Mutu at the double as Romania sink Luxembourg

Romania 3-1 LuxembourgAdrian Mutu's first international goals since 2008 helped Romania seal a crucial victory that keeps alive their hopes of qualifying from Group D.

Romania kept their slim hopes of qualifying for UEFA EURO 2012 alive by surviving a first-half scare and coming from behind to beat Luxembourg.
It has been a disappointing start to their qualifying campaign for Romania, and home coach Razvan Lucescu must have feared the worst when his side fell behind to Lars Gerson's opening goal midway through the first half. Parity, however, was restored within two minutes by Adrian Mutu, who scored again on 68 minutes before Ianis Zicu made sure of the home win 12 minutes from time.

Romania's sluggish start was epitomised by their insistence on using the long ball, rather than the creativity of Mutu, whose appearance in the 2-1 defeat by Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday was his first international outing since June 2008. That defeat made this a must-win match for the hosts, but their task became all the more difficult when, in the 22nd minute, Aurélien Joachim deflected René Peters' free-kick from the left into the path of Gerson, who accepted the invitation to score.

Luxembourg's lead did not last long, however. Just 120 seconds later in fact, the match was all square as Mutu latched on to Ciprian Marica's delightful pass to score his first goal since registering at UEFA EURO 2008 against Italy. With Luc Holtz's side sitting back and looking to catch their opponents on the break, the onus was on the home team to make the running but they were frustrated by their visitors until Mutu struck again.

The 32-year-old was unlucky not to score with a fine volley that whistled just wide on 58 minutes but the ACF Fiorentina forward did not have long to wait for his 31st international goal on his 69th appearance, beating Jonathan Joubert with a fine header from substitute Gabriel Torje's right-wing cross. Ten minutes later it was 3-1, again from a header, as Zicu reacted first from close range to a poor headed clearance. Romania's win leaves them fifth in the section with five points, seven adrift of leaders France and three behind second-placed Belarus.
source http://www.uefa.com/

Estonia strike late to secure a point against Serbia

Estonia 1-1 SerbiaKonstanin Vassiljev's 84th-minute strike denied Serbia the chance to go second in Group C following Marko Pantelić's first-half opener.

Konstanin Vassiljev struck six minutes from time to earn Estonia a 1-1 draw against Serbia in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group C.
Having boosted their hopes of reaching next year's finals with a 2-1 win against Northern Ireland on Friday, Serbia again looked well set when Marko Pantelić – a scorer four days ago – found the net seven minutes before half-time. Vassiljev ensured the spoils were shared, though, leaving Serbia third in the section, level on points with second-placed Slovenia and five behind leaders Italy.
Tarmo Rüütli's side had the first opening in a snowy Tallinn, Kaimar Saag connecting with Dmitri Kruglov's cross only for Serbia captain Nemanja Vidić to block his effort. Home keeper Sergei Pareiko was soon in action himself, denying Zoran Tošić from close range after fine build-up play from Milan Jovanović.
Vassiljev, a scorer in Estonia's 3-1 win in Belgrade in October, tried to repeat the trick just after the half-hour but was thwarted by Željko Brkić. Pantelić, however, did break the deadlock with a clinical finish following a goalmouth scramble.
The Olympiacos FC striker turned creator after the break, Jovanović racing on to his pass but failing to find a way past Pareiko. Brkić was equally up to the task when called upon to keep out substitute Ats Purje's header, but could do nothing to prevent Vassiljev's equaliser from a free-kick.Source http://www.uefa.com/

Arda glad to see Turkey turn the corner

Midfielder Arda Turan said he had "enjoyed this game a lot" after scoring Turkey's first goal in three Group A outings to set Guus Hiddink's charges on course for a 2-0 win over Austria.

Beaten by Germany and Azerbaijan in their previous two UEFA EURO 2012 qualifiers, Turkey needed to regain their Group A footing against Austria on Tuesday – and thanks to strikes from Arda Turan and Gökhan Gönül, and a late penalty save by Volkan Demirel, they certainly did.
"I enjoyed this game a lot and I think I can speak for all my team-mates," said midfielder Arda, who broke the deadlock after 28 minutes in Istanbul before Gökhan Gönül sealed a 2-0 victory for Guus Hiddink's side 12 minutes from time. "Not that it was easy – that's why we couldn't settle for 1-0 and went looking for that second goal. We have to thank Volkan for stopping the penalty, because the last five minutes would have been very stressful if he hadn't."
If Hamit Altıntop was pleased with the performance, he was more concerned with a result that lifted Turkey above Austria and into third place in Group A. "The only thing that counts is the scoreline," the midfielder said. "We deserved the win, but the most important thing is that our young players take confidence from this and carry on in the same vein."
A junior member of the hosts' midfield union, Nuri Şahin, concurred: "We can do even better once we get rid of our impatience, but that comes from a lack of experience." The 22-year-old is now focusing on Turkey's next qualifier away to second-ranked Belgium on 3 June, saying: "Second place is our goal. This was a big step but Belgium is the next challenge.
One of three players of Turkish origin fielded by Austria, substitute Ümit Korkmaz enjoyed playing at the Şükrü Saracoğlu home of Fenerbahçe SK, yet was disappointed his team could not do better. "It was a special feeling to play against Turkey in Istanbul, but I chose to represent Austria and have to honour their colours," he said, having represented Austria at senior level since 2008. "I did my best but it wasn't enough against opponents this strong."
Midfielder David Alaba was similarly magnanimous. "We lost but I'm not unhappy with how we played," said the 18-year-old, whose side slipped three points behind Belgium and eight adrift of leaders Germany. "We played according to plan, kept it tight and looked to take the few chances we would get. Those chances came but we couldn't turn them into goals. Losing two straight qualifiers [after Friday's home defeat by Belgium] is hard, but as long as we have a mathematical chance of second place we can't give up."

source http://www.uefa.com/