Winning 2-0 on the pitch of Northern Ireland on 9/9, Germany maintained hope in the three-legged race in Group C of Euro 2020 qualifyer.

After the defeat of Netherlands 2-4 three days ago, another defeat will put Germany in a position six points behind the leading group of Group C, Northern Ireland. But with the bravery of a former champion, they win right on the opponent’s field.

In the first half, Northern Ireland caused many difficulties for Joachim Low’s teachers and students. Facing fierce disputes and strong defense of the host, Germany made a series of mistakes. If goalkeeper Manuel Neuer did not make a great save in the face of Conor Washington, they would have had to go into the net to pick up the ball.

As the positions begin to flow, Germany takes the initiative and has many opportunities. If lucky, they got a penalty when Jonny Evans and Craig Cathcart let the ball touch the ball in the penalty area. Goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell also helped Northern Ireland escape when pushing a shot from 6 meters from Timo Werner.

Northern Ireland 0-2 Germany

After the break, Germany also found the net of Northern Ireland. After an outstanding save from Lukas Klostermann’s shot, Peacock-Farrell had to pick up the ball from Marcel Halstenberg’s volley.

This was the first goal in Halstenberg’s national shirt, the 27-year-old left-back from Leipzig club. This player has only played four times for Germany, including three from early 2019.

After the goal of breaking the psychological barrier, Germany played better. They maintained pressure on the Northern Ireland goal and succeeded in finding the second table. When the second half came into the second of injury time, after Kai Havertz’s through ball, Serge Gnabry came down from a narrow-angle to beat goalkeeper Peacock-Farrell.

After the key win, Germany had the same 12 points as Northern Ireland but ranked above thanks to the better secondary index. The Netherlands finished third with nine points but played less than a match against the two teams above. This means the trio race is still in the balance. Everything will be over in the next two months when Northern Ireland play two matches against the Netherlands and the return leg on the German field.

Each Euro qualifying group has two tickets for the final round for the top two teams. Therefore, matches between Northern Ireland, the Netherlands, and Germany have the same meaning as the finals of Group C.

Italy continue to lead Group J with 15 absolute points after a 3-1 win in Armenia on 5/9.
Armenia starts better than the former World Cup champion. They went ahead from the 11th minute when the Karapetian hit the bottom right corner to beat goalkeeper Donnarumma.

Armenia usually plays well at home

Italy plays like a shadow compared to the peak time, but what makes the fans assured that they still own the players who can decide the match. Andrea Belotti was such a player when volleyed in the equalizer 1-1 in the 28th minute.
Besides experience, Italy also has “god of luck” support. When the first half came into extra time, Armenia lost its people due to the Karapetian elbow strike against Bonucci. From there, Italy took the initiative to determine victory.
Armenia possessed Mkhitaryan, but the star played faintly until the ball forced Barella to fall outside the penalty area in the 60th minute. From this situation, Varazdat Haroyan nearly scored with a cross on the crossbar.
Italy’s fans cheered as the game went into the 77th minute when Pellegrini headed high to increase the lead to 2-1 from Bonucci’s cross. Three minutes later, they were lucky again: Belotti kicked the ball and the ball bounced into the goalkeeper Aram Airapetyan and rolled into the goal.

Belotti plays an important role in the team

Thanks to the lucky match at Armenia, Italy has 15 absolute points from the first five matches. They are still three points ahead of the second-ranked Finnish team. On September 8, the Finland – Italy match could become the early final of Group J.
This table also includes Bosnia, Armenia, Greece, and Liechtenstein. In particular, Bosnia has only seven points and ranked third. If they continue to play as they are now, the two tickets to the final round are difficult to escape from Finland and Italy.