#and i was only off by one goal on switzerland italy and spain georgia?

[probayern]

also that was the third achtelfinale fixture i've predicted exactly correctly, what sort of black magic have i accidentally harnessed

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Euro 2020 qualifiers: Five things you might have missed as Sergio Ramos rises up the rankings

Euro 2020 qualifying was in full swing on Thursday night as the Republic of Ireland gained a priceless 1-1 draw at home against Switzerland.

Mick McCarthy’s men had gone behind to a second-half goal from Newcastle’s Fabian Schar but hit back with a late equaliser from David McGoldrick – his first international goal – and now look good value for top spot in Group D.

Thursday also saw the likes of Italy, Spain, Denmark and Sweden all battle for points to make sure they’re in the hat for next summer’s showpiece tournament.

So, here are five things you may have missed from a busy night of football.

1. Italy survive scare to remain on track

Absent from the 2018 World Cup and generally unconvincing in the two tournaments before that, it’s been a tough old time for Italy. Their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign has been far more fruitful, however, with the Azzurri sitting pretty atop Group J with five wins from five, following their latest victory over Armenia.

Roberto Mancini – Italy

These latest three points didn’t come easy, however, with Roberto Mancini’s side having to overcome an early goal from Alexander Karapetyan and it was only when Armenia’s hero was sent off after picking up a second yellow card that the Italians truly established their dominance in the game, eventually running out 3-1 winners. Goals from Andrea Belotti (x2) and substitute Lorenzo Pellegrini did the damage.

Italy have a very favourable qualifying group which should give this young, new-look side plenty of time to gel ahead of their major tournament return next year but they’ll need to be far more cold-blooded when that stage comes around.

2. Ramos takes another step up the ladder

Sergio Ramos doesn’t do things by halves, does he? The Real Madrid legend converted from the penalty spot once again on Thursday to put Spain 1-0 up at half-time away against Romania, after Dani Ceballos had been felled in the box. That strike moved Ramos to 10th in his country’s all-time goalscoring charts, level with Michel on 21, on what is his 166th cap for Spain. One more will see him equal Iker Casillas as La Roja’s most capped player of all time.

Sergio Ramos has now scored 21 senior international goals, equalling Míchel has the 10th top-scoring male in Spain’s history.

Another from the spot. pic.twitter.com/imzY952tLs

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) September 5, 2019

But this is no mere defender or goalscorer we’re talking about, this is Sergio Ramos. He, of course, got himself booked for “excessive celebration” or, more accurately, giving it large in front of the Romanian supporters after certain sections had been showing some less than exemplary behaviour.

Spain had to battle hard for their three points in the end, with Florin Andone closing the gap after Paco Alcacer had doubled the advantaged. Diego Llorente’s late red card only made things more difficult but Roberto Moreno’s men held out.

Never change, Sergio, never change.

3. Eriksen double keeps Denmark in contention

Draws with Switzerland and Republic of Ireland in their opening two games had left Denmark unscathed but in desperate need of some wins in Group D. Those fears are now far in the distance as the Danes followed up their 5-1 victory over Georgia in June with a 6-0 breeze past Gibraltar on Thursday, with Spurs contract rebel Christian Eriksen bagging twice from the penalty spot.

The awarding of the second spot-kick was a little questionable, with Jack Sergeant appearing to win the ball fairly from Yussuf Poulsen, only for the referee to blow his whistle for a foul. Not that Eriksen will care now that he sits on 29 international goals.

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It’s still very much looking like it could be pot luck between Denmark, Republic of Ireland and Switzerland in Group D but these back-to-back wins have the Scandanavians in a strong position, with two of their next three qualifiers coming at home.

4. A tight game in a tight group

As we mentioned, Group D looks really, really tight. The Republic of Ireland, Denmark and Swizterland all headed into Thursday night unbeaten, with draws being handed out like sweets and the top three looking impossible to separate.

That trend looked set to end as the Irish succumb to a fine team goal from the Swiss, finished by Newcastle United’s Fabian Schar after the visitors had piled on the pressure during the second half. But Mick McCarthy’s side kept on pressing and probing for openings and after Glenn Whelan’s late wonder strike nearly broke the crossbar in two, David McGoldrick found the equaliser to lift the roof off the Aviva Stadium. The Sheffield United man is finally off the mark for his country in his 11th appearance.

1 – With their first shot on target in the second half, David McGoldrick has netted his first ever international goal for Republic of Ireland, in what is his 11th appearance for The Boys in Green. Response. #IRLSUI pic.twitter.com/5nFvrApJnk

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 5, 2019

Ireland remain top of the group, for now, but Denmark and Switzerland have one and two games in hand respectively over the leaders. With blows still to be traded between the trio, this is going down to the wire.

5. Lindelof on target as Sweden take an iron grip on second

If you’re looking for goalscorers in this current Swedish crop, you’ll probably go to Emil Forsberg, Marcus Berg or maybe even Andreas Granqvist from the penalty spot. You certainly wouldn’t be keeping an eye out for Victor Lindelof’s name popping up on the scoresheet.

But Thursday night’s trip to minnows Faroe Islands saw the Swedish race into a 4-0 half-time lead which, in the end, was enough to seal the points and give them an iron grip on second place in Group F.

JAAAA!! Han är tillbaka i landslaget, och gör mål direkt!! Lindelöf sätter 3-0!

pic.twitter.com/GmP9nnumTl

— Svensk Fotboll (@svenskfotboll) September 5, 2019

And who was it firing in the third goal? Lindelof, of course, with the Man Utd centre-back firing right-footed into the bottom corner following a Robin Quaison corner. That’s an impressive four goals in 31 caps for Lindelof now, who has scored just one goal in 73 games during his time at Old Trafford.

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Euro 2020 Qualifying: October Odds, Dates, TV Schedule and Predictions | Bleacher Report

Clive Mason/Getty Images

European club football takes a break in the coming days in order to make way for another two rounds of qualifying for the 2020 UEFA European Championship.

There are six days of international action to look forward to, all kicking off on Thursday, when the headline match is arguably the Netherlands’ Group C fixture against Northern Ireland. 

Spain, Belgium, Italy and England, meanwhile, will all be looking to keep their perfect records intact over six days of intense action.

                            Euro 2020 Qualifying Matches, Odds and Predictions

*All kick-offs 7:45 p.m. BST/2:45 p.m. ET unless otherwise stated

Thursday, October 10

Group C: Netherlands 3-1 Northern Ireland (Home 2-11, Draw 15-2, Away 20-1), Belarus 2-1 Estonia (Home 8-15, Draw 10-3, Away 15-2)

Group E: Croatia 1-0 Hungary (Home 4-11, Draw 9-2, Away 9-1), Slovakia 1-1 Wales (Home 23-15, Draw 11-5, Away 23-10)

Group G: Latvia 0-3 Poland (Home 40-1, Draw 11-1, Away 1-10), Austria 3-1 Israel (Home 4-9, Draw 17-4, Away 15-2), North Macedonia 2-3 Slovenia (Home 22-9, Draw 23-10, Away 23-17)

Group I: Kazakhstan 0-0 Cyprus (3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET, Home 7-6, Draw 12-5, Away 27-10), Belgium 6-0 San Marino (Home 1-100, Draw 35-1, Away 150-1), Russia 2-1 Scotland (Home 8-15, Draw 16-5, Away 13-2)

                   Friday, October 11 

Group A: Czech Republic 1-3 England (Home 71-10, Draw 19-5, Away 6-13), Montenegro 1-1 Bulgaria (Home 15-13, Draw 12-5, Away 11-4)

Group B: Portugal 4-0 Luxembourg (Home 1-18, Draw 14-1, Away 70-1), Ukraine 2-0 Lithuania (Home 1-10, Draw 11-1, Away 45-1)

Group H: Iceland 1-3 France (Home 17-2, Draw 15-4, Away 4-9), Turkey 2-0 Albania (Home 4-9, Draw 18-5, Away 9-1), Andorra 0-1 Moldova (Home 39-10, Draw 2-1, Away 11-10)

                               Saturday, October 12 

Group D: Georgia 1-1 Republic of Ireland (2 p.m. BST/9 a.m. ET, Home 3-1, Draw 21-10, Away 23-17), Denmark 1-2 Switzerland (5 p.m. BST/midday ET, Home 11-8, Draw 9-4, Away 23-10)

Group F: Faroe Islands 0-2 Romania (5 p.m. BST/midday ET, Home 33-2, Draw 27-5, Away 1-4), Norway 0-2 Spain (Home 7-1, Draw 10-3, Away 18-35), Malta 0-3 Sweden (Home 45-1, Draw 45-4, Away 1-12)

Group J: Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-1 Finland (5 p.m. BST/midday ET, Home 6-5, Draw 9-4, Away 143-50), Italy 2-1 Greece (Home 3-14, Draw 63-10, Away 18-1), Liechtenstein 0-2 Armenia (Home 57-4, Draw 61-10, Away 1-4)

                   Sunday, October 13

Group C: Belarus 1-4 Netherlands (5 p.m. BST/midday ET, Home 25-1, Draw 8-1, Away 11-78), Estonia 0-3 Germany  (Home 60-1, Draw 12-1, Away 1-20)

Group E: Hungary 2-0 Azerbaijan (5 p.m. BST/midday ET, Home 2-7, Draw 113-20, Away 49-4), Wales 1-1 Croatia (Home 21-10, Draw 11-5, Away 16-11)

Group G: Poland 3-1 North Macedonia (Home 1-3, Draw 9-2, Away 8-1), Slovenia 1-2 Austria (Home 7-4, Draw 21-10, Away 9-5)

Group I: Kazakhstan 0-3 Belgium (2 p.m. BST/9 a.m. ET, Home 21-1, Draw 7-1, Away 1-7), Cyprus 1-2 Russia (5 p.m. BST/midday ET, Home 57-10, Draw 13-4, Away 14-25), Scotland 3-0 San Marino (5 p.m. BST/midday ET, Home 1-100, Draw 25-1, Away 66-1)

                               Monday, October 14

Group A: Bulgaria 0-2 England (Home 16-1, Draw 5-1, Away 2-9), Kosovo 2-2 Montenegro (Home 4-6, Draw 3-1, Away 4-1)

Group B: Ukraine 1-1 Portugal (Home 5-2, Draw 12-5, Away 15-13), Lithuania 0-3 Serbia (Home 40-1, Draw 14-1, Away 1-20)

Group H: France 4-2 Turkey (Home 3-10, Draw 9-2, Away 9-1), Iceland 4-0 Andorra (Home 1-100, Draw 22-1, Away 80-1), Moldova 0-1 Albania (Home 3-1, Draw 23-10, Away 21-20)

                  Tuesday, October 15

Group D: Switzerland 2-1 Republic of Ireland (Home 4-6, Draw 13-5, Away 7-2), Gibraltar 0-2 Georgia (Home 50-1, Draw 14-1, Away 1-25)

Group F: Sweden 0-2 Spain (Home 5-1, Draw 3-1, Away 3-5), Romania 2-2 Norway (Home 6-4, Draw 21-10, Away 36-17), Faroe Islands 0-0 Malta (Home 3-4, Draw 3-1, Away 7-2)

Group G: Israel 3-0 Latvia (Home 1-20, Draw 12-1, Away 55-1)

Group J: Liechtenstein 0-4 Italy (Home 50-1, Draw 28-1, Away 1-100), Greece 3-2 Bosnia and Herzegovina (Home 6-4, Draw 21-10, Away 21-10), Finland 3-1 Armenia (Home 7-10, Draw 3-1, Away 19-5)

             Matches will feature on Sky Sports via the red button in the UK and ESPN and Univision in the United States. England’s two qualifiers will be broadcast on ITV in the UK. Live-stream links: Sky Go, ITV Hub, WatchESPN, Univision NOW.                      

All odds via Oddschecker

                  Group C is possibly the most intriguing of all in Euro 2020 qualifying. It boasts two well-established international behemoths in Germany and Netherlands, but Northern Ireland are currently splitting them at the head of the pool.

Like Germany, Michael O’Neill’s side have 12 points from five games, while the Dutch have only nine having played one fewer match.

Ronald Koeman’s side can change the look of the group and take what many would say is their rightful place in the top two qualifying spots if they pick up three points against Northern Ireland at home on Thursday, and the odds suggest they will do just that.

But the Green and White Army have shown recently they are more than the sum of their parts and should not be underestimated.

Soccrates Images/Getty Images

Only Germany have managed to beat Northern Ireland in their last six matches, and if they can get a point or more against the Dutch in Rotterdam, they will give their chances of qualifying a huge boost.

In many of the other qualifying groups, a clear front-runner has been established.

England have played one game fewer than the rest of Group A, but they still have a three-point lead over second-placed Czech Republic, who they face on Friday.

Gareth Southgate’s side will be aiming to get wins against the Czechs and then in Bulgaria to give themselves even more breathing room.

Belgium, meanwhile, have been similarly perfect so far in qualifying and could run up a cricket score against San Marino in Group I on Thursday.

Inter Milan’s Romelu Lukaku is in decent goalscoring form for his club and will likely be relishing taking on the European minnows given his fine record for his country:

Match of the Day @BBCMOTD

Romelu Lukaku is lethal in a Belgium shirt.

That strike makes it 49 goals in 82 games for his country.

Live: https://t.co/Sij7NszaNs

#bbcfootball #SCOBEL https://t.co/bQHf7qoAAA

European champions Portugal have a good opportunity to close in on the top of Group B.

Draws in their opening two qualifiers saw them get off to a bad start, but Cristiano Ronaldo then inspired consecutive wins over Serbia and Lithuania in September.

Friday’s visit of Luxembourg to Lisbon should end in a routine victory for the hosts before they travel to Ukraine, who sit five points clear of Portugal in the pool.

Given they have a game in hand over the rest of the group, consecutive wins for Fernando Santos’ team over the next week should ease any concerns fans may have had after their slow start to the campaign. 

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