Branislav Ivanovic continued Welsh misery in the subsequent period. He stripped Bale of the ball and run unimpeded into the box before coolly delivering a perfect ball for an easy conversion by a teammate for 4-1. Keeping with the theme of the day, awful Welsh defending prevented a corner kick from being cleared on three occasions, allowing for a crack to be taken at goal and converted for 5-1. Yet, it was still not over for Wales. A deflected shot from outside the box became a perfect chip over the Wales goalkeeper to make it even more painful, so much so that Serbia did not even celebrate. Serbia win 6-1. Wales are the prohibitive favorites to finish a distant last in Group A.
Brussels was the site of the crucial encounter between home Belgium and visiting Croatia. A fluke goal occurred when two Belgian defenders wiped out along with the one Croat in the Belgian penalty area, allowing a free ball to be collected and finished under no pressure by Ivan Perisic for an early 1-0 lead to Croatia. After a nervy ten minutes to start, Belgium dominated the half. In stoppage time, a Belgium corner was partially cleared, but Guillaume Gillet laced a volley from the half circle into the net for an equalizer . If this were a competition for best goal, Belgium would be ahead, but this is football, so the game was tied 1-1 at the half.
Luckily for Croatia, the frenzied crowd was given fifteen minutes to calm down after the Gillet golazo. Belgium went closest to breaking the stalemate in the second period, but it was not to be. Josip Simunic made a clearance off his line six minutes in, and from that point on Croatia were able to defend well enough to hold on for a precious road point against fellow group favorites. The match ends in a 1-1 draw.
Glasgow was the scene as hosts Scotland were paid a visit by Macedonia. Off a short corner, Macedonia worked the ball expertly around, giving Daniel Georgievski to cross a ball across the six-yard box with the Scotland defenders still shifting momentum, allowing a sliding finish by Nikolce Noveski. Of course, it did not help the Scottish cause that Noveskia was very far offside. Two minutes before half, Scotland made a great play, passing through two colliding Macedonia defenders to spring Jamie Mackie on a two-on-none break. Mackie selflessly passed off to Kenny Miller for the simple finish and the 1-1 halftime score.
Macedonia were the more dangerous team upon the restart, coming very close when Ferhan Hasani rattled the post during the run of play. A frustrated Scotland crowd let their displeasure with the situation be heard, but Macedonia continued on the offensive in spite of the introduction of substitute forwards for Scotland. Mirko Ivanoski found himself alone with only the keeper to beat, but Allan McGregor made a kick save while sliding forward to cut off the angle, keeping Scotland level. It was a strange match; Macedonia deserved to score a goal and get at least a draw, but they did not deserve the one goal they got. Regardless, the result of the match is a 1-1 draw.
Serbia 4 pts +5
Belgium 4 pts +2
Croatia 4 pts +1
Scotland 2 pts 0
Macedonia 1 pts -1
Wales 0 pts -7
Goals
Serbia
Aleksandar Kolarov 16
Zoran Tosic 24
Filip Duricic 39
Dusan Tadic 55
Branislav Ivanovic 79
Miralem Sulejmani 90
Wales
Gareth Bale 30
Croatia
Ivan Perisic 6
Belgium
Guillaume Gillet 45+2
Macedonia
Nikolce Noveski 11
Scotland
Kenny Miller 43
Match Reports:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1699829/index.html
http://www.football.co.uk/croatia/belgium_battle_back_to_draw_with_croatia_rss3541706.shtml
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/soccer/general/view/20220912croatia_holds_belgium_to_1-1_in_qualis/
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1699888/index.html
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1699918/index.html
Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDNFYmoU7a4 (Serbia v. Wales)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMz1WiuK4Kc (Croatia v. Belgium)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXZgrMNi6K8 (Macedonia v. Scotland)
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