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Germany, Spain finish strongly

Comment: 0 October 12th, 2011 by: admin

GERMANY issued a resounding warning to their rivals by way of finishing their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign on a perfect note.

Mesut Ozil led the Germans’ charge as he rammed in one goal and set up another in their 3-1 triumph over Belgium in Group A on Tuesday.

Ozil sent the hosts ahead in the 30^th minute after an assist from Real Madrid teammate Sami Khedira. Three minutes later, Andre Schuerlle scored off a counterattack before Ozil fed Mario Gomez in the 48^th for their third goal. The Germans finished the qualifying with 10 wins in as many matches.

Maroanne Fellaini headed in an Axel Witsel corner in the 86^th for the consolation for the Belgians who slipped to third in the group and were eliminated in the process.

Holders Spain clipped Scotland 3-1 in Alicante to also finish Group I with a perfect record.

In other tussles, Denmark earned an automatic seat by dumping visiting Portugal 2-1, while France leaned on a late penalty kick to salvage a 1-1 draw with Boznia-Herzegovina and eventually qualify.

The setback in Copenhagen meant the Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portuguese side dropped into next month’s qualification playoffs along with Turkey, Ireland, Estonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Czech Republic. Montenegro took second spot in Group G after a 0-2 loss at Switzerland.

“It was difficult to get into the game in the beginning but then we showed what we can do,’’ said Ozil.

Turkey, where Ozil traces his roots, snatched a playoff spot in the group after edging Azerbaijan, 1-0. “I’m happy for Turkey of course,’’ added the attacking midfielder.

Germany coach Joachim Low said they won the game for themselves, first and foremost. “It was important that we carried it through to the finish and as a message to our competitors.’’

Spain relied  on two first half goals from David Silva and another David Villa brace to oust Belgium and top their group unbeaten in eight games.

Denmark zoomed to a 2-0 lead by the 63^rd minute on goals by Michael Krohn-Dehli and Nicklas Bendtner on their way to clinching first spot in Group H. Ronaldo halved that deficit on a free kick in second-half injury time but the Danes were simply unstoppable.

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