Germany defeated Slovenia, 4-0, on Tuesday during World Cup qualifying action. (MEG LINEHAN/Equalizer Soccer)
Slovenia 0-4 Germany: Following their 4-0 win over the Czech Republic on Saturday, Germany defeated Slovenia by the same scoreline on Tuesday. Lina Magull put the Germans up in the 10th minute, and Slovenia defender Lana Golob scored an own goal shortly before halftime to double Germany’s lead. Alexandra Popp and Linda Dallman then got in on the scoring action for Germany, putting away a pair of second-half goals to secure the win. Dzsenifer Marozsan nearly put Germany up 5-0 from the spot in the final minute of regulation, but Slovenia goalkeeper Zala Meršnik was able to make the save. Even so, the result saw Germany reclaim the top spot in their group and eliminated Slovenia from World Cup qualification.
Bosnia and Herzegovina 0-2 England: After a scoreless first half, Toni Duggan and Jodie Taylor put away two second-half goals to give England the shutout win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Duggan’s goal in the 56th minute may have been the least dramatic part of the second half as both teams saw players ejected (Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Amira Spahic and England’s Alex Greenwood) after accumulating their second yellow cards (Greenwood’s were in the 44th and 47th minutes) and Taylor scoring via penalty in second-half stoppage time. The win sees England overtake Wales at the top of their group standings.
Albania 1-0 Belarus: It looked as though Albania and Belarus was destined to end in a scoreless draw, with neither team putting a shot on goal—or Belarus even taking a shot—for the vast majority of the match. However, when Albania finally put a shot on target, they made it count, with Lucie Gjini scoring the go-ahead goal in the 88th minute to give her country a much-needed three points in World Cup qualification.
Israel 0-1 Serbia: Milica Stanković scored in the 80th minute to earn Serbia just their second win of World Cup qualifiers. With the result, Israel, whose only non-loss during qualifiers was a scoreless draw against Finland back in January, is now eliminated.
Moldova 0-0 Romania: Moldova and Romania are the bottom two teams in their group, but neither team could get the better of the other after 90 minutes of regulation in their World Cup qualifier on Tuesday. Each team walked away with one point, with Moldova now three points clear of last place and still alive in World Cup qualification, while the result saw Romania eliminated.
Faroe Islands 0-5 Iceland: Gunnhildur Jónsdóttir continued her scoring streak, scoring the game-winning goal in the 37th minute of Iceland’s win over the Faroe Islands. Her goal was the lone goal of the first half, but Iceland unleashed a four-goal scoring flurry in the second to finish with a convincing 5-0 win. Rakel Hönnudóttir, Harpa Thorsteinsdóttir, second-half substitute Agla Maria Albertsdottir, and Fanndís Fridriksdóttir all contributed goals on the day to help Iceland stay securely in second place, just two points behind group leaders Germany.
Italy 2-1 Belgium: In one of the most exciting and most physical qualifying matches on the day (three players were shown yellow cards in the match’s opening 15 minutes), Italy went down a goal after giving up a penalty, converted by Belgian captain Janice Cayman, in the 37th minute. Belgium’s lead would be short-lived though, as Martina Rosucci brought Italy back level just before the half. Cristiana Girelli then scored the game winner in the 80th minute to keep Italy perfect in qualifying play and secure their spot at the top of their group, eight points clear of second-place Belgium.
Brilliant stuff from the #Azzurre to come from behind and make it six wins from six in front of 7,500 fans in #Ferrara! ?
Goals: ⚽️ #Cayman 37 (pen), #Rosucci 42, #Girelli 80#VivoAzzurro #WePlayStrong #ItalyBelgium pic.twitter.com/8jsjN6PO1J
— Italy (@azzurri) April 10, 2018
Republic of Ireland 0-2 Netherlands: The Netherlands secured their spot atop UEFA Group 3 with a 2-0 win over Ireland, putting them three points ahead of their second-place opponents on the group table. The reigning European Champions offensively dominated the match, outshooting the Irish 23-1. However, only four of those shots were put on target and two more were denied by the woodwork, hence the lower-scoring affair. The first of the two Dutch goals was scored in the 11th minute by 21-year-old forward Lineth Beerensteyn, while the second came via penalty by Sherida Spitse less than 15 minutes later.
Austria 0-1 Spain: In one of the more even matches of Tuesday’s World Cup qualifiers, Spain eked out a 1-0 win over Austria. Just shy of the hour mark, Spanish striker Jennifer Hermoso, currently playing at the club level with PSG, scored her third goal of qualifiers to hand Spain the win. Although Austria was the first team to hold Spain to just one goal, the win keeps Spain perfect in qualifying play ahead of the 2019 World Cup.
⌛️¡¡FINAL!! España sigue CON PASO FIRME su camino al @FIFAWWC y sella su QUINTA victoria consecutiva ?? | ?? – ?? | 0-1| 90' | #JugarLucharYGanar pic.twitter.com/7S0upClhm2
— Selección Española de Fútbol (@SeFutbol) April 10, 2018
Scotland 3-0 Poland: Although the scoreline looks like a blowout, Poland held Scotland scoreless until the 79th minute when second-half sub Zoe Ness opened up scoring for the Scots. From there, it was all downhill for Poland, possibly the result of going down to 10 players following Paulina Dudek’s second yellow card and subsequent ejection in the 75th minute. The Polish defense then allowed both Claire Emslie and Erin Cuthbert to get on the scoresheet for Scotland. Poland were able to put three attempts on target themselves, but a stellar day in net for Lee Alexander, including a saved penalty attempt early in the second half, earned the win and the clean sheet for Scotland.
Northern Ireland 0-3 Norway: From the opening whistle, Norway dominated this match on both sides of the ball. Their attack took 23 shots, 10 of which were put on target, while their defense held Northern Ireland to just three total shots, only one of which was on goal. Caroline Graham Hansen scored a second-half brace to lead Norway past Northern Ireland, with Isabell Herlovsen contributing the third goal in garbage time. The result gives Norway nine points in World Cup qualifying, just four points behind Group 3 leader, Netherlands.
Korea Republic 0-0 Japan: Moving to the 2018 Asian Cup, Korea Republic (better known as South Korea) and Japan battled to a scoreless draw. The result was the second consecutive scoreless draw for South Korea, who held Australia scoreless in their World Cup qualifying tournament opener. The one point earned puts Japan in second place, who are now tied in points with Australia but trail in goal differential.
Vietnam 0-8 Australia: Coming off a scoreless draw against Korea Republic on Saturday, Australia blew out Vietnam, 8-0, on Tuesday to climb atop the Group B ladder. Australia was led by Sam Kerr, who finished the day with a brace, while Kyah Simon, Alanna Kennedy, Chloe Logarzo, Emily van Egmond and Hayley Raso also got in on the scoring action for the Matildas. The eighth goal was an own goal scored by Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dung. With the commanding victory, all the Matildas need is a win or draw against Japan on Friday to clinch a spot in the 2019 World Cup.
Ethiopia 7-0 Libya (15-0 aggregate): In the second of leg of World Cup qualifying against Libya, Ethiopia once again emerged victorious, this time defeating Libya, 7-0. With the win, Ethiopia improved to a 15-0 goal aggregate to advance to the next round of qualifiers.
Swaziland 1-2 Lesotho (1-3 aggregate): For the second time in five days, Lesotho defeated Swaziland by one goal in World Cup qualifying play. The win sees Lesotho join Ethiopia in the next round of qualifying action.
Cote d’Ivoire 0-0 Morocco (1-1 aggregate, Cote d’Ivoire win on away goals): Cote d’Ivoire and Morocco battled to their second consecutive draw, although this time neither team could break the deadlock. Even still, the result was enough for the Ivory Coast to advance to the next stage of qualification courtesy of the away goal tie breaker.
#FIFAWWC qualifying // Africa ?
Swaziland?? 1-2 (1-3) ??Lesotho (Q)
Ethiopia?? (Q) 7-0 (15-0) ??Libya
Ivory Coast?? (Q) 0-0 (1-1) ??MoroccoQ = qualified for next round
— FIFA Women's World Cup ?? (@FIFAWWC) April 10, 2018
Algeria 2-0 Senegal (3-2 aggregate): After a 2-1 loss on Wednesday, Algeria turned the tables and defeated Senegal, 2-0, in the home leg of their qualifying tie. The win was just enough to see Algeria advance, 3-2, on aggregate.
Gambia 2-1 Burkina Faso (3-3 aggregate, 5-3 penalties): For the second time in four days, a qualifying leg between Gambia and Burkina Faso ended in a 2-1 scoreline. The two teams split the wins though, sending Tuesday’s match to penalties to determine which team would advance to the next round. Gambia defeated Burkina Faso 5-3 in penalties to move on in qualifying.
Colombia 3-0 Peru: Colombia defeated Peru, 3-0, to win Group A of the Copa America, CONMEBOL’s World Cup qualifying tournament. Catalina Usme put Colombia on the board in the 23rd minute, but hers was the lone goal of the opening half. However, Leicy Santos and Isabella Echeverri scored in the 54th and 84th minutes, respectively, to secure the win, advancing Colombia to the tournament’s final round.
Con la victoria ante Perú #FCFFemenino se clasificó a la fase final de la #CopaAméricaFemenina2018. https://t.co/gqns9cRwTV pic.twitter.com/4VkJGtpzqF
— Selección Colombia (@FCFSeleccionCol) April 10, 2018
Chile 1-0 Uruguay: A 79th-minute goal from Maria Jose Rojas was the difference maker, handing Chile a 1-0 win over Uruguay in the final match of Tuesday’s World Cup qualifying competition. With the win, Chile earned three essential points and sits in second place in Group A of the Copa America.
