Cyprus produced the landmark performance of Wednesday's batch of Euro 2008 qualifiers when the Mediterranean minnows held mighty Germany to a 1-1 draw in Nicosia.
Captain Michael Ballack gave Germany the lead in the 15th minute but Cyprus, a yawning 73 places below them on FIFA's world rankings, fought back courageously with Yiannakis Okkas' first-time volley from the edge of the area just before the break earning them a deserved share of the spoils.
Despite squandering a forecast three points Germany at least left Cyprus with the consolation of moving top of Group D ahead of the Czech Republic on goal difference.
PHOTO: AFP
Cyprus are fourth, with the Republic of Ireland, who bade farewell to their creaking stadium at Lansdowne Road, fifth following a 5-0 rout of San Marino.
Germany coach Joachim Low accepted the result was not what he had expected.
"It's obvious we are not pleased. This was a tough and at times physical game. We were mentally and physically tired ... but we won't ponder too much on why we failed here, this is only one negative result in a successful year," he said.
However, he did concede that it was a "fair result" and warned the other teams in the group it will be "difficult playing in Nicosia."
Cyprus manager Angelos Anastasiades cut an altogether happier figure, this draw coming after his side's 5-2 mauling of Ireland in their last game on home turf.
"It's a satisfactory result considering who we were playing, they are a bigger and better team and three times world champions," he said.
"We were equal to the Germans for 70 minutes but we began to tire towards the end but they could only threaten us with crosses," he said.
In Dublin Ireland cruised past San Marino courtesy of a Robbie Keane hat-trick, with Andy Reid and Kevin Doyle also getting on the scoresheet.
Despite the lop-sided scoreline and Keane's heroics, it was still a drab end for a drab stadium which is due to be knocked down early next year and replaced with the sort of modern 50,000-seater arena Irish football so desperately needs.
"Obviously we'll need to be more clinical against better teams," Ireland manager Steve Staunton said.
In Group E England slipped a place to third as a result of Russia's 2-0 win over Macedonia.
Croatia pulled clear at the top with a 4-3 win over Israel in Tel Aviv.
In Group A Finland went a point clear of Serbia after a 1-0 win over Armenia, with Portugal placed third after seeing off Kazakhstan 3-0.
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
Crowds descended on the home of 17-year-old Chinese diver Quan Hongchan after she won two golds at the Paris Olympics while gymnast Zhang Boheng hid in a Beijing airport toilet to escape overzealous throngs of fans. They are just two recent examples of what state media are calling “toxic fandom” and Chinese authorities have vowed to crack down on it. Some of the adulation toward China’s sports stars has been more sinister — fans obsessing over athletes’ personal lives, cyberbullying opponents or slamming supposedly crooked judges. Experts say it mirrors the kind of behavior once reserved for entertainment celebrities before
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
RSS