The Hindu : Sport / Football : Greece qualifies

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Friday, Oct 19, 2007
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Greece qualifies

LONDON: European champion Greece, Czech Republic and Romania will join Germany in the European football championship finals next year after qualifying on Wednesday.

It was France’s Thierry Henry who grabbed the limelight on a busy night, however, scoring twice against Lithuania to propel his team to the top of Group B.

Greece earned a trip to Austria and Switzerland with a 1-0 win over rival Turkey in Group C in Istanbul, with a 79th minute goal from striker Ioannis Amantidis. The Czechs strolled to a 3-0 away win over Germany, which had already qualified from Group D.

Romania beat Luxembourg 2-0 away in Group G with goals from Florentin Petre and Ciprian Marica, which was enough to secure qualification after Bulgaria managed only a 1-1 draw in Albania.

Two second-half goals from substitute Roman Pavlyuchenko, one a controversial penalty, earned Russia a 2-1 win over England in Moscow, keeping alive its hopes of qualifying from Group E and putting England’s in jeopardy.

The results: Group A: Serbia 6 bt Azerbaijan 1; Belgium 3 bt Armenia 0; Portugal 2 bt Kazakhstan 1. Group B: France 2 bt Lithuania 0; Georgia 2 bt Scotland 0; Ukraine 5 bt Faeroe Islands 0. Group C: Norway 2 bt Bosnia-Herzegovina 0; Moldova 3 bt Malta 2; Greece 1 bt Turkey 0. Group D: Czech Republic 3 bt Germany 0; Ireland 1 drew with Cyprus 1; Wales 2 bt San Marino 1. Group E: Macedonia 3 bt Andorra 0; Russia 2 bt England 1. Group F: Denmark 3 bt Latvia 1; Liechtenstein 3 bt Iceland 0; Sweden 1 drew with Northern Ireland 1. Group G: Albania 1 drew with Bulgaria 1; Romania 2 bt Luxembourg 0; Netherlands 2 bt Slovenia 0. — Agencies