Finland beat Estonia in Ventspils
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Article summary
International friendly round-up (26-31 May): Finland beat Estonia to finish third in the Baltic Cup, while Răzvan Raţ struck a rare goal for Romania against Albania.
Article top media content
Article body
31/05: Algeria 3-1 Armenia
Armenia were unable to stop the incisive attacking play of FIFA World Cup hopefuls Algeria, who scored three goals before the break. Esseid Belkalem headed in a corner on 13 minutes, and nine minutes later Nabil Ghilas broke into the box and fired past Roman Berezovski. Islam Slimani hit the bar just before the interval but was on hand to finish on the rebound. Artur Sarkisov pulled one back for Armenia in the second half but it was too little, too late.
31/05: Albania 0-1 Romania
Răzvan Raţ scored the only goal of an even match in the Swiss city of Yverdon-les-Bains. Albania goalkeeper Etrit Berisha made two splendid saves despite his team dominating the first half, but was eventually breached eight minutes from time when Raţ struck only his second international goal. Sixteen-year-old defender Cristian Manea made his debut, becoming Romania's youngest ever player.
31/05: Finland 2-0 Estonia
After a quiet first period in in Ventspils, Finland scored twice to finish third in the Baltic Cup. Perparim Hetemaj struck early in the second half, applying a classy finish to Teemu Pukki's low cross from the right. Roman Eremenko missed one of few opportunities, before Valtteri Moren doubled Finland's lead following a clinical counterattack.
30/05: Austria 1-1 Iceland
The home side dominated proceedings but had to settle for a 1-1 stalemate in Innsbruck after being pegged back by their opponents. Austria began the match on the front foot and twice went close in the opening seven minutes before going ahead with 28 minutes gone, Marcel Sabitzer making the most of a lapse in concentration at the back to notch his maiden international goal. The visitors were able to muster a response, though, levelling moments after the restart when Kolbeinn Sigthórsson headed in from Ari Skúlason's free-kick.
30/05: Qatar 0-0 FYROM
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's scoring woes continued as they failed to find the net again following their 2-0 loss to Cameroon on Monday. Playing in Rieti, Italy, Boshko Djurovski’s side found themselves under pressure in the opening 20 minutes but gradually took control, with Stefan Spirovski and Jovan Kostovski both missing the target. Kostovski then had efforts saved brilliantly by Qatar goalkeeper Ahmed Sufyan after the break, before FYROM's best chance fell to Blaže Ilioski eight minutes from time – only for the substitute to miss when one on one with Sufyan.
30/05: Honduras 0-2 Turkey
After a quiet first period in Washington, Fatih Terim's side went through the gears to dispatch the 2014 FIFA World Cup finalists. The introduction of Mevlüt Erdinç, Gökhan Gönül and Caner Erkin swung the pendulum in Turkey's favour, with Mevlüt executing a classy finish from İshak Doğan’s cross on 70 minutes. Caner Erkin doubled the lead as full time approached, ensuring the visitors go into their next friendly against the United States on 1 June in good spirits.
29/05: Saudi Arabia 0-2 Georgia
Tornike Okriashvili was the star of the show, opening the scoring in first-half added time with an accurate free-kick. Saudi Arabia had chances of their own too with Nasser Al Shamrani spurning their best opportunity before the break. After half-time FC Chornomorets Odesa midfielder Okriashvili laid on an assist for Vladimir Dvalishvili to double their advantage. No1 Girogi Loria made three great saves in the second period to preserve Georgia's lead, while FC Dinamo Tbilisi midfielder Giorgi Papava earned his first cap as Temuri Ketsbaia's charges won their second friendly in a row having beaten Liechtenstein by the same scoreline in March.
29/05: Latvia 0-0 Estonia (Latvia won 4-2 on penalties)
With a place in the Baltic Cup final against Lithuania up for grabs,chances were few and far between early on. Artūrs Zjuzins came close to an opener just before the break but was denied by Estonia goalkeeper Sergei Pareiko. In the second half Latvia No1 Andris Vaņins had to be at his best to prevent Gert Kams from scoring from a one-on-one situation.
After 90 minutes without a goal the game went straight to penalties with Aleksejs Višņakovs hitting the decisive spot kick for Latvia. It was also 104th and final international for Latvia striker Māris Verpakovskis, who is his country's top scorer with 29 goals. He was substituted soon after the start and honoured by Latvian Football Federation (LFF) president Jānis Mežeckis.
29/05: Finland 0-1 Lithuania
Lithuania sprung up a surprise in the semi-final of the Baltic Cup in Ventspils thanks to Arvydas Novikovas' free-kick. Playing Finland for the first time since 1938, Lithuania soaked up pressure with a disciplined performance and sprung counterattacks. The winning goal came on 42 minutes with winger Novikovas curling the ball past Niki Mäenpää from 24 meters. Lithuania held on and will face either Latvia or Estonia in the final on Saturday.
28/05: Mexico 3-0 Israel
Full-back Miguel Layún struck in each half as the hosts strolled to a convincing win in front of almost 100,000 fans at the Azteca Stadium. Playmaker Marco Fabián rounded off the scoring with five minutes remaining on a night when Yossi Benayoun made his record-breaking 95th Israel appearance. It was also an evening to remember for 41-year-old Mexico forward Cuauhtémoc Blanco, who signed off from international football with 120 caps to his name.
28/05: Nigeria 2-2 Scotland
Scotland were denied victory at a packed Craven Cottage in London despite leading twice. Charlie Mulgrew put Scotland ahead in the tenth minute with a low shot following a corner, but Nigeria levelled late in the first half through Cercle Brugge KSV's Michael Uchebo. Scotland went 2-1 up on 52 minutes when Azubuike Egwuekwe turned a low cross into his own net, but, as the game entered added time, VVV Venlo striker Uche Nwofor equalised from a tight angle.
28/05: Denmark 1-0 Sweden
Morten Olsen celebrated victory in his 150th match at the Denmark helm thanks to a penalty three minutes into added time by Daniel Agger. A 27,872 Parken stadium crowd saw several chances at both ends but no goals until Sweden keeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt brought Martin Braithwaite down in the area and was duly punished by Denmark captain Agger.
27/05: United States 2-0 Azerbaijan
Playing without talismanic captain Rashad F. Sadygov, who sustained an injury on the eve of the match, Berti Vogts's side lost on Azerbaijani Independence Day. Qäbälä FK goalkeeper Kamran Agayev had to be at his best twice to save the visitors early on at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, while Mahir Shukurov hit the woodwork at the other end in response.
Azerbaijan, for whom Karlsruher SC striker Dimitrij Nazarov won his first cap, held out for 75 minutes until the USA's Oslo-born midfielder Mikkel Diskerud converted the rebound in the penalty area after Michael Bradley's shot had been cleared off the goal line by Elvin Yunuszade. Before the away team could catch their breath again it was 2-0, AZ Alkmaar striker Aron Jóhannsson heading in Brad Davis's corner.
27/05: United Arab Emirates 3-4 Armenia
Bernard Challandes started his reign as Armenia coach with a narrow win in his native Switzerland. An experimental team took time to adapt against their Middle Eastern opponents, Gevorg Ghazaryan having Armenia's best early effort when he struck a post. Levon Hayrapetyan (37) opened the scoring from Yura Movsisyan's pass, though the UAE swiftly levelled through Ismail Ahmed (40). FC Spartak Moskva forward Movisyan then set up goals for Henrikh Mkhitaryan (42, 67) either side of Omar Abdulrahman's equaliser. Rumyan Hovsepyan (71) made it 4-2, with Mohanad Salem cutting the Asian team's arrears.
27/05: Moldova 1-1 Canada
Tosaint Ricketts cancelled out Eugeniu Sidorenco's opener as Moldova shared the spoils with Canada. Both goals in Amstetten, Austria, came inside the first nine minutes, midfielder Sidorenco the first to score with a header. Bucaspor striker Ricketts swiftly replied, volleying in after Pedro Pacheco's corner had been nodded back across the penalty area.
27/05: Japan 1-0 Cyprus
Cyprus's furthest ever trip for an international fixture ended in defeat. Charalambos Christodoulou's side, missing seven regulars, were forced to withstand a barrage of pressure from the hosts before 58,000 noisy supporters in Saitama. Their resistance was finally broken when FC Schalke 04's Atsuto Uchida took advantage of a mix-up between goalkeeper Panos Constantinou and Georgos Merkis to stab in the winner two minutes before half-time.
26/05: Serbia 2-1 Jamaica
Serbia extended their unbeaten run to seven matches as they held off a resurgent Jamaica team in New Jersey, United States. Goals from Dušan Tadić and Aleksandar Kolarov gave Ljubinko Drulović's side a 2-0 lead inside 24 minutes, and only fine goalkeeping from Andre Phillips before half-time denied them a third. Jamaica improved after the restart, with Michael Seaton halving the deficit, but Serbia played out the victory despite Kolarov missing a late penalty.
26/05: FYROM 0-2 Cameroon
Playing without seven regular starters, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia were outplayed by FIFA World Cup hopefuls Cameroon in Kufstein, Austria. Volker Finke's side missed a host of excellent chances before Pierre Webó finally broke the deadlock with a superb bicycle kick after the interval. Eric Choupo-Moting, who hit the crossbar in the first period, sealed victory with a half-volley sixth minutes from time. FYROM rarely threatened, their best opportunity coming midway through the second half from Blaže Ilijoski.
26/05: Estonia 1-1 Gibraltar
Andres Oper endured a forgettable swan song as he exited the international stage on the back of a shock draw. Estonia's 38-goal record scorer, 36, had plenty of opportunities to add to that tally in his 134th and final game for the country but the hosts struggled to make the most of their superior possession. Ragnar Klavan broke the deadlock following a set piece just after the half-hour but Estonia could not muster a response when Jake Gosling capitalised on a defensive lapse and equalised midway through the second half.
26/05: Montenegro 0-0 Iran
Despite periods of dominance for Iran, clear-cut chances were few and far between and Mladen Božović in the Montenegro goal was rarely called into action. Marko Vešović made one desperate clearance, while Reza Ghoochannejhad squandered the best opening of the game for the FIFA World Cup hopefuls, heading just wide of the post before the interval. Darko Nikac could have won it for Montenegro at the death, but failed to capitalise on goalkeeper Rahman Ahmadi's hesitation in the penalty area.