Sweden, Ukraine take first leg wins as Euro 2016 hosts France mourn
European football paid tribute to the victims of attacks in Euro 2016
hosts France during Saturday’s qualifying play-offs which saw Sweden
edge Denmark 2-1 and Ukraine beat Slovenia 2-0 in first leg ties.
A minute’s silence was observed before Saturday’s games for victims
of the Paris attacks on Friday, one of which was outside the Stade de
France where world champions Germany were playing a friendly against
France.
In Solna, Paris Saint-Germain star Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his
ninth goal in as many qualifiers as Sweden took a slight advantage over
1992 champions Denmark.
Ibrahimovic converted a second half penalty after Emil Forsberg had
scored his first international goal on the stroke of half-time.
But substitute Nicolai Jorgensen grabbed an away-goal lifeline for
Denmark 10 minutes from time ahead of the second leg in Copenhagen on
Tuesday.
A backheel from Jimmy Durmaz allowed Mikael Lustig to sprint away
down the right flank and his pass reached Forsberg at speed and the
Leipzig winger buried a first-time shot into the corner past Kasper
Schmeichel.
The Denmark goalkeeper rescued his team just before the half-time
whistle with a diving save to deny Ibrahimovic’s power-packed free-kick
from just outside the box.
Ibrahimovic made it 2-0 five minutes into the second period,
converting a penalty after Thomas Kahlenburg had clumsily tripped
Forsberg.
It was the 34-year-old’s first goal against the Danes in seven
matches. But with 10 minutes left, substitute Jorgensen latched onto a
Yussuf Poulsen flick-on from an Eriksen corner to boost Denmark’s hopes
of making the finals in France next summer.
Earlier Ukraine took a
comfortable 2-0 lead over Slovenia in Lviv as Andrei Yarmolenko and
Yevhen Seleznyov scored in either half of a bad tempered clash at the
packed 65,000-seat Lviv Arena.
Ukraine, who have lost all five of their previous qualifying
play-offs for major tournaments, dominated early but Samir Handanovic
proved solid in the Slovenian goal in the opening 20 minutes.
But in the 22nd minute Yarmolenko picked up a rebound after
Handanovic failed to clear Yevhen Konoplyanka’s cross and slotted inside
the far post with a low shot.
Slovenia poured into attack and midfielder Josip Ilicic missed a clear chance to level after 27 minutes.
After the break, Ukraine continued to press forward and in the 54th
minute Seleznyov got the second with a close range shot off an Artem
Fedetskiy cross.
Martin O’Neill’s Republic of Ireland will be bidding to carry on from
where they left off in their 1-1 first leg draw away to Bosnia in
Dublin on Monday as Hungary edged closer to their first international
tournament in 30 years when they defeated Norway 1-0 on Friday.
Shorn of a host of experienced stars like Shay Given, John O’Shea,
Jon Walters and Shane Long, and with a handful of players one booking
away from suspension, the Irish were more hopeful than expectant.
But Robbie Brady’s 81st-minute strike, combined with some determined
defending, saw them return to Dublin’s Lansdowne Road with a vital away
goal, although there was still time on Friday for Bosnia’s Edin Dzeko to
equalise.
“Everybody walked off the field (fit) and in terms of other players
like Glenn Whelan, Seamus Coleman, Marc Wilson…all those people
(avoided bookings), so in that sense it’s really good news,” O’Neill
said.
On the day that Hungarian international goalkeeper Marton Fulop lost
his battle with cancer at the age of 32, his teammates honoured his
memory with a crucial victory ahead of Sunday’s return in Budapest.
Midfielder Laszlo Kleinheisler marked his international debut with
the game’s only goal in the first half before Hungary, whose last major
event was the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, soaked up constant pressure from
the home side to preserve their advantage.