Euro 2012 Qualifying: Order, Big Three Emerge After Third Match Day

How Things Were, Before Friday: Scotland let the group thanks to four points and a Lithuania victory at the Czech Republic, allowing the Tartan Army to go top on a tiebreaker. Of course, the real reason for that status was Spain having an early off day, having only played Liechtenstein during the September match break. The holders were expected to use the October break to resume their place atop the group, having matches with Lithuania and Scotland.

Where They Stand, Now: Thanks to the Czech Republic getting three in Praha over Scotland, Spain was able to go top with their win over Lithuania. In doing so, the Rojo illustrated while their talent pool is the world’s envy, ultimately posting a comfortable victory despite missing five contributors.

How Things Were, Before Friday: England had asserted control of the group with a win at Switzerland while Montenegro, even on points, had kept-up with two 1-0 wins. The Welsh and Switz, both second place aspirants, were left without points after their first match, with Wales changing coaches after the September break.

Where They Stand, Now: Though they have played only two matches, Switzerland and Wales may be too far behind Montenegro, with a five team group meaning two fewer matches to catch-up. Meanwhile, the Montenegrans sit atop the quintet, and while that could start to go south Tuesday in London, they’ve still put up 270 scoreless minutes to start qualifying.

Where They Stand, Now: Though Albania and Belarus are still without losses, France put forth a second consecutive convincing performance, building on their round two, road win at Bosnia and Herzegovina with a dominant performance against Romania (even if their goals came late). When was the last time Les Bleus put together two successive strong performances? If that’s an indication Laurent Blanc has figured out something Raymond Domenech never could, Group D will quickly become a lot less interesting.

Question That Will Define The Group, Going Forward: Has Blanc finally make France into a team?

How Things Were, Before Friday: Slovakia’s win in Moscow had given them the group’s first advantage - three points few expected them to get. At the same time, the Dick Advocaat era in Moscow had gotten off to a disastrous start. And as they looked-on from their minnow-battling distance, Ireland had not only raced to the top of the group but also, having seen the group favorites lose at home, given themselves reason to believe they could win the group.

Where They Stand, Now: Ireland was rocked in Dublin by Russia. Although the final score, 2-3, was close, Russia scoring three goals against a Giovanni Trapattoni team intent on preventing goals exposed the former group-leaders. Combine that with Slovakia’s shock loss in Armenia and Macedonia’s first win and five nations are within two points at the top of the group.

How Things Were, Before Friday: Germany’s win in Brussels had the favorites half-way toward controlling the group, with Belgium’s subsequent loss in Turkey leaving the Red Devils pointless after two rounds. With the Germans and Turks perched atop the group, Austria’s win over Kazakhstan, coupled with Belgian misfortunes, threatened to make this a four nation group.

Where They Stand, Now: For Germany, Turkey proved less of a problem than Belgium, while in Kazakhstan, Belgium overcame a scoreless first half to post their first three points. Meanwhile, Austria was cruising past Kazakhstan, staking an easy set of opening fixtures to second place.