A red card aided France to a 3-0 win over Ukraine, which was good enough to send them to the World Cup. Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat trick in a Portugal win while Greece and Croatia both qualified.
Ten man Croatia manage to qualify for Brazil
Alex GrimmAt first, it looked as though this match would simply be an extension of Friday’s leg in Reykjavík, with Croatia constantly attacking and Iceland having little desire to do more than defend. This conservatism proved to be their undoing.
With Iceland needing just an equalizer to land themselves in Brazil, Croatia continued to press. But their eagerness got them into trouble ten minutes after the goal, when Mandzukic made the decision to stick his boot in a very sensitive part of Johann Berg Gudmundsson’s anatomy. The referee instantly pulled out the red card, reducing Croatia to ten men -- and very likely keeping Mandzukic out of every group stage match. Well done, Mario.
Read Article >Draw in Romania ensures Greece’s qualificiation
Vladimir RysFormer wunderkind Gabriel Torje looked dangerous for Romania and delivered a couple of crosses in from the right in the opening exchanges of Tuesday’s return leg, though none of his teammates managed to get on the end of them. Greece weathered the early storm, and, playing with pretty much their entire team behind the ball, started to frustrate the hosts.
Greece grew in confidence and ventured forward increasingly frequently, the early Romanian promise nowhere to be seen. One of the hosts’ few first half chances fell to the usually-reliable Ciprian Marica on the stroke of halftime, though his shot cleared the bar from a tight angle. 4-1 down on aggregate at the break, they needed a second half miracle.
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