International Roundup: Netherlands Beat France to Relegate Germany as Wales Lose to Denmark
The Netherlands condemned Germany to relegation from UEFA Nations Group A1 by beating France2-0 in Rotterdam. The home side took the lead just before half time when Georginio Wijnaldum pounced to score from close range after Ryan Babel saw his half volley parried back out by Hugo Lloris.
The Dutch made it game, set and match in the 96th minute thanks to a Memphis Depay penalty and sealed an impressive win over the French at the same time as getting one over on their German rivals.
Meanwhile, a Neymar penalty was enough to earn Brazil a hard fought 1-0 victory over Uruguay at the Emirates Stadium. In a match that was played with typical South American ferocity, eight yellow cards were shown.
The penalty was Neymar's 101st goal involvement in just 95 Brazil appearances and he's now only 17 goals behind Pele's total for his country. The PSG man is still just 26 years old.
Ignoring the fact they came against minnows Gibraltar, a special shout out should go to Armenian forward Yura Movsisyan who bagged four goals to keep his country's promotion hopes alive in a 6-2 victory; although Macedonia remain in pole position in Group D4 after a comfortable 2-0 victory over Liechtenstein.
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In home nation news, Wales slumped to a disappointing 2-1 home defeat against a strong Denmark outfit who secured promotion to Group A of the UEFA Nations League. Nicolai Jorgensen opened the scoring just prior to half time following a deadly Danish counter attack.
The Danes extended their lead in the 88th minute thanks to a superbly taken volley by Martin Braithwaite, and although Gareth Bale did get on the scoresheet just a minute later, it would prove to be too little too late.
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Elsewhere, Liverpool'sMo Salah produced a wonderfully worked last minute winner for Egypt as they overcame a stern test against Tunisia. The 3-2 victory put the Egyptians level on points with Tunisia in their AFCON qualifying group, though both are already through to the tournament.
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The remainder of the UEFA Nations League fixtures produced some important results. Slovakia thumped Ukraine4-1, but things weren't as goal-filled in Group C3, with Cyprus and Bulgaria drawing 1-1, and Slovenia and Norway playing out the same result, though the Scandinavians needed a late equaliser to earn a point. The results from C3 mean everything is to play for on the final match day when Bulgaria face Slovenia and Norway travel to Cyprus.
