Brazil 8 China 0: Neymar bags hat-trick as Blues duo Ramires and Oscar complete rout
Neymar recorded a hat-trick to help Brazil hammer China 8-0 in an
exhibition match in Recife. Brazil had little difficulty establishing
control over their beleaguered opponents and the five-time World Cup
winners ran riot in the second half, scoring six goals.
Skipper Steven Gerrard was sent off as Frank Lampard's 86th-minute penalty spared England's blushes at Wembley.
Gerrard was red-carded two minutes from the end of a poor display from Roy Hodgson's men in their World Cup qualifier with Ukraine.
The hosts were saved when Yevhen Khacherdi blocked Danny Welbeck's flick with his arm, allowing Lampard to drive home from the spot to earn England a point.
Gerrard's dismissal followed shortly afterwards for a second yellow card.
The Liverpool man becomes the 14th
England player to be sent off, although the damage is not too bad as he
only misses the visit of San Marino next month.
Ukraine will be cursing a missed opportunity, though.
Already nursing a sense of grievance after having a perfectly good goal ruled out when the two sides met at Euro 2012, Oleg Blokhin's men came agonisingly close to what would have been a deserved victory.
In Yevgen Konoplianka, they had not only the game's star performer but also scorer of a goal worthy of winning any match.
And, while defeat was avoided, clearly there is so much work ahead of Hodgson and his team if they are to reach Brazil 2014.
It had not gone unnoticed that the last time England went into a competitive game with John Terry, Ashley Cole and Rio Ferdinand all missing from their starting line-up was against Croatia almost five years ago.
That miserable night was the last time England had lost a qualifying match on home soil.
It was a record that soon became obvious was going to be tested.
Only three minutes had elapsed when Oleg Gusev's cross flicked off Leighton Baines, dipped over Joe Hart and clipped the outside of a post.
Joleon Lescott cleared another Gusev cross, then Roman Zozulya failed to capitalise on Konoplianka's neat approach work.
During those dodgy opening minutes, England's passing was awful, costing them a chance to build up any momentum.
Five-goal winners in Moldova on Friday, third-ranked team in the world, any sense of superiority was shaken out of England by spirited opponents.
Andriy Shevchenko's retirement, far from weakening the team, created a greater bond, which new skipper Anatoliy Tymoschuk marshalled around the field in impressive fashion.
It might have been different had Jermain Defoe's thunderous effort not been ruled out.
Defoe's disbelief was obvious. Yet it was also beyond doubt he had shoved a textbook rugby hand-off into the neck of Andriy Yarmolenko, who made the most of it.
Gerrard was trying to inspire, like a good captain should.
Clearing a goalbound Ruslan Rotan effort at one end, driving a pass through for Defoe at the other, the striker's flick almost releasing James Milner.
It was the prelude to Cleverley's succession of glaring misses.
Defoe showed admirable unselfishness when he opted to steer Gerrard's cross back into the six-yard box rather than go for goal himself from an acute angle.
Cleverley raced in, looking certain to gobble up the chance with only Andrei Pyatov to beat.
Unfortunately, the Manchester United man fired straight at the Ukraine goalkeeper, whose reactions were up to the task.
Cleverley then flicked Lampard's pass
well wide from a good position, before, as if underlining the folly of
Hodgson's comparison with Cesc Fabregas, lifting the ball against the
outside of a post from Milner's pass.
Amid the personal anguish, Ukraine had seized the initiative.
After Denys Garmash had let England off the hook by heading over when he crept into space to meet Yevgen Selin's cross, Konoplianka showed them no mercy.
Stepping inside Gerrard, the highly-rated midfielder sent a 25-yard effort curling over Hart and into the top corner.
In a second-half littered with yellow
cards - six of them for England including Gerrard's double caution -
Leighton Baines needed to make a timely intervention to prevent Zozulya
reaching Konoplianka's cross.
Glen Johnson, among those to get booked after the break, went close at the other end but the introductions of Danny Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge were inevitable given how the game was panning out.
The decision to replace Baines with Ryan Bertrand was less obvious, especially as young duo Raheem Sterling and Adam Lallana both offered more attacking invention from the bench for all their inexperience.
Welbeck almost profited from Sturridge's cross nine minutes from time, but prodded against a post.
Redemption came shortly afterwards, with Lampard converting from the spot, just as he did in Chisinau on Friday.
But the outcome will fool no one, least of all Hodgson, into thinking that England really do deserve to be rated as highly as FIFA suggest.
Wales' World Cup aspirations lie in tatters as this inept display at the Karadjordje Stadium saw them roundly thumped by Serbia.
Woeful defending played a major part in Wales' heaviest defeat since 2006 and Aleksandar Kolarov and Zoran Tosic had the hosts 2-0 up inside 25 minutes.
Gareth Bale gave Wales hope with a stunning free-kick but Filip Duricic got a third for the hosts before the break and Dusan Tadic, Branislav Ivanovic and Miralen Sulejmani completed the rout.
Wales has been boosted by the return of
Joe Allen as they looked to get their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign
back on track against a resolute Serbia outfit.
The Liverpool midfielder missed Friday's 2-0 defeat to Belgium through illness but he was back in the side as the only change to Chris Coleman's starting XI, replacing James Collins who missed out through suspension.
Serbia boss Sinisa Mihajlovic made three changes from his team's draw with Scotland as Ljubomir Fejsa, Lazar Markovic and Dusan Tadic all started in a side including Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic and Manchester City's Matija Nastasic and Aleksandar Kolarov.
Wales started positively with Ashley Williams heading over from an Aaron Ramsey corner in the sixth minute and Gareth Bale posing problems down the right flank.
But it took a block from Adam Matthews to keep out a free header from Nastasic at the other end, before Darcy Blake came close to putting through his own net with a sliced clearance.
Wales fell behind after 15 minutes when Ivanovic won a free-kick on the right edge of the area.
Kolarov, who had been critical of Wales in the build-up to the game, stepped up to curl a left-footed effort over the wall and beyond Boaz Myhill.
And the deficit doubled in the 24th minute with Kolarov turning creator.
The left-back was somehow allowed to pick his way past Williams and Chris Gunter to get away a shot from near the byline. Myhill blocked that effort but Tosic converted the follow-up.
It would have been worse for Wales had Gunter not blocked Tadic's goalbound effort with the visitors looking vulnerable almost every time the hosts came forward.
Bale gave them a lifeline just after the half-hour mark as he picked himself up after being fouled by Milan Bisevac to thump home a superb swerving free-kick from almost 30 yards.
It was the first goal of Coleman's stint in charge, but Wales' defensive frailties resurfaced to undermine their attempt at a recovery.
Blake's awful defensive header allowed Tadic to play in Filip Duricic and he held off Matthews and fired high into Myhill's net.
Coleman withdrew Matthews, who had
endured a torrid time up against Tadic and Tosic, and David Edwards,
bringing on Sam Ricketts and David Vaughan.
But it made little difference. Aaron Ramsey gave away the ball cheaply in midfield and only a block from Gunter prevented some lovely interplay between Markovic, Tadic and Duricic producing the latter's second of the night.
But Tadic made no mistake in the 55th minute. Ivanovic dispossessed Bale and beat Ricketts down the right before sliding the ball across to give Tadic a simple finish.
Tosic went close to grabbing his second after more good work from Duricic, with Ricketts making a vital intervention.
Wales were once again guilty of making problems for themselves when it came to the fifth goal.
Blake surrendered possession on the edge of their own area, and home skipper Ivanovic capitalised to slide a right-footed effort into the bottom corner.
Substitute Miralen Sulejmani then rounded off the scoring as his deflected strike looped in over Myhill.
The goal made this Wales' worst result since the 7-1 loss to Holland in 1996, on the most miserable of nights for the visitors.
Northern Ireland had to accept a demoralising home draw against Luxembourg after a match they dominated ended with the visitors scoring a heavily deflected equaliser in the 86th minute.
The evening had started so promisingly for Michael O'Neill's side, with Dean Shiels claiming his first international goal with a deft finish in the 14th minute.
The hosts had nearly all of the
meaningful chances thereafter, with three efforts disallowed by the
officials and Chris Brunt hitting the post, only for Daniel Da Mota's
shot to squirm home via Ryan McGivern's shoulder.
Coming on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Russia, Northern Ireland's World Cup qualifying hopes are already hanging by a thread.
Having set his team out for containment in Moscow, with Kyle Lafferty often stranded at the head of a defensive 4-5-1 formation, O'Neill selected a more attack-minded XI in Belfast.
Shiels
returned in the No 10 role, with Shane Ferguson back on the left side
of midfield and the more aggressive McGivern replacing Craig Cathcart
behind him.
Northern Ireland started with real purpose, almost scoring in the first minute. The chance came from a corner, won after good interplay between Lafferty and Shiels. Brunt floated it to West Brom team-mate Gareth McAuley who, after winning the header, directed the ball straight at the goalkeeper.
A loose pass from McGivern gifted Aurelien Joachim space to shoot, only for Jonny Evans to make the block. Then Northern Ireland took the lead through Shiels.
Somewhat surprisingly Evans played the role of creator, surging upfield and exchanging neat passes with the Rangers man. Evans' second pass cut open the defence and Shiels lifted his shot deftly over the oncoming Jonathan Joubert.
After 21 minutes Evans thought he had made it 2-0 himself from a neat corner routine but the goal was ruled out due to a push. There was disappointing news in the 29th minute when McAuley received his second booking in as many matches to rule him out of next month's trip to Portugal.
The hosts had a second effort disallowed soon after, Lafferty stroking a fine effort into the top corner after good work from Chris Baird, only to be pulled up for offside. In the five minutes before half-time, Northern Ireland had three presentable chances to add to their lead.
Shiels failed to make the most of Guy Blaise's slip, then Lafferty chipped high and wide after being teed up by Brunt, who himself might have shot.
The West Brom man then found Baird with a bullet corner, but the latter's header flashed inches wide of the far post.
Luxembourg sent on Maurice Deville to lead the line for the second half in place of Joachim and they looked a sturdier proposition as the second half got under way.
Winger Mario Mutsch attempted to stretch the home back four five minutes into the second period but Evans was on hand with a forceful sliding tackle.
A McGivern overlap set Northern Ireland back on the attack but although Shiels got his head to Steven Davis' cross, a red shirt blocked it on its way towards goal.
Unbelievably, the home side had a third effort struck off by the officials on the hour, Lafferty in an offside position when he sidefooted Ferguson's cross home.
Had their advantage not been so slender, Northern Ireland may even have found some humour in the situation.
Lafferty, given onside for once, saw a 20-yard shot brush the outside of the post via Joubert's gloves but otherwise the closing stages were an increasingly nervy affair as Luxembourg pressed forward.
Davis gave Brunt the chance to ease the pressure with seven minutes left but, after meeting the carefully-measured pass, he rolled his shot against the base of the post.
Then, just moments later, the sucker punch arrived. With too many green shirts committed forward, Luxembourg surged up the pitch and a shot opened up for Da Mota. His effort appeared to be heading wide until it took a huge deflection off McGivern's shoulder to leave Roy Carroll stranded.
The Luxembourg bench celebrated emphatically, leaving the home fans to boo their players off at the final whistle
England 1 Ukraine 1: Lampard saves the day with late penalty as Gerrard sees red
Skipper Steven Gerrard was sent off as Frank Lampard's 86th-minute penalty spared England's blushes at Wembley.
Gerrard was red-carded two minutes from the end of a poor display from Roy Hodgson's men in their World Cup qualifier with Ukraine.
The hosts were saved when Yevhen Khacherdi blocked Danny Welbeck's flick with his arm, allowing Lampard to drive home from the spot to earn England a point.
Gerrard's dismissal followed shortly afterwards for a second yellow card.
No mistake: Frank Lampard converts from 12 yards to snatch a point for England
Match facts
England: Hart, Johnson, Jagielka, Lescott, Baines (Bertrand 73), Lampard, Gerrard, Milner, Cleverley (Welbeck 62), Oxlade-Chamberlain (Sturridge 69), Defoe. Subs not used: Ruddy, Walker, Cahill, Carrick, Livermore, Lallana, Sterling, Butland.
Booked: Defoe, Gerrard.
Sent off: Gerrard.
Scorer: Lampard (pen) 86.
Ukraine: Pyatov, Gusev, Khacheridi, Rakitskiy, Selin (Shevchuk 75), Tymoschuk, Rotan, Yarmolenko, Garmash, Konoplianka, Zozulya (Devic 90). Subs not used: Koval, Bezus, Mandzyuk, Nazarenko, Stepanenko, Butko, Dykan.
Booked: Selin, Garmash, Khacheridi.
Scorer: Konoplianka 39.
Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey).
Attendance: 68,102.
Booked: Defoe, Gerrard.
Sent off: Gerrard.
Scorer: Lampard (pen) 86.
Ukraine: Pyatov, Gusev, Khacheridi, Rakitskiy, Selin (Shevchuk 75), Tymoschuk, Rotan, Yarmolenko, Garmash, Konoplianka, Zozulya (Devic 90). Subs not used: Koval, Bezus, Mandzyuk, Nazarenko, Stepanenko, Butko, Dykan.
Booked: Selin, Garmash, Khacheridi.
Scorer: Konoplianka 39.
Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey).
Attendance: 68,102.
Ukraine will be cursing a missed opportunity, though.
Already nursing a sense of grievance after having a perfectly good goal ruled out when the two sides met at Euro 2012, Oleg Blokhin's men came agonisingly close to what would have been a deserved victory.
In Yevgen Konoplianka, they had not only the game's star performer but also scorer of a goal worthy of winning any match.
And, while defeat was avoided, clearly there is so much work ahead of Hodgson and his team if they are to reach Brazil 2014.
It had not gone unnoticed that the last time England went into a competitive game with John Terry, Ashley Cole and Rio Ferdinand all missing from their starting line-up was against Croatia almost five years ago.
That miserable night was the last time England had lost a qualifying match on home soil.
Marching orders: Gerrard is sent off by Turkish official Cuneyt Cakir
Only three minutes had elapsed when Oleg Gusev's cross flicked off Leighton Baines, dipped over Joe Hart and clipped the outside of a post.
Joleon Lescott cleared another Gusev cross, then Roman Zozulya failed to capitalise on Konoplianka's neat approach work.
Gilt-edged: Tom Cleverley misses from close range with the game goalless
Five-goal winners in Moldova on Friday, third-ranked team in the world, any sense of superiority was shaken out of England by spirited opponents.
Andriy Shevchenko's retirement, far from weakening the team, created a greater bond, which new skipper Anatoliy Tymoschuk marshalled around the field in impressive fashion.
Unstoppable: Yevhen Konoplianka blasts Ukraine into the ascendancy, leaving Joe Hart no chance
Defoe's disbelief was obvious. Yet it was also beyond doubt he had shoved a textbook rugby hand-off into the neck of Andriy Yarmolenko, who made the most of it.
Gerrard was trying to inspire, like a good captain should.
Clearing a goalbound Ruslan Rotan effort at one end, driving a pass through for Defoe at the other, the striker's flick almost releasing James Milner.
Disallowed: Jermain Defoe saw this effort chalked off after being adjudged to have fouled Andriy Yarmolenko
Defoe showed admirable unselfishness when he opted to steer Gerrard's cross back into the six-yard box rather than go for goal himself from an acute angle.
Cleverley raced in, looking certain to gobble up the chance with only Andrei Pyatov to beat.
Unfortunately, the Manchester United man fired straight at the Ukraine goalkeeper, whose reactions were up to the task.
Fall guy: Defoe's goal is disallowed for the striker's earlier foul, to the consternation of England players
Amid the personal anguish, Ukraine had seized the initiative.
After Denys Garmash had let England off the hook by heading over when he crept into space to meet Yevgen Selin's cross, Konoplianka showed them no mercy.
Stepping inside Gerrard, the highly-rated midfielder sent a 25-yard effort curling over Hart and into the top corner.
Pointing the finger: Roy Hodgson shows his displeasure at referee Cakir after the final whistle
Glen Johnson, among those to get booked after the break, went close at the other end but the introductions of Danny Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge were inevitable given how the game was panning out.
The decision to replace Baines with Ryan Bertrand was less obvious, especially as young duo Raheem Sterling and Adam Lallana both offered more attacking invention from the bench for all their inexperience.
Denied: Ukraine were unfortunate to leave England with just a point
Redemption came shortly afterwards, with Lampard converting from the spot, just as he did in Chisinau on Friday.
But the outcome will fool no one, least of all Hodgson, into thinking that England really do deserve to be rated as highly as FIFA suggest.
Serbia 6 Wales 1: Kolarov and Co hammer Coleman's side in humiliating second defeat
Wales' World Cup aspirations lie in tatters as this inept display at the Karadjordje Stadium saw them roundly thumped by Serbia.
Woeful defending played a major part in Wales' heaviest defeat since 2006 and Aleksandar Kolarov and Zoran Tosic had the hosts 2-0 up inside 25 minutes.
Gareth Bale gave Wales hope with a stunning free-kick but Filip Duricic got a third for the hosts before the break and Dusan Tadic, Branislav Ivanovic and Miralen Sulejmani completed the rout.
Demolition: Aleksandar Kolarov (No 11) led Serbia to a devastating win over Wales
MATCH FACTS
Serbia: Stojkovic, Ivanovic, Bisevac, Nastasic, Kolarov, Tadic, Fejsa, Ignjovski (Mijailovic 85 min), Duricic (Lekic 81min), Tosic (Sulejmani 70min), Markovic.
Substitutes not used: Kahriman, Petrovic, Maksimovic, Tomovic, Matic, Ninkovic, Subotic, Lazovic, Brkic.
Goals: Kolarov 16, Tosic 24, Duricic 39, Tadic 55, Ivanovic 80, Sulejmani 90
Wales: Myhill, Gunter, Ashley Williams, Blake, Matthews (Ricketts 45min), Edwards (Vaughan 45min), Allen (King 71min), Ramsey, Bale, Morison, Church.
Substitutes not used: Brown, Davies, Richards, Earnshaw, Vokes,
Jonathan Williams, Robson-Kanu, Price.
Goals: Bale 31
Referee: Duarte Gomes (Portugal)
Substitutes not used: Kahriman, Petrovic, Maksimovic, Tomovic, Matic, Ninkovic, Subotic, Lazovic, Brkic.
Goals: Kolarov 16, Tosic 24, Duricic 39, Tadic 55, Ivanovic 80, Sulejmani 90
Wales: Myhill, Gunter, Ashley Williams, Blake, Matthews (Ricketts 45min), Edwards (Vaughan 45min), Allen (King 71min), Ramsey, Bale, Morison, Church.
Substitutes not used: Brown, Davies, Richards, Earnshaw, Vokes,
Jonathan Williams, Robson-Kanu, Price.
Goals: Bale 31
Referee: Duarte Gomes (Portugal)
The Liverpool midfielder missed Friday's 2-0 defeat to Belgium through illness but he was back in the side as the only change to Chris Coleman's starting XI, replacing James Collins who missed out through suspension.
Serbia boss Sinisa Mihajlovic made three changes from his team's draw with Scotland as Ljubomir Fejsa, Lazar Markovic and Dusan Tadic all started in a side including Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic and Manchester City's Matija Nastasic and Aleksandar Kolarov.
Wales started positively with Ashley Williams heading over from an Aaron Ramsey corner in the sixth minute and Gareth Bale posing problems down the right flank.
But it took a block from Adam Matthews to keep out a free header from Nastasic at the other end, before Darcy Blake came close to putting through his own net with a sliced clearance.
Wales fell behind after 15 minutes when Ivanovic won a free-kick on the right edge of the area.
Kolarov, who had been critical of Wales in the build-up to the game, stepped up to curl a left-footed effort over the wall and beyond Boaz Myhill.
Classy: Former Manchester United winger Zoran Tosic scored Serbia's second goal of the night
Little to cheer: Gareth Bale (left) scored a wonderful free-kick before succumbing to a humiliating defeat
The left-back was somehow allowed to pick his way past Williams and Chris Gunter to get away a shot from near the byline. Myhill blocked that effort but Tosic converted the follow-up.
It would have been worse for Wales had Gunter not blocked Tadic's goalbound effort with the visitors looking vulnerable almost every time the hosts came forward.
Bale gave them a lifeline just after the half-hour mark as he picked himself up after being fouled by Milan Bisevac to thump home a superb swerving free-kick from almost 30 yards.
It was the first goal of Coleman's stint in charge, but Wales' defensive frailties resurfaced to undermine their attempt at a recovery.
Blake's awful defensive header allowed Tadic to play in Filip Duricic and he held off Matthews and fired high into Myhill's net.
Not your day: Chris Coleman watched his side take a beating against a strong Serbia side
Whack! Kolarov curled in a beauty to open the scoring for the Serbs
But it made little difference. Aaron Ramsey gave away the ball cheaply in midfield and only a block from Gunter prevented some lovely interplay between Markovic, Tadic and Duricic producing the latter's second of the night.
But Tadic made no mistake in the 55th minute. Ivanovic dispossessed Bale and beat Ricketts down the right before sliding the ball across to give Tadic a simple finish.
Tosic went close to grabbing his second after more good work from Duricic, with Ricketts making a vital intervention.
Wales were once again guilty of making problems for themselves when it came to the fifth goal.
Blake surrendered possession on the edge of their own area, and home skipper Ivanovic capitalised to slide a right-footed effort into the bottom corner.
Substitute Miralen Sulejmani then rounded off the scoring as his deflected strike looped in over Myhill.
The goal made this Wales' worst result since the 7-1 loss to Holland in 1996, on the most miserable of nights for the visitors.
Humiliated: Serbia scored six goals with six different scorers
New boy: Manchester City signing Matija Nastasic (right) marshaled Steve Morison well at the back for Serbia
Northern Ireland 1 Luxembourg 1: O'Neill's side denied victory after late equaliser
Northern Ireland had to accept a demoralising home draw against Luxembourg after a match they dominated ended with the visitors scoring a heavily deflected equaliser in the 86th minute.
The evening had started so promisingly for Michael O'Neill's side, with Dean Shiels claiming his first international goal with a deft finish in the 14th minute.
Bitter blow: Alves Da Mota celebrates after scoring a late equaliser for the away side
Coming on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Russia, Northern Ireland's World Cup qualifying hopes are already hanging by a thread.
Having set his team out for containment in Moscow, with Kyle Lafferty often stranded at the head of a defensive 4-5-1 formation, O'Neill selected a more attack-minded XI in Belfast.
Box of tricks: Shiels (right) celebrates with Kyle Lafferty after scoring for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland started with real purpose, almost scoring in the first minute. The chance came from a corner, won after good interplay between Lafferty and Shiels. Brunt floated it to West Brom team-mate Gareth McAuley who, after winning the header, directed the ball straight at the goalkeeper.
A loose pass from McGivern gifted Aurelien Joachim space to shoot, only for Jonny Evans to make the block. Then Northern Ireland took the lead through Shiels.
Somewhat surprisingly Evans played the role of creator, surging upfield and exchanging neat passes with the Rangers man. Evans' second pass cut open the defence and Shiels lifted his shot deftly over the oncoming Jonathan Joubert.
After 21 minutes Evans thought he had made it 2-0 himself from a neat corner routine but the goal was ruled out due to a push. There was disappointing news in the 29th minute when McAuley received his second booking in as many matches to rule him out of next month's trip to Portugal.
The hosts had a second effort disallowed soon after, Lafferty stroking a fine effort into the top corner after good work from Chris Baird, only to be pulled up for offside. In the five minutes before half-time, Northern Ireland had three presentable chances to add to their lead.
Shiels failed to make the most of Guy Blaise's slip, then Lafferty chipped high and wide after being teed up by Brunt, who himself might have shot.
The West Brom man then found Baird with a bullet corner, but the latter's header flashed inches wide of the far post.
Luxembourg sent on Maurice Deville to lead the line for the second half in place of Joachim and they looked a sturdier proposition as the second half got under way.
Winger Mario Mutsch attempted to stretch the home back four five minutes into the second period but Evans was on hand with a forceful sliding tackle.
A McGivern overlap set Northern Ireland back on the attack but although Shiels got his head to Steven Davis' cross, a red shirt blocked it on its way towards goal.
Unbelievably, the home side had a third effort struck off by the officials on the hour, Lafferty in an offside position when he sidefooted Ferguson's cross home.
Had their advantage not been so slender, Northern Ireland may even have found some humour in the situation.
Lafferty, given onside for once, saw a 20-yard shot brush the outside of the post via Joubert's gloves but otherwise the closing stages were an increasingly nervy affair as Luxembourg pressed forward.
Davis gave Brunt the chance to ease the pressure with seven minutes left but, after meeting the carefully-measured pass, he rolled his shot against the base of the post.
Then, just moments later, the sucker punch arrived. With too many green shirts committed forward, Luxembourg surged up the pitch and a shot opened up for Da Mota. His effort appeared to be heading wide until it took a huge deflection off McGivern's shoulder to leave Roy Carroll stranded.
The Luxembourg bench celebrated emphatically, leaving the home fans to boo their players off at the final whistle
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