UEFA WC Qualifiers Round-Up: Italy, Spain Secured Victories; Wales Finished A Goalless Draw Against Republic Of Ireland
Mar 25, 2017 at 12:28 PM
In the round 5 of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualification from UEFA zone, Italy and Spain retained their fight for being top in the ultimate group table position by winning their respective matches.
On the other hand, Wales drew against the hosts Republic of Ireland which also pushed Gareth Bale’s nation into an uncomfortable position.
In the other games, Serbia, Austria, Macedonia, Turkey, Croatia and Iceland claimed victories against their respective opponents.
Here are the details round-up with current standings of each group.
Group D
Hosts Georgia suffered a 3-1 defeat against Serbia while another hosts Austria clinched a 2-1 victory against Moldova. But on the other hand, Wales’ qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup is threatening after holding Republic of Ireland to a goalless draw.
Serbia climbed up on the top of the table after beating the hosts Georgia by 3-1. Nika Kacharava put the hosts ahead on just 5 minutes which was equalised through a penalty by Dusan Tadic (45’) just before the half-time. In the second half, Aleksandar Mitrovic (64′) and Mijat Gacinovic (86′) scored the goals for Serbia which led them to a victory.
Making a goalless draw against the hosts Republic of Ireland, Wales remained at the third position in Group A’s points table with 4 points behind from the top 2 teams. Wales’ defender Neil Taylor was sent off directly on 69 minutes after making a hurtful challenge on the opponent player Seamus Coleman. It was a very serious challenge which was forced Coleman to go off the field with the help of a stretcher. However, later the hosts failed to take that advantage as both the teams disappointed with their shots which mostly went off target.
On the other hand, Republic of Ireland is now standing at the second position due to just the lower goal-difference than Serbia.
In the other game, Austria beat Moldova (by 2-0) with the help of two late goals by Marcel Sabitzer (75′) Martin Harnik (90′).
Brief Scores:
Georgia 1 – 3 Serbia
Republic of Ireland 0 – 0 Wales
Austria 2 – 0 Moldova
Group Standings after the end of Round 5
Position | Team | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | GD | Points |
1 | Serbia | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | +6 | 11 |
2 | Republic of Ireland | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | +4 | 11 |
3 | Wales | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 7 |
4 | Austria | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | +1 | 7 |
5 | Georgia | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | −4 | 2 |
6 | Moldova | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | −11 | 1 |
(Note: GD = goals differences)
Group G
Winning their respective matches, Spain and Italy continue their fight for the top spot at the end of Group G clashes.
Hosts Spain comfortably beat Israel by 4-1. Spain went ahead by 3-0 with the goals of David Silva (13′), Vitolo (45’+1′), Diego Costa (51′). Lior Refaelov opened the scoreline for Israel on 76 minutes while Isco netted the 4th goal for the 2010 FIFA WC champions on 88 minutes.
Another hosts Italy secured a 2-0 victory against Albania. Through a penalty, Daniele De Rossi (12’) opened the scoreline for Italy early in the match. On 80 minutes, Ciro Immobile extended Italy’s lead to 2-0.
In the meantime, Macedonia earned their first point in this qualification after beating the hosts Lichtenstein by 3-0. Boban Nikolov broke the deadlock on 43 minutes while Ilija Nestoroski scored the next two goals on 68 minutes and 73 minutes respectively. Just before the end of the match, Nestoroski had a great chance to complete his hat-trick as he got a penalty shot but his shot was saved by the hosts’ goalkeeper Peter Jehle.
Brief Scores:
Spain 4 – 1 Israel
Italy 2 – 0 Albania
Liechtenstein 0 – 3 Macedonia
Group Standings after the end of Round 5
Position | Team | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | GD | Points |
1 | Spain | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | +17 | 13 |
2 | Italy | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | +9 | 13 |
3 | Israel | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
4 | Albania | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | −4 | 6 |
5 | Macedonia | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 3 |
6 | Liechtenstein | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | −18 | 0 |
(Note: GD = goals differences)
Group I
Croatia remained their top position in the Group I table after edging out Ukraine while Iceland climbed at the second position after beating the hosts Kosovo by 2-1. Turkey also claimed their important victory against Finland by 2-0.
Hosts Croatia added 3 points in their points table after clinching a 1-0 victory against Ukraine. Nikola Kalinic (38’) was the only scorer in that match.
On the other hand, Iceland secured a 2-1 victory against the hosts Kosovo. Bjorn Sigurdarson (25′) opened the scoreline for the visitors which was extended by Gylfi Sigurdsson on 35 minutes through a penalty goal. On 52 minutes, Atdhe Nuhiu scored a goal for Kosovo but that only reduced their deficit in the match.
Meanwhile, Turkey clinched a 2-0 victory on their home ground against Finland with the help two early goals from Cenk Tosun (9’ and 13’). With this victory, Turkey remains in the fight to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Brief Scores:
Turkey 2 – 0 Finland
Croatia 1 – 0 Ukraine
Kosovo 1 – 2 Iceland
Group Standings after the end of Round 5
Position | Team | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | GD | Points |
1 | Croatia | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | +10 | 13 |
2 | Iceland | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | +2 | 10 |
3 | Ukraine | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | +3 | 8 |
4 | Turkey | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | +2 | 8 |
5 | Finland | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | −5 | 1 |
6 | Kosovo | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | −12 | 1 |
(Note: GD = goals differences)