New Telegraph

Wales climb into Nations League top tier with victory over 10-man Finland

*Belgium, Italy seal places in next year’s four-team finals

Wales secured promotion to the top tier of the Nations League with a 3-1 win over 10-man Finland.
Harry Wilson and Daniel James scored first-half goals after Jere Uronen was sent off early at the Cardiff City Stadium. The Norwich striker Teemu Pukki pulled one back for Finland in the second half but Wales made certain of victory when Kieffer Moore headed home from James’s cross with six minutes to play, reports PA Media.
The result not only means Wales playing in League A in the next edition of the competition but also secures pole position for a spot in the play-offs for the 2022 World Cup, should they fail to reach the tournament through their qualification group.
In League A, Belgium beat Denmark 4-2 in Leuven to secure top spot and a place in the Nations League finals.
Romelu Lukaku scored twice for the Red Devils after Youri Tielemans’ opener was cancelled out by Jonas Wind.
Nacer Chadli’s late own-goal cut the deficit, but Kevin De Bruyne’s fine finish moments later sealed victory.
Italy also qualified for the finals with a 2-0 win over relegated Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Goals from Andrea Belotti and Domenico Berardi in Sarajevo proved enough to hold off the Netherlands, who rallied from a goal down to win 2-1 in Poland thanks to Gini Wijnaldum’s late winner.
France and Spain complete the line-up for the four-team finals, to be played in October next year.
The Republic of Ireland’s recent struggles continued with Stephen Kenny’s side stuttering to a 0-0 draw with Bulgaria in Dublin. The result means they retain their League B status at Bulgaria’s expense but leaves Kenny still waiting for his first win as manager after eight games in which his side have scored only one goal.
Northern Ireland’s disappointing campaign ended in frustrating fashion with Eric Bicfalvi cancelling out Liam Boyce’s 56th-minute goal in a 1-1 draw with Romania. Relegation into League C had already been confirmed for Ian Baraclough’s side after Romania were awarded a 3-0 win over Norway in Sunday’s cancelled game.
Norway’s makeshift side threatened to upset Austria and earn a miracle promotion despite a series of positive Covid-19 tests depleting their squad. Ghayas Zahid put them ahead in Vienna, but they needed another goal to replace Austria at the top and Adrian Grbic’s late leveller ended their hopes.
West Ham’s Tomas Soucek opened the scoring as the Czech Republic  beat  Slovakia 2-0, earning promotion after Scotland lost in Israel.
In Group B3, Serbia avoiding relegation by thrashing Russia 5-0. Luka Jovic scored twice as the home side denied Russia promotion. Instead, Hungary followed up Euro 2020 qualification with a place in League A, sending Turkey down to League C with a 2-0 home win.
Armenia sealed a surprise promotion to League B with a 1-0 win over North Macedonia. The game was played in Nicosia due to political tensions in Armenia, and it was Cyprus-based defender Hovhannes Hambardzumyan who scored the winner.
Slovenia edged out Greece in their group after a 0-0 draw in Athens.
RESULTS
Austria 1 – 1 Norway
Belgium 4 – 2 Denmark
Bosnia-Herzegovina 0 – 2 Italy
Czech Republic 2 – 0 Slovakia
England 4 – 0 Iceland
Greece 0 – 0 Slovenia
Hungary 2 – 0 Turkey
Israel 1 – 0 Scotland
Kosovo 1 – 0 Moldova
Northern Ireland 1 – 1 Romania
Poland 1 – 2 The Netherlands
Rep of Ireland 0 – 0 Bulgaria
Serbia 5 – 0 Russia
Wales 3 – 1 Finland
Armenia 1 – 0 North Macedonia
Georgia 0 – 0 Estonia
Albania 3 – 2 Belarus
Kazakhstan 1 – 2 Lithuania

Read Previous

Nations League: Foden’s sparkling double sinks Iceland 

Read Next

Google redesigns Pay app, opens waitlist for bank accounts with Citi

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *