General

Euro 2012 Qualifying, Group C Recap: Italy Struggles To Three Points, Table Shakes Up Below

Sep 2, 2011, 9:02 PM UTC

UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying: Why Not Just Hand The Trophy To Germany Already?

Italy has confirmed their dominance atop Group C in Euro 2012 qualifying, but it was much tougher than it should have been. The Faroe Islands gave them a surprising challenge, but they were able to get three points in the end. Elsewhere, the table is now a mess behind them after Serbia picked up three points while Slovenia were stunned by Estonia.

Faroe Islands 0-1 Italy

Though Faroe Islands have been able to progress from "absolute walkover" to "not a good team," they should not have been able to issue much of a challenge to Italy on Friday night, even at home. Italy have all three points and a secured spot atop Group C after their 1-0 win, but it didn't come without a scare. The Faroe Islands actually created a fair number of chances and Italy are a bit lucky to come home with a clean sheet. Antonio Cassano scored their lone goal.

Northern Ireland 0-1 Serbia

Northern Ireland were only going to stay ahead of a talented Serbia team in the table for so long. Serbia are back in the running for a Euro 2012 place after a deserved victory away in Belfast. They unleashed an absolute onslaught on Northern Ireland’s goal, and they were lucky to only concede once. Though they’re not out of the running for second place yet, this loss seriously crippled Northern Ireland.

Slovenia 1-2 Estonia

Though Slovenia are not one of the true giants of world football, this really is a massive upset. The World Cup 2010 qualifiers were securely in second place in the group and expected to defeat Estonia at home fairly easily. Instead, their place in Euro 2012 is now in serious jeopardy, thanks to their loss and Serbia’s big win. Slovenia’s next two matches are against Italy and Serbia, so they really couldn’t afford to drop three points in this one.