International Roundup: Spain Thump Faroe Islands as Republic of Ireland Grab Late Equaliser
Spain continued their perfect start to their qualification for Euro 2020 by earning a convincing 4-1 win over the Faroe Islands to remain ahead of the pack in Group F.
On a night which threw up very little by the way of shocks, the Spaniards knew they needed to remain professional to pick up the victory, and they certainly made sure they did so.
Faroe Islands 1-4 Spain
With Spain expected to dominate their opponents, it took them no longer than five minutes to open the scoring, as Sergio Ramos found himself free in the box to head home from Jesus Navas' cross.
It was 2-0 shortly after as Navas grabbed a goal of his own, creating plenty of space on his drive into the Faroe Island's box before firing the ball home.
However, on the half-hour mark, the Faroe Islands threatened to shock the world as Klaemint Olsen flicked the ball beyond Kepa Arrizabalaga in the Spain net. Unfortunately, their excitement didn't last long, as just three minutes later, Isco's effort deflected off the post and into the back of the net via the helpless Teitur Gestson to restore their two-goal lead.
An excellent lob from Jose Gaya gave Spain their fourth, and ultimately ensured it was business as usual for Luis Enrique's men.
JOSE JORDAN/GettyImages
Across Europe, it was a fairly comfortable evening for many teams. Roma's Patrik Schick netted twice to give his Czech Republic side a 2-1 win over Bulgaria in Group A, whilst goals from AC Milan's Krzysztof Piatek and Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski ensured Poland picked up a routine victory over North Macedonia in Group G.
Elsewhere, there were a number of Premier League stars on show. Southampton's Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg gave Denmark the lead over the Republic of Ireland, only for Brighton and Hove Albion icon Shane Duffy to grab a late equaliser in an exciting Group D clash.
Eran Zahavi's hat-trick in Israel's victory over Latvia certainly caught the eye, whilst Lithuania's meeting with Luxembourg also made the headlines, but for the wrong reasons, as Lithuania finished the game with just nine men following a hot-tempered affair.
The biggest shock of the night came courtesy of Ukraine, who stormed to a 5-0 victory over Serbia. Even new Real Madrid man Luka Jovic could not save the Serbs, who currently sit bottom of Group B.
You can check out all the results below.
Group |
Score |
Group A | Czech Republic 2-1 Bulgaria |
Group A | Montenegro 1-1 Kosovo |
Group B | Ukraine 5-0 Serbia |
Group B | Lithuania 1-1 Luxembourg |
Group D | Georgia 3-0 Gibraltar |
Group D | Denmark 1-1 Republic of Ireland |
Group F | Faroe Islands 1-4 Spain |
Group F | Norway 2-2 Romania |
Group F | Sweden 3-0 Malta |
Group G | Austria 1-0 Slovenia |
Group G | Latvia 0-3 Israel |
Group G | North Macedonia 0-2 Poland |
