SUPER SUB SAVES SPAIN
■ Winger comes off the bench to score in injury time & help La Roja qualify for Euro
Paris, Oct. 16: Rodrigo Moreno fired Spain into Euro 2020 with a last-gasp equaliser in Sweden while the Republic of Ireland’s chances of reaching the finals are still in the balance after they fell 2-0 in Switzerland.
Spain became the sixth team to qualify for next summer’s tournament thanks to Rodrigo, who came off the bench to score a dramatic injurytime leveller in a 1-1 draw in Stockholm, sparking wild celebrations on the touchline.
Robert Moreno’s side are top of Group F on 20 points after drawing their last two matches. They are five ahead of Sweden and six above Romania, who missed the chance to take second spot when Norway’s Alexander Sorloth snatched a late 1-1 draw in Bucharest.
SWISS DOWN IRELAND In Group D, Haris Seferovic’s early strike and Shane Duffy’s late own goal kept Switzerland’s hopes of automatic qualification alive with a 2-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland.
The win in Geneva means the Swiss are just a point behind group leaders Ireland and Denmark with two matches remaining in their campaign, compared to just the one for the Irish, who host the Danes on November 18 needing a win to guarantee qualification.
The Swiss, who also have the better of the head-tohead record with the Irish as the two teams drew 1-1 in September, take on group minnows Georgia and Gibraltar in their final two games.
FINLAND ON THE BRINK Finland inched closer to qualifying for their first ever European Championships after Teemu Pukki took his qualifying tally to seven in eight matches with a double that helped Finland sweep aside Armenia 3-0 in Turku.
Fredrik Jensen gave the Finns a 31th minute lead. Norwich City striker Pukki then scored just after the hour and got his second two minutes from the end with a neat dinked finish.
Finland need a win over rock-bottom Liechtenstein to qualify for their first major tournament after fourth-placed Bosnia & Herzegovina lost 2-1 in Greece with an 88thminute own goal from Adnan Kovacevic.