My humbug podcast co-host Gary Striker doesn’t hide his disdain for the International Break. And frankly, I’m not a big fan of how it interrupts the regular season either. But that doesn’t mean I can’t get completely swept up in storylines that emphasize all that makes the beautiful game so wonderful.
In the past week we’ve witnessed twelve countries from UEFA qualify for the World Cup. Some of these came in dramatic fashion, with clutch wins in the final match of the campaign. Here were two from yesterday.
Scotland 4 – 2 Denmark
Was there any doubt Scotland would win after Scott McTominay’s 3rd minute bicycle kick to put them up at home? Quite a bit, it turns out. A VAR-granted penalty allowed the Danes to level the score. But then came Rasmus Kristensen’s red card, putting the Danes down a player. Surely Lawrence Shankland’s olimpico from the corner arc would seal it? Uh, no. Patrick Dorgu would squeeze in a goal on the near post only moments later.
Scotland needed a win. At regulation, the 2 – 2 draw would sentence them to play-off penury in March. Even worse, it would provide new grist to those old tropes about Scotland’s major tournament qualification woes.
Then fate, or the seismic shock of 50,000 fans of the Tartan Army stomping and shouting their side to glory, would intervene. Morten Hjulmand scuffed a clearance, and the ball rolled innocently to the top of the box. Kieran Tierney sidefooted it, and the merest glance off Hjulmand’s face, plus spin, propelled the sphere into the net. Hampden Park truly did produce an earthquake then. Surely now, in the 93rd minute, Scotland would finally get its due?
Fate would once again intervene, but once again in the Scots’ favor. With seconds remaining in stoppage time, and Denmark pressing furiously, substitute Kenny McLean found himself dribbling 1v1 behind the halfway line. As the defender dropped, McLean shifted to his left. Spying goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel off his line, he unleashed a 50 meter shot that sailed into the upper left corner. That was that. Hampden Park’s intensity ratcheted up to another level and the blissful commentator screamed “Glasgow will run out of drink tonight!”
Wales 7 – 1 North Macedonia
Sometimes you need a little touch of luck, or magic. Wales certainly had plenty of that in Cardiff City Stadium Tuesday night. North Macedonia, while a small nation, is no minnow. In seven qualifying matches leading to this one, they conceded three goals. Wales equalled that total in 37 minutes, each one getting the slightest of deflections or touches off a Macedonian player. That’s when you know it’s your night, even if your goalkeeper slips on the grass to allow one in. In all, 59% of Wales’ shots were on target. 70% of those struck the net. Of course, the Welsh magic stopped short of enabling Liechtenstein to topple Belgium. The Red Devils won that easily 7 – 0. Wales will now be assured of hosting a play-off match in March.
Other Big Results
Record Poor Showing for Sweden
Sweden 1 – 1 Slovenia. This match wouldn’t have changed the hosts’ fate of finishing dead last in their group. But with this draw it was the first time ever in Swedish tournament qualifying that they failed to win at least one match. Gustav Lundgren’s late equalizer at least spared Sweden the embarrassment of a third straight home loss.
Triumph for Troubled Haiti
Over in CONCACAF, Haiti shocked everyone by finishing first in Group C after defeating Nicaragua 2 – 0. This put them ahead of such stalwarts as Honduras and Costa Rica and securing a World Cup spot. It’s a statement win a team that has to overcome tremendous adversity. The political violence and lawlessness in Haiti is so bad the team can’t train or play there; they used Curaçao’s stadium in Willemstad. Their roster plays in twelve different countries, and less than half in top flights.
DRCongo Advance to Playoff
CAF held their second-round play-off over the break, where the four best runners-up from the qualifying campaign fought it out to be the continent’s representative in next year’s interconference competition. Cameroon and Gabon lost their matches to the two finalists, who went the distance after producing a 1 – 1 draw. Some furor erupted during the penalty shootout when a Nigerian coach accused someone in the Congo dugout of using black magic to influence the outcome.
It might not have been the same magic Wales had, but the result was the same.
