Christian Vieri's strike completed a twin celebration for Italy in a 1-0 victory over Germany on Wednesday while the Germans were left doubly miserable.
The Inter Milan striker struck the only goal of the game in the 17th minute at Stuttgart as the Italians were boosted by a friendly victory over one of their traditional rivals.
PHOTO: AP
Despite dropping its first points, Wales still leads the standings with 12 and Italy has 10, each team having three games to go. The two teams meet in Italy Sept. 6.
Serbia jumped above Finland into third place and has eight points with two games to go.
Iceland scored a victory over the Faeroes and jumped above Germany in Group 5.
Chelsea's Eidur Gudjohnsen fired Iceland ahead in the sixth minute at the Faeroes capital Torshavn although the home side hit back with an equalizer through Rogvi Jacobsen in the 66th.
Petur Marteinsson scored Iceland's second six minutes later and his team now has a one point lead over the Germans with a showdown looming at Reykjavik Sept. 6.
The games were the only two Euro 2004 matches on Wednesday with 18 friendlies also spread across Europe.
European champion France scored a routine 2-0 victory at Switzerland in a friendly meeting of the leaders of Groups 1 and 10. Sylvain Wiltord and Steve Marlet got the goals in Geneva.
Now with Real Madrid rather than Manchester United, David Beckham scored an early penalty and set up a header for Michael Owen with a trademark right wing cross as England downed Croatia 3-1. But Sven-Goran Eriksson had goalkeeper David James to thank for three first half saves as the Croats repeatedly pulled his defense apart.
Argentina edged Uruguay 3-2 in a game played at Florence in Italy thanks to two late strikes by Walter Samuel and Andres D'Alessandro. Despite a strike by Juan Sebastian Veron, Uruguay led 2-1 through Diego Forlan and Martin Liguera.
Belgium and the Netherlands tied 1-1 in a scrappy game in Brussels. Wesley Sonck, who transfered to Ajax Amsterdam in the summer, put the Belgians ahead only for Roy Makaay to level for the Dutch.
It was the fourth Belgium-Netherlands draw in a row and the game also ended 10 vs. 10 with Netherlands Filip Cocu and the home team's Olivier De Cock both sent off.
Stelios Yiannacopoulos and Pantelis Kafes scored within two minutes of each other as Greece scored a 2-1 win at Sweden at Norrkoping. The Greeks trailed to Anders Svensson's first half strike, but came back after Sweden's Tobias Linderoth was sent off at the Idrottsparken stadium.
Adrian Mutu, the latest of eight new Chelsea signings since new Russian owner Roman Abramovich took over the club, scored both Romania's goals in a 2-0 victory at Ukraine in friendly action on Wednesday.
Hired from Parma a week ago, he netted a 28th minute penalty and added to that in the 58th.
Nihat Kahveci and Okan Yilmaz hit the target as World Cup semifinalist Turkey scored a 2-0 victory over Moldova in Ankara.
In Copenhagen, Finnish substitute Aki Riihilahti scored a late equalizer to cancel out a Jesper Groenkjaer strike as Denmark and Finland tied 1-1. Norway and Scotland fought out a 0-0 tie in Oslo.
Israel and Slovenia, who meet next week in a Group 1 game, both warmed up with victories.
Israel came away from Moscow with a 2-1 victory thanks to strikes by Avi Nimini and Piniflex Balali while Goran Sukalo and Sebastjan Cimerotic hit the target for Slovenia in a 2-1 victory over Hungary in Ljubljana.
Although defending European champion France appears to be running away with Group 1 with five wins from five games, Slovenia holds second place with Israel two points behind. Russia's loss could mean the departure of coach Valery Gazzayev.
The poor performance of the team, which hasn't won a match since it beat Romania in a friendly in February, drew sharp criticism from Russian Soccer Union president Vyacheslav Koloskov. He said he would meet Gazzayev on Thursday and accept his resignation if it is offered.
Armenia's home game against Turkmenistan was called off because the visitor failed to show up. Armenia had declined offers from Jordan and Portugal because of the planned Turkmenistan match, said Albert Minasian, executive director of the Armenian soccer federation. The would-be visitor sent a letter saying the players couldn't get visas in time for the game in Yerevan and officials were unable to get a direct flight.
Uzbekistan gained a surprise 3-0 win at Latvia while Belarus edged Iran 2-1 in other friendlies. Velizar Dimitrov scored twice as Bulgaria outplayed Lithuania 3-0 in Sofia.
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was the only athlete to “beat” a world record on Sunday at the Enhanced Games, winning the men’s 50m freestyle at the divisive competition where athletes were free to take performance-enhancing substances. His time of 20.81 seconds — which is not considered official — came in the final event of the night in Las Vegas, sparing the blushes of organizers who made claims that multiple world records would be surpassed due to a sophisticated doping regime. Gkolomeev, who was wearing a synthetic “supersuit” long banned at events such as the Olympics, outpaced Australia’s Cameron McEvoy’s 20.88 set in
The manager of the Yomiuri Giants, one of Japan’s most popular baseball teams, resigned yesterday after he was arrested for allegedly physically attacking his teenage daughter. Shinnosuke Abe allegedly grabbed the 18-year-old and forced her to the floor at their home in central Tokyo on Monday evening, reported national broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News, citing unnamed police sources. “Leaving like this really means I’m causing you a lot of trouble, and I feel truly sorry about that,” Abe told a hastily arranged news conference, his eyes red with tears. The former star catcher, who is among baseball-obsessed Japan’s most recognized sports figures,
For some, Cristiano Ronaldo remains the essential spearhead for Portugal’s FIFA World Cup bid, while others believe his presence would prevent Roberto Martinez’s strong side from flourishing. The debate around the five-time Ballon d’Or winner rages on, as it did at UEFA Euro 2024 and four years ago in Qatar — yet Ronaldo endures, ready to play in a record sixth World Cup. The 41-year-old remains a global superstar despite swapping the European elite for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr, and is the leading men’s international goalscorer with 143 strikes. With 25 of those coming in 30 games under Martinez, the coach
Taiwanese tennis star Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the second round of the mixed doubles at the French Open, after she and German partner Mark Wallner defeated Slovenian Andreja Klepac and Briton Lloyd Glasspool in straight sets, despite temperatures exceeding 32°C in Paris, while Taiwan’s top men’s doubles player Ray Ho also reached the second round. Hsieh, who made it to the semi-finals in the mixed doubles at Roland Garros in 2024, and Wallner defeated Klepac and Glasspool 6-3, 7-5 in just more than an hour, converting three of five break points, while holding their opponents to just one conversion
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