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| Photo by Jean-Christophe Bott |
In the second half, Cyprus finally managed a shot on target through Efsthatios Aloneftis, but he drove it straight into the goalkeeper. The match was highly forgettable and rightfully ends as a 0-0 draw.
Iceland were hoping their visit to Oslo would be a historic one, but hosts Norway were not looking simply to roll over. A win would qualify Iceland for the UEFA Playoffs, though a draw would suffice if Slovenia failed to win their match. Norway fired the first shot, but Iceland would score the first goal. Gylfi Sigurdsson provided an inlet pass to Kolbeinn Sigthorsson. Sigthorsson held off Norwegian defender Tore Reginiussen to maintain space before he released his shot. The shot was well-placed and resulted in the opener for Iceland. Norway did find the equalizer later in the first half. Per Cilijan Skjelbred flicked over his marker Ari Skulason to Daniel Braaten, who was just onside. Braaten held off Iceland defender Ragnar Sigurdsson and then finished for the equalizer that renewed the hopes of Slovenia. The teams left the pitch knotted at 1-1.
A long throughball found Iceland forward Eidur Gudjohnsen all alone in space, but after his took a slow cut-back touch, he was forced to take a curling shot to the far post. Norway goalkeeper Rune Jarstein made a fantastic diving save to keep the score at 1-1. In the final twenty minutes, Iceland were really put to the test by a Norway side that was intent on grabbing the full three points. However, Iceland remained stout defensively and secured a 1-1 draw on the road. Would that be enough to see them into the UEFA Playoffs?
Slovenia were visiting Switzerland in Bern. Slovenia needed a better result than Iceland on this day in order to leap over them into the European playoffs. The visitors were riding a four-qualifier winning streak that had vaulted them back into contention. Slovenia played like the team with more on the line, but a timely block from Tranquillo Barnetta prevented a Nejc Pecnik shot from harming the Swiss goal. The teams left the pitch without having scored a goal.
Switzerland were the dominant force in the second half, much to the liking of Iceland. They grabbed the lead off a spectacular strike. Granit Xhaka ran onto a leading pass and was able to strike across his body from twenty-four yards to score into the far side netting. Switzerland goalkeeper Yann Sommer preserved the lead later with a save off a shot from Tim Matavz. A Milivoje Novakovic header off the resulting Slovenian corner was flicked on by Zlatan Ljubijankic, but it crashed into the underside of the crossbar and stayed out of the goal. Eren Derdiyok nearly scored off the resulting counterattack, but Slovenia goalkeeper Samir Handanovic made the diving save to the left to parry the ball back up the pitch. Xhaka took a shot off the rebound, but Handanovic denied him as well. A late turnover gave Novakovic a simple chance, but he fluffed the shot and Sommer had time to make a catch to his left. Switzerland hold on and win 1-0 to eliminate Slovenia and stamp Iceland's ticket to the playoffs next month.
Switzerland 24 pts IN
Iceland 17 pts
Slovenia OUT
Norway OUT
Albania OUT
Cyprus OUT
Goals
Iceland
Kolbeinn Sigthorsson 12
Norway
Daniel Braaten 30
Switzerland
Granit Xhaka 74
Match Reports:
http://www1.skysports.com/football/live/match/253682
http://www.uefa.com/worldcup/season=2014/matches/round=2000294/match=2008651/postmatch/report/
http://www1.skysports.com/football/live/match/253683
http://www1.skysports.com/football/live/match/253684/report
Highlights:
http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/video_audio/247965.html (Cyprus v. Albania)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjVE_AC4XgY (Iceland v. Norway)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5d6KEJ015Q (Switzerland v. Slovenia)
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