Substitute Llorente seals Spain win in Scotland

Scotland 2-3 SpainFernando Llorente came off the bench to score the winner with 11 minutes left after Scotland had wiped out a two-goal deficit in the second half.

Substitute Fernando Llorente scored with 11 minutes left to keep up Spain's flawless start to UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group I after Scotland had fought back from two goals down.
David Villa equalled Raúl González's record of 44 goals for Spain with a penalty just before the break and Andrés Iniesta looked to have put the result beyond doubt when he added a second soon after half-time. However, Steven Naismith with his first for Scotland and an own goal from Gerard Piqué threatened to give the home side a point until Llorente – left out of the starting lineup despite scoring twice in Friday's 3-1 defeat of Lithuania – claimed the winner within three minutes of his introduction.
Having taken a cautious approach in the 1-0 loss in the Czech Republic on Friday, Scotland manager Craig Levein brought back striker Kenny Miller and gave defender Phil Bardsley his debut with Alan Hutton injured. In front of a capacity crowd Scotland sought to exert some early pressure but the visitors were the first to threaten through Villa, shooting over after being picked out by Iniesta.
Within two minutes Villa tested Allan McGregor with a header from a Sergio Ramos cross and the keeper then rushed from his line to block David Silva's goal-bound effort. Scotland broke and it took the combined efforts of Carles Puyol and Piqué to clear James Morrison's effort off the line from Darren Fletcher's cross. However, it proved to be a temporary respite and on the half-hour McGregor again denied Villa from point-blank range.
The opening goal seemed inevitable and a minute before the break Spain were awarded a penalty after Whittaker handled Ramos's shot in the box. Villa stepped up and although McGregor got fingertips to the ball, the away side were ahead.
Ten minutes after the restart Spain doubled their advantage when Iniesta slotted in from close range after Santiago Cazorla's shot had rebounced off Stephen McManus. Scotland, however, had hope three minutes later, Naismith turning in Miller's cross, and Hampden erupted when Piqué diverted Morrison's centre past Iker Casillas.
However Llorente, whose starting place had gone to Xabi Alonso, was brought on and swiftly side-footed in Joan Capdevila's cross from the left. Scotland ended with ten men when Whittaker picked up a second yellow card for a challenge on Ramos and they are back in third, two points behind the Czech Republic and five adrift of Spain having played a game more than both.

Benzema and Gourcuff keep France flying

France 2-0 LuxembourgKarim Benzema and Yoann Gourcuff scored in each half as Laurent Blanc's men claimed a third successive win to stay a point clear in Group D.

France recorded their third consecutive UEFA EURO 2012 win and a second in three days as goals from Karim Benzema and Yoann Gourcuff accounted for ten-man Luxembourg.
Having secured a confidence-boosting victory against Romania at the weekend, Laurent Blanc's team consolidated their position at the top of qualifying Group D with a comfortable triumph over the bottom team. The outcome rarely seemed in doubt from the moment Benzema struck midway through the first half and, after the visitors lost captain René Peters to a red card, Gourcuff made sure of the points on 76 minutes.
Playing in Metz, just 50 kilometres from Luxembourg, Luc Holtz's charges may momentarily have felt like the home side, yet they were quickly pushed on to the back foot by the former world champions. Gaël Clichy and Abou Diaby fired shots off target before Jonathan Joubert pushed a Philippe Mexès strike wide. From the resulting corner, the F91 Dudelange goalkeeper was beaten, Benzema brilliantly controlling Gourcuff's cross at the far post and volleying in left-footed.
Joubert, formerly of Metz, was otherwise impressing on his return to Lorraine. The 31-year-old twice clung on to long-range efforts from Diaby before the break and made a sharp intervention moments after the restart, saving at Guillaume Hoarau's feet as the striker burst through.
There appeared to be a danger of Les Bleus running away with proceedings when Peters was shown a second yellow card in the 54th minute, but Joubert kept his side in touch by pulling off a stunning point-blank stop to deny Gourcuff. Having drawn with Belarus in their previous game, Luxembourg threatened to equalise on 75 minutes, Guy Blaise directing an audacious overhead kick straight at Hugo Lloris.
Any hopes of a comeback were dashed seconds later, however, when Gourcuff struck his second goal in the space of three days. The Olympique Lyonnais playmaker collected Dimitri Payet's quickly-taken free-kick and beat Joubert with a low, swerving shot from 20 metres.

Montenegro frustrate England to stay top

England 0-0 MontenegroBoth teams remained unbeaten but neither was able to summon the inspiration to grab all three Group G points at Wembley.

England and Montenegro remain unbeaten in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying but neither side can claim absolute authority over Group G following a goalless draw at Wembley.
Zlatko Kranjčar's visitors started and finished the day top of the section by three points after a disciplined display in London, albeit having played a game more than England. Three successive 1-0 wins had catapulted them to the summit and, despite enjoying scant possession, they so nearly made it four in a row when Milan Jovanović struck the bar late on during a frustrating evening for their hosts.
Steven Gerrard was one of only a few of Fabio Capello's players to try livening up proceedings during the opening period, twice injecting early verve to no avail. The first occasion, a raking pass from deep in midfield, ended in Peter Crouch stretching but failing to make contact, while the second – a quickly-taken free-kick – finished with the Tottenham Hotspur FC striker heading Glen Johnson's cross over from close range.
Though Montenegro could muster only tame shots from Radomir Djalović and Simon Vukčević, it was not until first-half added time that the hosts, for all of their possession, hit the target themselves. Wayne Rooney's deflected effort was comfortably held by Mladen Božović, who had earlier breathed a sigh of relief when Adam Johnson's free-kick whistled wide.
In charge, but out of ideas, it was Gerrard who once again provided the first sign of second-half spark, threading a pass to Rooney which Božović smothered at the second attempt. Not until the 73rd minute, though, did England's gusto test the visiting keeper once more. Rooney's instinctive shot was only parried after disruptive work from substitute, and debutant, Kevin Davies, and Gerrard's ensuing volley was well held by the Montenegrin custodian.
Just as England's lack of penetration looked set to limit them to a point, Jovanović so nearly took all three off them with a 25-metre shot which crashed off Joe Hart's crossbar. Božović again denied Adam Johnson late on to ensure it was not England's night. source http://www.uefa.com/

Portugal revival goes on in Iceland

Iceland 1-3 PortugalCoach Paulo Bento celebrated his second victory in five days as the visitors climbed into second position in qualifying Group H.

An early free-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo helped ensure Portugal's revival in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group H continued apace against point-less Iceland.
The Real Madrid CF forward's third-minute strike after a foul on Carlos Martins was cancelled out by Heidar Helguson after 17 minutes. Raúl Meireles restored the visitors' lead just before the half-hour, though it was not until 18 minutes from time that Paulo Bento's team confirmed their second victory in five days when substitute Hélder Postiga struck.
Ronaldo's third-minute set piece was not as powerful as his usual trademark efforts, but goalkeeper Gunnleifur Gunnleifsson could not prevent the ball going into his right-hand corner. Iceland constantly sought to use their aerial advantage, a policy from which they gained reward when Helguson headed in Indridi Sigurdsson's corner.
Portugal were ahead again ten minutes later, however, as Meireles unleashed an unstoppable shot from 30 metres. With Iceland preventing the visitors from deploying their passing game Portugal frequently tried their luck from distance, Meireles almost scoring again with a curling shot that hit the crossbar on 53 minutes.
Postiga could have scored five minutes after coming on for Hugo Almeida but failed to make the most of a fine lay-off from Ronaldo by allowing Gunnleifsson to block. He was not so profligate soon after, though, taking advantage of Gunnleifsson's fumble from Ronaldo's cross to tap in a simple third. Portugal, who defeated Denmark 3-1 on Friday, are in second place in Group H on seven points, two adrift of a Norway team they face when their campaign resumes in June. source http://www.uefa.com/