Here’s Ben Fisher’s report from Prague. Full roundup of the European qualifiers to follow.
From Reuters in Kazan.
An own goal by Slovakia defender Milan Skriniar handed Russia a 1-0 home win in Group H. In an attempt to clear the ball from the six-yard box, Skriniar sloppily deflected a dangerous cross by Arsen Zakharyan past goalkeeper Marek Rodak, handing Russia the lead in the 24th minute. Slovakia dominated possession, their best chances coming late in the first half.
Full link to tables here. It was a good night for the Dutch in Group G despite only winning 1-0 in Latvia, and a great night for North Macedonia in Group J. Croatia and Russia will go to the wire in Group H. Belgium have it all their own way in Group E after that draw between the Czechs and Wales, the latter having a game in hand.
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Full-time scores in Uefa World Cup qualifying
Group E: Czech Republic 2-2 Wales
Estonia 2-0 Belarus
Group G: Gibraltar 0-3 Montenegro.
Latvia 0-1 Netherlands
Turkey 1-1 Norway
Group H: Cyprus 0-3 Croatia
Malta 0-4 Slovenia
Russia 1-0 Slovakia
Group J: Germany 2-1 Romania
Iceland 1-1 Armenia
Liechtenstein 0-4 North Macedonia
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Full-time: Germany 2-1 Romania
It took the perennial Thomas Muller to win it for Germany against a spirited Romanian team whose goal from Ianis Hagi was a beauty.
Full-time: Czech Republic 2-2 Wales
They both wanted a win, and Wales attacked well, only to defend badly too. That Danny Ward OG was one for the ages but Dan James’ equaliser was a moment to savour.
Late scramble in Germany where is takes Antonio Rudiger’s muscle to clear up some late attacking from Romania.
Yellow card for Wales’ Kieffer Moore, and it comes in time added on, and for climbing too high, the usual reason for his myriad bookings.
We go into the final knockings and Wales would probably now settle for a draw while Germany are pinning Romania back.
A late chance falls for a Romanian equaliser in Hamburg, as Tottenham legend Vlad Chiriches just fails to make a proper connection.
Wales have gone for broke a little bit here, an attacking change made. Rob Page smells Czech blood.
86’ | 🇨🇿 2-2 🏴
— Wales 🏴 (@Cymru) October 8, 2021
Tyler Roberts comes on for Mepham with 5 minutes to go.#CZEWAL | #TogetherStronger
Cyprus 0 Croatia 2 (Josko Gvardiol 80)
More prog plus Sparks from Joe Pearson: “I admit I did like the documentary. A band that played post-punk before punk even existed. Oh, and I have prog-nerd bona fides. Saw Genesis perform “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” back in November of ‘74.”
Goal! Germany 2-1 Romania (Muller, 81)
And here it comes, a flick on at the back post from Goretzka and Muller loops it in for his 40th goal for Germany. He was only 32 last month. What a player.
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Latest on North Macedonia here from the Twitter, where there’s something for everyone who likes their global football.
80th minute: Nikolov tries a knuckling effort from distance that the keeper barely saves.
— Macedonian Football (@MacedonianFooty) October 8, 2021
Boban is playing great out there. Good to see. He had not been in good form for a long time, but he is looking great out there.
Wales’ Connor Roberts takes the force of a Patrik Schick left-footer right in the kisser, but soldiers on. And almost scores at the other end. This has been a real display of guts from the Welsh.
Iceland 1 (Isak Johannesson 77) Armenia 1
Wales look the by far the likelier in Prague. Moore heads down from Chris Mepham’s cross and Aaron Ramsey just fails to get on the end of it. And on comes Sorba Thomas. Burnley’s Matej Vydra comes on for the Czechs.
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That Germany goal just won’t come, and it’s Sane who wallops over this time. There’s plenty of openings as Romania keep retreating.
Now Ramsey goes close for Wales, as that left-hand side of the Czech defence opens up. Harry Wilson is the creator again.
Goal! Czech Republic 2-2 Wales (James, 69)
What a finish. Lovely pass from Harry Wilson and such a cool right-footed placing of the ball. The Czech defenders can be got at....oh is there an offside.....no. Game on!
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Thomas Muller is on for Germany in replacing Timo Werner, while Kai Havertz replaces Marco Reus.
Liechtenstein 0 North Macedonia 2 (Ezgjan Alioski Pen 66)
A Leeds legend on the mark, and North Macedonia stay in the hunt in Group J.
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Leroy Sane goes close in Hamburg, and he’s looking something like his old self after a real loss of form after getting his dream move to Bayern. Manchester City still miss him at his best, if you ask me.
Ianis Hagi has just left the field for Romania while Connor Roberts and Harry Wilson have come on for Wales.
Prog corner, with Joe Pearson: “Just got in from cutting the grass and saw you were running the clockwatch. I wanted to say that you were spot on recommending the Steven Wilson remixes to Football Weekly listeners. He seems to be able to find depth and details missing from the original recordings. My personal favorite is his remix of Jethro Tull’s “Songs from the Wood”, the title track in particular. Anyway, you got an acknowledging nod of the head when you mentioned him. Not entirely sold on Sparks, though....”
That Wales OG has been awarded to Danny Ward, who did take the last touch. As well as a lack of concentration, he seemed to get his feet tied up and tripping over each other.
Malta 0 Slovenia 2 (Andraz Sporar 49)
Goal! Germany 1-1 Romania (Gnabry, 52)
The Bayern forward cut in from the flank and drills it home. It had been coming.
Again: oh no. That’s a Danny Baker Own Goals and Gaffes classic if ever there were. Danny Ward looked as if he was considering the effect of crypto fluctuations rather than watching the ball and Aaron Ramsey’s pass caught him unaware. A disaster.
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Goal! Czech Republic 2-1 Wales (Ramsey OG, 49)
Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Ramsey turned, and passed back. There was some purchase on it, and the Wales goalkeeper Danny Ward seemed to lose his concentration. The ball rolls over his foot before he can stop it crossing the line. Oh no. Oh no.
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Romania have gone closest, and the ball is whipped off the toes of George Pușcaș as he seemed set to tap in.
We are back underway, and Wales will probably take the draw as it stands, having blown that lead so easily. Germany meanwhile push on for their own equaliser, and it’s already one-way traffic in Hamburg.
Half-time scores in World Cup Uefa qualifiers.
Group E: Czech Republic 1-1 Wales
Estonia 0-0 Belarus
Group G: Gibraltar 0-2 Macedonia
Latvia 0-1 Netherlands
Turkey 1-1 Norway
Group H: Cyprus 0-1 Croatia
Malta 0-1 Slovenia
Russia 1-0 Slovakia
Group J: Germany 0-1 Romania
Iceland 0-1 Armenia
Liechtenstein 0-1 North Macedonia
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Half-time: Germany 0-1 Romania
Half-time: Czech Republic 1-1 Wales.
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A couple more have gone in.
Goal! Turkey 1 Norway 1 (Kristian Thorstvedt 41)
Goal! Gibraltar 0 Montenegro 2 (Fatos Beciraj Pen 44)
Gnabry goes close for Germany, creating plenty but looking more than a little desperate at this point.
Goal! Czech Republic 1-1 Wales (Jakub Pesek 38)
Czech Republic hit back, with Pesek finding far too much space on the ball to slot in on the rebound. The Wales wall came apart too easily, with Neco Williams floundering on the line.
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That Wales goal was built on the foundations of some strong defence; Patrik Schick had just gone close...but...oh..
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Goal! Czech Republic 0-1 Wales (Ramsey, 36)
What a breakaway, from a Czech corner. Dan James speeds on, and then Ramsey cuts in, holds his position and slots home. Great goal!
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Gnabry almost sneaks one in at the near post for Germany, just after Marco Reus forces an excellent save from Romania goalkeeper Nita.
Malta 0 Slovenia 1 (Josip Ilicic 27)
In Group H, Croatia are drawing in Cyprus, and Russia leading Slovakia after a Milan Skriniar own-goal.
A booking for Ethan Amapadu of Wales, for a high kick. He had won the ball but he joins Aaron Ramsey in the book, the player sent off during the Euros. Barak, of the Czechs, seems to have been booked for dissent, and will miss their next game. That will be a big miss for them in Belarus.
With 27 minutes gone in Hamburg, Germany are queuing up against a walled Romanian defence, and it looks a matter of time for an equaliser, even if the final ball has been poor so far.
Goal! Latvia 0 Holland 1 (Davy Klaassen 19)
The Everton forgotten man has scored vital goal for LVG, who, let’s be honest here, we all want to see at the next World Cup. It was a pearler of a volley, too.
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Kieffer Moore has a golden chance for Wales after Dan James speeds on, and Moore has almost too long and the save is made.
Chaos in the Romanian box, as Gnabry is knocked over, and smashes into the Romanian keeper. Timo Werner was on the scene but couldn’t pick up the scraps. Hagi’s goal, by the way, was a beauty, involving skill that dad would have been proud of. Ter Stegen’s goalkeeping was not so good.
The Wales goalie Danny Ward makes a good save from Hlozek, after a pass from Schick.
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All quite even in Prague, where it’s not much of game, which is almost certainly the Robert Page plan. The home crowd already seems a bit anxious.
Goal! Germany 0-1 Romania (Hagi, 9)
It’s the son of the great Gheorge who puts Germany behind, and Romania go close to a second, too. Poor start for Hansi Flick’s men.
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And the first goals go in. That Turkey goal could be significant in the group involving Louis van Gaal’s army.
Turkey 1 (Kerem Akturkoglu 6) Norway 0
Gibraltar 0 Montenegro 1 (Adam Marusic 7)
Goalless across Europe so far in the qualifiers, and Wales are under a bit of pressure from the Czechs, with Kieffer Moore back and defending.
We are go in Prague, but only after the Wales teams taking the knee receives boos from the home fans. Not too loud, but loud enough. And Wales get off to a bad start with Aaron Ramsey booked after 35 seconds for a rather reckless aerial challenge.
The national anthems ring out in Prague, just as they do across Europe, and the Welsh national anthem really rings out. That was missed at the Euros.
Aaron Ramsey, unused by Juventus, irreplaceable for Wales.
Wales boss Robert Page, as quoted on Sky Sports:
We played in a similar way to when we got a positive result against them with the wing backs pushing on. They attack with numbers and I’m expecting them to come out of the traps. We can cause a threat though with Aaron Ramsey back in the team.
Czech Republic coach Jaroslav Silhavy, as quoted on Sky:
It will be a crucial match to determine who finishes second. We hope it will be us. The stadium will be full of our fans, and we want to delight them with both our performance and the result.
Those Germany v Romania teams in full:
Germany: ter Stegen, Hofmann, Sule, Rudiger, Kehrer, Goretzka, Kimmich, Gnabry, Reus, Sane, Werner. Subs: Musiala, Wirtz, Klostermann, Ginter, Havertz, Leno, Neuhaus, Raum, Muller, Adeyemi, Schlotterbeck.
Romania: Nita, Ratiu, Rus, Chiriches, Burca, Tosca, Hagi, Stanciu, Razvan Marin, Mihaila, Puscas. Subs: Manea, Aioani, Keseru, Morutan, Cristian Albu, Ivan, Vlad, Maxim, Cicaldau, Bancu, Mitrita, Cordea.
Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey)
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Tomorrow’s England game in Andorra is ON.
The Andorran Football Federation has confirmed the match against England will go ahead despite today’s fire. Andorra’s players are currently training as the clean up operation continues pic.twitter.com/HTW2PLYY4O
— Simon Peach (@SimonPeach) October 8, 2021
Wales manager spoke about Aaron Ramsey in the buildup.
We saw him in training today, he inspires the players. After Baleo, he’s the natural one for me. We’ve got Chris Gunter who is an absolute leader, he doesn’t need to wear the armband. We’ve got Joe Allen in the middle of the park, Danny Ward. I’ve got an abundance of senior players in that changing room that are superb and don’t need the armband, but for this one it’ll be Rambo. Aaron’s trained really well. Aaron’s learning now the older he gets to manage his body, from a conditioning point of view.
And here’s Germany’s team against Romania in Hamburg.
Unsere Startelf! 🔥🇩🇪 #GERROU 🇩🇪🇷🇴 #DieMannschaft pic.twitter.com/OAquUjTb1r
— Die Mannschaft (@DFB_Team) October 8, 2021
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Wales try Kieffer Moore through the middle with Dan James and Aaron Ramsey playing off him. It looks like a five-man defence for Liverpool, with Neco Williams lining up for his first start of the season.
For the Czechs, Patrik Schick, one of the stars of the Euros, is back after a two-match suspension. He was sent off in Cardiff.
And for Czech Republic v Wales
Czech Republic: Vaclik, Mateju, Kalas, Celustka, Novak, Kral, Soucek, Pesek, Barak, Hlozek, Schick. Subs: Zmrhal, Sadilek, Kuchta, Havel, Mandous, Zima, Brabec, Stanek, Vydra, Kopic, Wiesner.
Wales: Ward, Gunter, Rodon, Mepham, Neco Williams, Ramsey, Ampadu, Allen, Morrell, Moore, James. Subs: Connor Roberts, Johnson, Harris, Thomas, Tyler Roberts, Hennessey, Jonathan Williams, Wilson, Adam Davies, Lawrence, Cabango, Vaulks.
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (Oberasbach)
Some teams from those key games.
Latvia v Holland
Latvia: Ozols, Savavnieks, Chernomordy, Dubra, Jurkovskis, Zjuzins, Emsis, Jaunzems, Kigurs, Ciganiks, Uldrikis. Subs: Sorokins, Stuglis, Matrevics, Krollis, Fyodorov, Osh, Savelyev, Ontuzans, Zviedris, Tarasov, Karklins.
Holland: Bijlow, Dumfries, de Vrij, van Dijk, Blind, Klaassen, Frenkie de Jong, Til, Berghuis, Depay, Gakpo. Subs: Timber, Malacia, Lang, de Roon, Gravenberch, Krul, Luuk de Jong, de Ligt, Flekken, Koopmeiners, Malen, Weghorst.
Turkey v Norway
Turkey: Cakir, Celik, Aziz, Demiral, Erkin, Tufan, Ozdemir, Under, Calhanoglu, Akturkoglu, Burak Yilmaz. Subs: Bayindir, Ridvan Yilmaz, Antalyali, Dervisoglu, Muldur, Omur, Dursun, Kutlu, Yazici, Ayhan, Bolat, Karaman.
Norway: Nyland, Pedersen, Strandberg, Hanche-Olsen, Meling, Odegaard, Berg, Thorsby, Hauge, Thorstvedt, Elyounoussi. Subs: Daehli, Berisha, Omoijuanfo, Ryerson, Gregersen, Johnsen, Gyrtebust, Gabrielsen, Myhra, Fossum, Aursnes, Bjorkan.
Cyprus v Croatia
Cyprus: Michael, Andreou, Soteriou, Nicholas Ioannou, Psaltis, Artymatas, Kastanos, Avraam, Pittas, Sotiriou, Papoulis. Subs: Dimitriou, Elia, Keravnos, Gogic, Kakoullis, Loizou, Panagiotou, Demetriou, Charalambos Kyriakou, Tzionis, Antoniades, Mamas.
Croatia: Livakovic, Stanisic, Caleta-Car, Gvardiol, Sosa, Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic, Vlasic, Kramaric, Perisic. Subs: Grbic, Livaja, Pasalic, Barisic, Ivanusec, Jakic, Vida, Skoric, Sluga, Pongracic, Uremovic, Brekalo.
Preamble
The World Cup is but 13 months and change away, and the qualifying situation is starting to become clearer. Friday night in the Uefa region as Robert Page takes his Welsh dragons to the Czech Republic, in a battle key to the race for second place in Group C. Belgium, who lost in the Nations League semi-final on Thursday, have raced away with the group and will be in Qatar give or take another spectacular collapse. There will be no Gareth Bale for Wales, a severe blow after his hat-trick against Belarus, though Aaron Ramsey leads the team. Germany, under Hansi Flick, can put daylight at the top of their group, Group J, by beating Romania. In Group G, Louis van Gaal’s army, the Netherlands, are in Latvia, and hoping Turkey do them a favour by taking points off Norway; a draw would be ideal for LVG. And in Group H, Croatia and Russia are both on 13 points, with Croatia in Cyprus and Russia hosting Slovakia.
All to play for to reach that desert destination. Join me.
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