Global Futbol Matches January 14th to 20th, 2019

The following article provides an oversight for matches and tournaments taking place in 2019.

January 14 to 20, 2019

Qualifications for various continental cups continued this week. World Cup champions Colombia found it hard to come back from a loss against Venezuela in the Nations League, facing a defiant Turks and Caicos Islands side. The away team stayed in the game largely thanks to impeccable goalkeeping by Marc Fenelus and brilliant last-gasp defence, only allowing the Colombians to slot three goals past them. Panama could not score at home against Haiti, whilst Argentina’s Icardi scored twice to help his side over Bolivia.

 

Two goals from Honduran Lozano gave his side the best start to the qualification campaign against Antigua and Barbuda. Venezuela, buoyed by their win over Colombia, scored inside two minutes against Cuba. However, the Caribbean nation clawed their way back into the game, scoring to level, before two impeccable goals ensured Venezuelan victory. Three first-half goals allowed the Mexicans to see off Puerto Rico.

 

In Euro 2020 Qualifiers, Liechtenstein thought their chances of snatching a point against Austria were high, only for the home team to pile on three goals, finishing the match 4-1. France scored their first win of the qualifiers against Moldova after a poor loss to Sweden at home. Meanwhile, Sweden thought they had their second away win, leading 3-1, before Russia surged home late, and Kuzyaev’s injury-time shot smacked the inside of the post and salvaged a mighty draw.

 

Lithuania’s defence kept them in the hunt against England, and it paid off as Černych snagged a late equaliser. Both Lithuania and England now have two draws from two games. Switzerland gave away a cheap penalty against San Marino, which Nanni slotted into the net. The San Marino attack down the left continued throughout the game, and managed to keep the Swiss attackers away from goal. The result: 1-nil to the home team. Switzerland will head home with their tails between their legs, considering a grand second half to 2018 only to come unstuck when losing to one of the minnows of European football. Meanwhile, Slovenia has the lead in Group E after their two-nil win over Estonia. The Slovenians have always been highly ranked. Will this top ranking transform into Euro 2020 qualification and penetration into the latter stages of the tournament? If so, it will prove their worth amongst the top nations.

 

The Irish, on their home soil, scored their second 2-1 win of the campaign, this time over Poland. Georgia needed a long-shot goal to come from behind to draw with Scotland at home, with equaliser Novalovski deemed Player of the Match. Sané and Kehrer combined to help Germany win over Gibraltar, though eighteen shots on goal suggest the scoreline should have been higher. Belarus bounced back after losing at home to Serbia in the Nations League to record four baggers against Macedonia, whose momentum seems to be shifting away from winning.

 

Three different Ukrainian goalscorers inside the first half and hour set up a solid victory over Slovakia, though the away team should have scored multiple times, either from when the post was hit or the resulting rebound efforts. Similarly, Spain had three goals by halftime, only they went on and scored four more over Luxembourg to take the lead in Group C. Belgium needed an injury-time goal to settle the win over Israel, who took the lead early through Hemed. Andorra surprised Wales as the away team could not find a way into goal, and a penalty by Lima in injury time sealed the deal for the Andorrans. Bosnia scored late to draw level against Cyprus and keep the World Cup side on the bottom of Group B.

 

African Cup of Nations Qualifiers began in earnest for the majority of groups. eSwatini began their campaign to battle with the best of Africa with a hard-fought 2-1 win, outsmarting the Congolese side. A double from Iheanacho helped Nigeria to a 4-0 victory over Sudan. Algeria dominated the first half against Tanzania, only for the posts to thwart any goals. Eventually the game opened up in the second period and Algeria ran away winners by three goals. The trading of five goals took place between Ethiopia and Côte d’Ivoire, with the latter winning away from home.

 

Ghana needed to come from behind after Namibia shocked the home crowd with an early goal. Eventually the home side ran out 2-1 winners. Meanwhile, in the same group, dubbed the Group of Death with three 2018 World Cup sides present, Guinea dominated Togo and scored thrice to set the benchmark for Group E. The Islanders, Cape Verde and Comoros, clashed, where Comoros should have equalised late, either through a missed handball in the penalty region or the subsequent shot on goal. The home side counterattacked and scored through substitute Heldon after Fortes had scored a brace, including a wonderful header from a corner.

 

A penalty was the difference between Niger and Chad, with substitute Zakari’s brilliant work down the right flank leading to the penalty, and he slotted home the goal and gained three points for Niger. A scoreless draw ensued between Mauritania and Botswana, though the home team had a double chance late to snatch a win, only for the Botswana goalkeeper, Dembe, to dive and get an arm on the first shot, and the woodwork to stop the second by Niass from the rebound.

 

Seychelles travelled to Tunis, but did not rock up mentally on the pitch as Tunisia, led by Naim Sliti’s hat trick, scored five straightforward goals. Lesotho opened their campaign with a one-nil win over Sao Tome and Principe, who are yet to score a goal in two games. Kenya sat back in their defensive third and allowed Rwanda to mindlessly (seemingly) keep possession. However, this allowed Rwanda to play into the game, and the team in yellow and green had a goal by halftime. The second half was much more balance, with Philemon Otieno leveling the scores. Unfortunately, Kenya remain winless as Rwandan defender Emmanuel Imanishimwe strode forward and won the match for the home side in the 85th minute �" their second win out of two.

 

Mali opened their qualification campaign in coming from two goals down to win away in Mozambique. The Central African Republic bounced back from their defeat against the Congo DR with a three-goal win over Somalia. The Zambian strikers hit the woodwork twice after their 17^th-minute goal by Mwepu, defeating Madagascar, but wishing they could have scored more than simply one netter.

 

Djibouti returned to Sierra Leone ten days after having played there in the Nations League, and in the 82nd minute, thought they had their winner through Aboubaker. However, the Sierra Leone substitute Wobay slotted a cracker in the 89th minute to ensure the result mirrored that from the week before: one-all. Eritrea kept Egypt out of their goal for 43 minutes before the Egyptians piled on five goals. Statistics showed three assists from Salah and two assists and a goal from Hamed and a goal from substitute Said with his first header of the game.

 

Morocco had four chances late to equalise against Guinea-Bissau, only for two of them to slide wide, one to hit the bar and the other to somehow be thwarted by the home team’s defence. Malawi could not capitalise on their chances against Benin, before with his first interaction, substitute Phiri earned a penalty after goalkeeper Farnolle clipped his leg. However, Benin replied quickly through substitute Djigla and the game ended in a one-all draw, a result the away team is more content with than the Malawians.

 

Burkina Faso shocked Gabon on their home turf by striking into the net three goals in the shadows of halftime. Gabon looked to peg one back early in the second half, but that was all the goals scored, and Burkina Faso gained a crucial first three points. Joining them on three points is Angola, who scored twice through captain Mateus against Liberia.

 

The Gambians are briefly on top of Group D after their 2-0 win over Zimbabwe at home. Cameroon began their campaign also with two goals in the first half against Senegal. Burundi scored thrice, including a brace from substitute Shaban, before Mauritius slotted a late consolation goal. South Africa thumped South Sudan by the largest margin this week on the African continent: six goals to nothing. On the other hand, the other game in Group J between Equatorial Guinea and Uganda was a scoreless draw.

 

Bahrain opened their campaign for Asian Cup Qualification with a better second half filled with five shots on target, producing a 74^th-minute goal from substitute Helal to overcome a defensively strong Palestine. Iranian captain Shojaei came on in the second half against India and made the most of a goalkeeping error, before scoring a second goal with his head from a free kick. India did manage to sneak one goal back in injury, thanks to the other #7, Thapa, heading home a corner.

 

Lebanon took control at home against the Australians, and it was goalkeeper (and Player of the Match) Ryan who was keeping out the Lebanese five shots on target. However, Lebanon failed to shoot on target in the second half, and could not find a winner, whilst Robbie Kruse had the best chance for the Australians, hitting the left hand post. The United Arab Emirates moved to second behind Australia in Group L with a goal in each half against Sri Lanka.

 

The South Koreans travelled to Karachi, and with a brace from Hwang, saw off a slow Pakistani side. Six corners to none were the order of the day for Oman against Yemen, but the attacking dominance of the home team only saw one goal being scored, with eight shots on target. Newcomer to the Uzbek side, Marsharipov, slotted his side’s first goal via a free kick against Turkmenistan, before stalwarts Akhmedov and Bikmaev scored to finish with a three-goal advantage.

 

Some desperate Laotian defending at the death saved the game against North Korea, who could not find a way to slot a goal on the scoreless draw. The Maldives came from behind against Guam to run out 3-1 winners. Syria’s forward Mardikian’s goal proved the difference between the home side and Bangladesh. Saudi Arabia’s three goals against Mongolia came from three midfielders, which will stand them in good stead for this qualification campaign, knowing they have a number of scorers available. Indonesia also added three names to the scoresheet in the first half against Myanmar. Taiwan and Kuwait played out a scoreless draw, and Malaysia secured their second win in two games after slotting a solitary goal past Singapore’s defence.

 

In the Nations League Match Day 4, Kyrgyzstan continued their slaughtering streak of Singapore 6-0 with a five-goal drubbing of the Philippines. Many supporters thought this game would be closer, but the Central Asian side dominated with their unique formation of 3-5-1-1, having three of their goals scored from midfielders - a brace from Player of the Match Bernhardt and Sagynbaev with a goal and assist.

 

January 15 U17 Men’s Friendlies 25 ·  Ecuador 5 Argentina 3 ·  Kosovo 2 Spain 2 ·  Malta 0 Portugal 2 ·

January 16 Asian Cup Qualifiers ·  Bahrain 1 Palestine 0 ·  India 1 Iran 2 ·  Lebanon 0 Australia 0 ·  Pakistan 0 South Korea 2 ·  Oman 1 Yemen 0 ·  Turkmenistan 0 Uzbekistan 3 ·  UAE 2 Sri Lanka 0 ·  North Korea 0 Laos 0 ·  Maldives 3 Guam 1 ·  Syria 1 Bangladesh 0 ·  Saudi Arabia 3 Mongolia 0 ·  Indonesia 3 Myanmar 0   Euro 2020 Qualifiers ·  Denmark 2 Portugal 3 ·  Serbia 2 Albania 1 ·  Armenia 1 Montenegro 1 ·  Italy 2 Croatia 1 ·  Bulgaria 0 Norway 0 ·  Azerbaijan 1 Malta 1 ·  Austria 4 Liechtenstein 1 ·  Moldova 0 France 2 ·  Russia 3 Sweden 3 ·  England 1 Lithuania 1 ·  San Marino 1 Switzerland 0 ·  Slovenia 2 Estonia 0 ·  Ireland 2 Poland 1 ·  Georgia 2 Scotland 2 ·  Germany 2 Gibraltar 0 ·  Belarus 4 Macedonia 0 ·  Ukraine 3 Slovakia 0 ·  Spain 7 Luxembourg 0 ·  Belgium 2 Israel 1 ·  Andorra 1 Wales 0 ·  Cyprus 1 Bosnia 1 AFCON 2020 Qualifiers ·  eSwatini 2 Congo 1 ·  Nigeria 4 Sudan 0 ·  Algeria 3 Tanzania 0 ·  Ethiopia 2 Côte d’Ivoire 3 ·  Ghana 2 Namibia 1 ·  Guinea 3 Togo 0 ·  Cape Verde Islands 3 Comoros 1 ·  Niger 1 Chad 0 ·  Mauritania 0 Botswana 0 ·  Tunisia 5 Seychelles 0 ·  Lesotho 1 Sao Tome and Principe 0 ·  Rwanda 2 Kenya 1 ·  Mozambique 2 Mali 3 ·  Central African Republic 3 Somalia 0 ·  Zambia 1 Madagascar 0 ·  Sierra Leone 1 Djibouti 1 ·  Egypt 5 Eritrea 0 ·  Guinea-Bissau 1 Morocco 0   Copa America 2020 Qualifiers ·  Colombia 3 Turks and Caicos Islands 0 ·  Panama 0 Haiti 0 ·  Argentina 2 Bolivia 0 ·  Honduras 2 Antigua and Barbuda 0 ·  Venezuela 3 Cuba 1 ·  Mexico 3 Puerto Rico 0