Friday, June 10, 2011

Earning a summer break


European and African continental qualifiers marked the end of the season with little Liechtenstein shocking the visiting Lithuanians 2-0 while Estonia were humiliated by the same result at the Faroe Islands. Bosnia & Herzegovina surrendered 3-0 in Romania and Azerbaijan lost 2-1 away to Kazakhstan while Denmark picked up a 2-0 win in Iceland. England moved down the rankings after being held to a 2-2 draw by Switzerland at Wembley while Sweden enjoyed a goal-rich week, winning 4-1 in Moldova before returning home to hammer their neighbours from Finland 5-0 a few days later. The Irish Republic also enjoyed a successful period with a 2-0 win in Macedonia and 2-0 friendly triumph over Italy in Belgium.
In Africa Algeria were taken apart 4-0 in Morocco and Benin were crushed 6-2 by their Ivorian visitors while Nigeria were held to a 2-2 draw in Ethiopia. Cape Verde lost to a single goal in Liberia and Tanzania lost 2-1 away to the Central African Republic while Libya drew 1-1 in Comoros. Namibia were beaten 4-1 at home to Burkina Faso and Rwanda lost 3-1 in Burundi while in a friendly match Argentina were pummelled 4-1 in Nigeria.