International Break and Euro 2012 Qualifying

I wasn't able to post in the last week (internet was down at home), but I will attempt to cover the international games from Friday/Saturday and Tuesday.  Anyway, this time I'm going to focus on teams in general, rather than games and give some words on their performances.  I'll be speaking about the following teams:

Ireland
England
Spain
Italy
Netherlands
Germany
USA

Also, I'm sorry but I won't be able to link to any videos at the moment because I can't find any for some games.  But, I'll edit later with links to videos when I get them.

Ireland

An own goal from Armenia send Ireland to the finals

Let's begin with Ireland (the country of my heritage).  Ireland have found their way into the second position in the table for Group B.  They pulled two victories this past weekend despite the absence of captain Robbie Keane.  On Friday, Ireland faced Andorra and produced a 2-0 victory.  Kevin Doyle was a hero again as his goal in the 7th minute put Ireland ahead, and Aiden McGeady solidified the lead in the 20th minute.  Then on Tuesday, Ireland and Armenia played to determine second spot in the group behind Russia.  Ireland managed a lucky, but hard fought 2-1 against Armenia.  Ireland's first point came from an own goal which was equalised by Armenia later.  Then Richard Dunne struck to give Ireland the lead before being sent off himself. This puts Ireland through to the Euro play offs (meaning they'll be playing against Portugal, Croatia, and Czech Republic to find one of two spots in the finals).

England
Well, England played only one game on Friday against Montenegro, and it was an interesting one.  Ashley Young and Darren Bent put England ahead 2-0 in the first half, but Montenegro fought back.  They put one away just before the half to end the first half at 2-1.  Then in the 73rd minute, Rooney was sent off for a pointless tackle (that honestly was not much of a tackle) and England were on the back foot after that.  All looked fine until Adrija Delibasic gave Montenegro the equaliser in the 90th minute to tie the game.  England remains in the top spot for Group G and they haven't lost a game yet, but playing without Rooney might be a bit tough for the goal scoring aspect.

Silva gives Spain the lead against Scotland

Spain
It was a routine weekend for the world champions as they recorded two more wins against the Czech Republic and Scotland.  On Friday, Juan Mata and Xabi Alonso put Spain ahead early with two great goals that were enough to hold for an easy win against the Czech Republic.  Tuesday, it was the game of the dual Davids as David Silva struck a brace and David Villa finished off the scoring against Scotland to give Spain a 3-1 win.  Spain maintains their perfect 8-win-record in Group I, absolutely guaranteeing them a spot in the finals.

Italy
It was a good but mixed weekend for the Italy that began with a Friday 1-1 tie with Serbia.  Marchisio struck early in the first minute to put Italy ahead, but Ivanovic equalised in the second half and neither team could find the net afterward.  Then on Tuesday, Italy found a comfortable 3-0 win against struggling Northern Ireland.  Cassano struck a brace and a humiliating own goal finished off the game.  Italy has also yet to lose a game in Group C with a 8-2-0 record.

Netherlands
The Netherlands proved they are a definite threat for the Euro 2012 this weekend but also dropped their first game in the group stages.  Friday they faced Moldova where a single goal from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was enough to give the world cup runner-ups a 1-0 win.  But, Tuesday they were humbled by Sweden in a 2-3 loss.  Goals from Huntelaar and Kuyt were not enough this time and Netherlands lost their perfect record in qualifying.

Özil performed fantastically against Belgium

Germany
Germany finished Euro Cup qualifying with a spectacular perfect 10-0-0 record.  Friday they defeated Turkey 3-1 with goals from Gomez, Müller, and Schweinsteiger outweighing the consolation goal from Turkey.  Then on Tuesday, they beat Belgium 3-1 with more goals from Gomez, Özil, and Schurrle.  This technically gives them the best record (only because Spain have only played 8 games) as their 30 points stands monstrous in qualifying.

USA
The USA may not have a Euro Cup to qualify for, but they played games against Honduras and Ecuador this weekend.  Saturday, the USA got their first victory under new coach Jurgen Klinsmann as they defeated Honduras 1-0 thanks to a fabulous goal from Clint Dempsey assisted by Brek Shea.  Their Tuesday game against Ecuador just finished (like as am typing this) and the result is a 0-1 loss to Ecuador.  The USMNT definitely showed some fatigue and a lack of goalscorers as a singular goal from Corozo sunk the USA.  Klinsmann's record stands at 1 win 4 losses with the national team, but I honestly don't think it properly represents the progress they've made.  Hopefully a great goal scoring outlet or some chemistry with all the new players can bring better results (but I honestly think the red jerseys are bad luck).

So, league football resumes this weekend and I'll be back to summarise all the action on Saturday.