-time lead.  Gordon Durie got a goal back soon after the break and then Ally McCoist rescued a point for Scotland 7 minutes from time.  Scotland were 1pt behind the Swiss with a game in hand, plus they still had to play San Marino at home.

In October, a Gheorghe Hagi penalty looked to have ruined Scotland’s chances as Romania beat them 1-0 in Bucharest.  November was going to decide Scotland’s fate.  They were at home to San Marino, whilst Switzerland were in Romania.  Scotland won 4-0, but they were more interested in goings on in Bucharest.  Dorin Mateut scored the only goal of the game and Romania had beaten Switzerland, 1-0 and bang went Switzerland’s chances.  Scotland were almost there, but still had the matter of the final game in the group, Bulgaria v Romania.  Adrian Popescu gave the Romanians a first half lead, and if they could win by 2 goals, they would win the group.  Sirakov equalised in the second half and the game ended, 1-1.  Scotland had won the group and qualified for the finals.

Group 3 contained two of the Semi-Finalists from 1988, Italy and USSR, as well as Norway, Hungary and Cyprus.  Italy had also reached the Semi-Finals in their home World Cup in 1990, a tournament USSR didn’t make it to.  USSR, beaten finalists in 1988, started with a 2-0 win over Norway, who themselves then drew 0-0 with Hungary.  Hungary then held Italy to a 1-1 draw in Budapest.  Italy, who failed to qualify for the 1984 finals, were then held at home by USSR and the Soviets held an important advantage.  Norway, Italy and Hungary all then won in Cyprus, and then USSR continued their unbeaten form as an Alexei Mikhailichenko goal gave them the points in Hungary.  Italy then won at home against Hungary before they travelled to Oslo in June 1991.  They were 0-2 down inside 25 minutes and could only muster a consolation goal from Schillaci in a 1-2 defeat.  That defeat was made even worse by USSR turning up in Olso a few months later and winning 1-0.  The Soviets were then held at home by Hungary and Italy had hope but then they travelled to Moscow in October and could only draw 0-0. 

Italy then needed to win their final two matches and hope USSR would lose in Cyprus, but it all fell apart at the first hurdle.  They were held 1-1 in Genoa by Norway and had qualified.  Both countries won their final group games and USSR had won the group by 3pts.  Italy had again missed out on a European Championships.

Group 4 became notorious for what happened later.  Yugoslavia were expected to qualify after they’d reached the Quarter-Finals of Italia ’90.  Austria also made that tournament but didn’t get past the group stage.  Denmark had qualified for the Euro ’88, but lost all their matches.  Northern Ireland were also in the group along with the Faroe Islands who were competing in the qualifying stages for the first time.  The opening match saw one of the big shocks in European football.  Faroe Islands beat Austria, 1-0.  Yugoslavia then won 2-0 in Belfast, before Denmark beat the Faroes.  Denmark then arrived in Belfast and were a goal up before Colin Clarke grabbed a point for the Irish.  Yugoslavia then beat Austria before the big two in the group, Yugoslavia and Denmark, met in Copenhagen.   Bazdarevic and Jarni won it for Yugoslavia with goals in the last 15 minutes.  Yugoslavia now held the upper hand.  The Irish then gained a creditable draw in Austria before being soundly thrashed in Belgrade after a hat-trick by Darko Pancev.  The Irish then were humbled when the Faroes gained a draw in Belfast.  The next big game was when Denmark were in Belgrade, and they won 2-1.  Things were now even between the big two.  Both beat the Faroes, as did Northern Ireland, 5-0 as Colin Clarke scored a hat-trick.  Denmark then won away in Faroes and Austria, without conceding a goal, and had one match left at home to the Irish.  Yugoslavia had two games left, both away and it was the game in Austria that gave Denmark any chance of overhauling them.  Yugoslavia swept aside Faroes before Denmark won at home to the Irish.  It was down to the final game of the group, Austria v Yugoslavia.  If Austria won, Denmark would win the group, but the Yugoslavs just needed a point.  Lukic put Yugoslavia in front and then Dejan Savicevic doubled the lead and Yugoslavia had won the game and the group.  As they and Denmark beat each other, it was Denmark’s failure to beat Northern Ireland in Belfast which cost them their place.

However, things were to take a turn for the unexpected.  You’ll have to wait for Part Two on the final stages, to find out what

Group 5 had 1988 hosts, Germany in with Wales, Belgium and Luxembourg.  Since the 1988 tournament, Germany had been re-unified and were one country for the first time ever in the Euros.  Belgium, runners-up to West Germany in 1980, missed the 1988 tournament but reached the knock-out stage of the 1990 World Cup, losing to England.  They travelled to Cardiff at the old Cardiff Arms Park and took the lead midway through the first half.  But Ian Rush then equalised soon after.  Four minutes to go and the game seemed to heading for a draw, then Dean Saunders and Mark Hughes scored within two minutes of each other and Wales won an important first game.  Germany were then in Luxembourg and were 3-0 up early in the second half.  But then the home side scored twice and the Germans had a rather nervous last 25 minutes to avoid an embarrassment.  They ended up winning 3-2, but had, had a shock.  Wales then arrived in Luxembourg and also only won by 1 goal as Ian Rush scored the only goal of the game.  Belgium then beat Luxembourg, 3-0 and if goal difference was going to come into effect that could be important.  Wales then travelled to Belgium and again took points off them in a 1-1 draw.  When a Lothar Matthaus goal beat Belgium, it soon became apparent that the qualification spot would be between Germany and Wales.  In June 1991 the two countries met in Cardiff.  Ian Rush scored in the 66^th minute and Wales hung on for one of their most famous victories in their history.  The following October, the two met again and the Germans were up for revenge.  Andreas Moller, Rudi Voller and Karl-Heinz Riedle put them 3-0 up by half-time, then Thomas Doll made it 4-0 before Paul Bodin converted a late penalty.  Germany now had the advantage and if they could beat Belgium away, they would be through.  Paul Bodin again was on hand from the spot for the Welsh at home to Luxembourg before the crunch meeting between Belgium and Germany in Anderlecht.  Rudi Voller scored after 16 minutes and that was enough for the Germans to confirm victory.  They then had to negotiate Luxembourg in Leverkusen and a 4-0 win emphasised their class.  Germany won the group by 1pt and had been pushed hard by the Welsh but in the end their experience of qualifying for major tournaments proved the key.

Group 6 contained the holders of the trophy, Netherlands and they were pitted against Portugal, Greece, Malta and Finland.  Finland caused a bit of a shock by holding the Portuguese to a 0-0 draw in the opening game.  The Dutch then travelled to Porto and their first qualification game as holders ended in a 0-1 defeat.  A month later they registered a win as Dennis Bergkamp and Marco van Basten scored the goals which beat Greece.  Then the Dutch moved on to Malta and van Basten hit five as they won 8-0.  Portugal then lost in Athens and had lost the advantage they had earned over the Dutch.  Portugal then won home and away against Malta, before Netherlands had two home wins over Malta and Finland.  In June 1991, Erik Holmgren scored only the 2^nd goal Netherlands had conceded in this group as he equalised Frank de Boer’s opener.  Finland held the Dutch to a 1-1 draw and Portugal were now back in it.  The Portuguese themselves beat Finland before they met the Dutch in Rotterdam.  Robert Witschge scored, what turned out to be, the only goal of the game and the Dutch looked to have won the group.  They had to win their final game in Greece and goals from Bergkamp and Danny Blind meant they did just that.  Netherlands had qualified for the finals, as Portugal finished 2pts behind them.  The Dutch had Marco van Basten’s eight goals to thank for this.

Group 7 contained England who were under new management.  Graham Taylor had taken over from Bobby Robson, after the FA failed to offer him a new contract despite taking England to a penalty kick away from a World Cup Final.  They were up against Republic of Ireland, Turkey and Poland.  The Irish had beaten England in the finals in Germany 1988, and had also met them in the group stages of Italia ’90.  Poland were also familiar opponents, after England beat them in Mexico ’86.

The Irish started with a thumping 5-0 win at home to Turkey, as John Aldridge scored a hat-trick.  On the same night England beat Poland, 2-0 with goals from Gary Lineker and Peter Beardsley.  The following month Ireland and England met in Dublin.  David Platt put England in front, only to see Tony Cascarino equalised 10 minutes from time.  The game ended 1-1, and so the crucial match could well be the return at Wembley.  Poland then won in Turkey, before England and Ireland met again at Wembley in March 1991.  Lee Dixon scored his one and only goal for England inside the first 10 minutes but Niall Quinn equalised mid-way through the half.  Another 1-1 draw and so goal difference could prove crucial.  Poland then won again against Turkey, before grabbing a 0-0 draw in Dublin.  The Irish had dropped a point and would that let England in?  England then travelled to Turkey and Dennis Wise scored the only goal of the game.  In October 1991 England beat Turkey, 1-0 with Arsenal’s Alan Smith scoring the only goal.  On the same night, Ireland were 3-1 up in Poznan, before Poland came back to secure a 3-3 draw.  Now all England needed was a draw in Poznan in November 1991.  That night Ireland beat Turkey, 3-1 and England were trailing 0-1 with less than 15 minutes to go, but up popped Gary Lineker to score the all-important equaliser and England had won the group by 1pt.

So the qualifiers to join hosts Sweden were, France, Scotland, USSR, Yugoslavia, Germany, Netherlands, England.

But much was to change before the Finals took place.  Details of which will appear in the Part Two of this.

Euro 2016 Draw

England and Wales were drawn in the same group for the European Championships in France next summer.

The draw, this evening in Paris, saw two of the home nations pitted together with Slovakia and Russia in Group B.  England will take on Wales in Lens on June 16 in what will be their second match of the tournament.

England’s opening game is in Marseille against Russia on June 11.  Marseille was the venue for England’s 2-0 win over Colombia in France ’98 when David Beckham scored a great free-kick.  England’s last group match will be against Slovakia in St. Etienne on June 20.  St. Etienne was another of England’s venues in ’98, where they lost on penalties to Argentina and Michael Owen scored ‘that goal’.

This tournament has been expanded to 24 teams and this has thrown up the romantic occurrence of several first-timers to Europe’s top party.  Wales and Northern Ireland will make their bow in June, as will Albania, Slovakia and Iceland.

England were one of the top seeds in the draw, along with France, Spain, Germany, Portugal and Belgium.  France were automatically drawn into Group A, although UEFA couldn’t avoid the futility of having to draw their name out anyway, presumably to make sure we hadn’t forgotten them.

They were drawn in with Romania, Albania and Switzerland.  France v Romania will be the opening match Euro 2016 at Stade de France on June 10.

England were drawn out next to go into Group B, along with Wales who meet Slovakia first up on day two of the tournament in Bordeaux.

Northern Ireland were drawn into Group C, which was headed up by World Champions, Germany.  Ukraine and Poland make up the group.  Northern Ireland’s first opponents will be Poland in Nice on June 12.  They take on Germany in Paris on June 21, after meeting Ukraine in Lyon on June 16.

Defending champions, Spain, were drawn into Group D and will meet Czech Republic in their opening game.  Turkey and Croatia were also drawn into this group.

Group E appears to be the toughest of them all and poor old Republic of Ireland were given the honour of trying to find their way out of this one.  Belgium, who top FIFA rankings, Italy and Sweden are to be their opponents.  June 13 sees both opening games in this group with the Republic coming up against Sweden in Stade de France.  They then take on Belgium in Bordeaux on June 18 finishing with Italy in Lille on June 22.

Group F, in contrast, appears the easiest of groups and Portugal can consider themselves very lucky to be drawn top seed in this one.  They’re up against Iceland, Hungary and Austria.

The top two in each group progress to the knock-out stage along with four of the best third-placed teams.  These will be determined by points first, goal difference next and then goals scored.  The knockout phase takes on a similar format as World Cups do, with a Second Round, consisting of sixteen teams leading to a Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals before the Final at Stade de France on July 10.

There are many matches to look forward to and I’ll be posting some previews in anticipation of an exciting tournament.

In addition, I will be posting pieces on each of the previous tournaments.

If you want to follow the tournament using an online wallchart then look no further than this website.  This guy puts together some wonderful spreadsheets which means all you have to do is enter each result and the document automatically updates.  You can try and predict the scores too and see who might meet who in the knock-out rounds.

http://www.soccerwallcharts.com/downloads.html

World Cup 1982 - Day Twenty-One

DAY TWENTY-ONE

Saturday 10^th July 1982

THIRD PLACE PLAY-OFF, Estadio Jose Rico Perez, Alicante. (20:00)

FRANCE   (1)   2   (Girard 13, Couriol 73)

POLAND   (2)   3   (Szarmach 41, Majewski 44, Kupcewicz 46)

France: Castenada; Amoros, Janvion (Lopez), Tresor, Mahut; Tigana (Six), Girard, Larios; Bellone, Couriol, Soler

Poland: Mlynarczyk; Dziuba, Janas, Zmuda, Kupcewicz; Matysik (Wojcicki), Majewski, Buncol, Boniek; Lato, Smolarek

The two losing Semi-Finalists met in Alicante in the game nobody wants to play.  Poland won this corresponding match eight years earlier when they beat Brazil when Grzegorz Lato’s goal gave them a 1-0 win.  France had reached the last four for the first time since 1958, when they beat West Germany in a terrific match, 6-3.  Just two days after their epic encounter against West Germany this time, France took the lead when Girard hit a shot from 25 yards out and put them 1-0 up.  The French had been the more dominant in the early stages, firing several long-range efforts on Mlynarczyk’s goal. 

As the interval approached Poland came more into it, especially Boniek.  Then with 4 minutes of the half to go, Boniek chipped a ball over the defence for Szarmach on the left-hand side of the area and his left-foot shot hit the far post and went in for the equaliser.  Then with virtually the last chance of the half, Poland had a corner on the left which French keeper, Castenada missed completely and Majewski headed into the empty net.  From dominating proceedings the French now went into the break 1-2 down. 

Worse was to come just after the break as Poland had a free-kick down on the left wing.  As Castenada guarded the far post, Kupcewicz saw his opportunity and cleverly clipped his shot inside the near post to put the Poles 3-1 up.  The French created more chances as they tried to get back into the game and got their reward from Tigana played in Couriol and the Monaco striker nicked the ball past Mlynarczyk to reduce the arrears.  In the end Poland were the winners, finishing in 3^rd place with the French having to settle for fourth.

World Cup 1982 - Day Twenty

DAY TWENTY

Thursday 8^th July 1982

SEMI-FINAL, Estadio Nou Camp, Barcelona. (17:15)

ITALY   (1)   2   (Rossi 22, 72)

POLAND   (0)   0 

Italy: Zoff; Bergomi, Scirea, Collovati, Cabrini; Tardelli, Oriali, Antognoni; Conti, Rossi, Graziani

Poland: Mlynarczyk; Dziuba, Janas, Zmuda, Kupcewicz; Matysik, Majewski, Buncol, Ciolek (Palasz); Lato, Smolarek (Kusto)

A repeat of the meeting from Day Two between these two sides and everyone hoped for better than the boring goalless draw they played out in Vigo.  Much had happened since then with both sides finally finding their form.  At the start of the Second Phase few would’ve put money on these two getting this far but then both countries had finished in the last four in recent tournaments, with Italy finishing 4^th in 1978 and Poland finishing 3^rd in 1974.  Poland were without their talisman, Boniek, whose hat-trick against Belgium in the Second Phase had proved enough to see them reach this stage.  After Graziani blasted a shot over, Italy had a free-kick wide on the right.  Antognoni floated it into the area and everyone missed it, except Paolo Rossi who was free in the 6-yard box and got a touch on it, firm enough to beat Mlynarczyk.  After an abysmal tournament Rossi now had 4 goals in his 2 matches.  Poland came back at the Italians but could only fire in shots from outside the box.  After Italy responded with long-range shots of their own, Kupcewicz hit the post from a free-kick.  In the second half Poland continued to try and find a way through but the Italians weren’t budging.  Then with less than 20 minutes to go the Italians went on the attack and Conti’s run down the left saw him chip the ball to the far post and there was Rossi, who else, to head the ball in for this 2^nd goal of the game.  The Poles were finally broken and another World Cup Final appearance had eluded them.  For Italy, it had been a remarkable turnaround but in tournament football they showed it is more important to win the games that matter than worry about those that don’t.

SEMI-FINAL, Estadio Sanchez Pizjuan, Seville. (21:00)

WEST GERMANY   (1)   (1)   3   (Littbarski 17, Rummenigge 102, Fischer 108)

FRANCE   (1)   (1)   3   (Platini 26, Tresor 92, Giresse 98)

West Germany: Schumacher; Kaltz, K-H. Forster, B. Forster, Stielike, Briegel (Rummenigge); Littbarski, Dremmler, Breitner, Magath (Hrubesch); Fischer

France: Ettori; Amoros, Janvion, Tresor, Bossis; Genghini (Battiston)(Lopez), Platini, Tigana, Giresse; Rocheteau, Six

Germany won 5-4 on penalties

Goal - Giresse (France) 0-1

Goal - Kaltz (West Germany) 1-1

Goal - Amoros (France) 1-2

Goal - Breitner (West Germany) 2-2

Goal - Rocheteau (France) 2-3

Miss - Stielike (West Germany) 2-3

Miss – Six (France) 2-3

Goal – Littbarski (West Germany) 3-3

Goal – Platini (France) 3-4

Goal – Rummenigge (West Germany) 4-4

Miss – Bossis (France) 4-4

Goal – Hrubesch (West Germany) 5-4

There had been some memorable games in this World Cup but this one was the one many would talk about for years.  To coin the phrase “it had everything”.  Both countries had lost their opening match in the competition but this was a World Cup for marathons not sprints.  The Germans struck first after Breitner drove forward and put Fischer through but Ettori blocked the shot, only to find the loose ball fall to Littbarski who fired in for the opening goal.  Within 10 minutes the French were level after Platini headed down Giresse’s free-kick to Rocheteau but he was being held back by Bernd Forster and the ref pointed to the spot.  Platini tucked the ball into the right-hand corner of the net with Schumacher diving to the opposite corner.  The other good chance of the first half saw Platini fire just wide after a good counter-attack.

On the hour came one of the most infamous moments in World Cup history.  Platini played a great ball from the halfway line to find Battiston running from deep.  Just on the edge of the area Battiston hit it first time but put his shot just wide.  Suddenly he was clattered to the ground by Schumacher who’d come charging out of his area.  There was little doubt the German keeper had jumped into the Frenchman and he hit him so hard he was out cold.  Eventually he was stretchered off, which was a real pity as he’d only been on the pitch for 10 minutes.  It was a sickening moment which held the game up for quite a while, and unbelievably Schumacher didn’t even receive a booking for his assault.  Afterwards it emerged that Battiston had lost two teeth, suffered three broken ribs and also had a damaged vertebrae from which he still suffers from today.  The French recovered an almost won it in normal time when Amoros hit a fierce strike from the inside left position which thundered against the bar and bounced to safety.  The game was still level after 90 minutes and so extra time was required. 

Two minutes into the extra half-hour and France had a free-kick on the right wing.  Giresse floated it into the area and found Marius Tresor free on the penalty area and he volleyed the ball past Schumacher.  The French poured forward and went further ahead when Giresse fired a low shot from the edge of the area which hit the inside of the post and went in.  France now lead 3-1 and after Schumacher’s thuggery this pleased everyone watching who wasn’t German.  Giresse, one of the players of the tournament, had had another wonderful game and it seemed fitting he should score a crucial goal.  But you write off the Germans at your peril and they threw on Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who was only fit enough for the bench.  Within 5 minutes the German captain had got them back into as he turned in Littbarski’s cross at the near post.  Then early in the second period of extra time another cross from the left by Littbarski, found Hrubesch at the far post and his knockdown was spectacularly turned in by Fischer with his back to goal and we were back level again.  The two sides couldn’t be separated and so for the first time in World Cup history we had a penalty shootout to decide the winner.

The first 5 spot-kicks were all dispatched calmly with the keeper going the wrong way and France lead 3-2.  Then Uli Stielike, who played his football in Spain with Real Madrid, hit his shot straight down the middle and this time Ettori didn’t move and saved easily.  But instead of taking advantage, the French fluffed their lines too as Didier Six saw his kick saved by Schumacher.  Littbarski then stepped up for Germany and tucked it into the top right-hand corner to level to shootout at 3-3.  The two captains then successfully converted their kicks to leave the shootout at 4-4 after 5 kicks each.  The first sudden-death kick was taken by Maxime Bossis and his shot was saved by Schumacher.  Already a villain of the peace earlier in the game, Schumacher moved early on the kick but was allowed to get away with it and Germany now had the advantage.  It fell to Horst Hrubesch and he slotted his home and West Germany won and had reached their 3^rd World Cup Final out of the last 5.  For France they were devastated although there’s little doubt they had emerged as a force to be reckoned with.