Belgium fight back for important win over Bosnia, Italy edge Malta
ByReuters
Updated 03/09/2015 at 21:21 GMT
Belgium got their Euro 2016 qualification back on track with a 3-1 victory over Bosnia in Group B on Thursday, with Manchester City's new record signing Kevin De Bruyne among the scorers.
Belgium's Eden Hazard (R) celebrates his goal with teammate Thomas Vermaelen (L) during their Euro 2016 qualification match against Bosnia
Image credit: Reuters
Belgium, who lost away to group leaders Wales in June, had a wealth of possession but struggled to break down a well-organised Bosnia side, who also threatened on the break with the ever menacing Edin Dzeko.
Indeed, it was Dzeko who opened the scoring, floating in a header after Mensur Mujdza had been allowed to advance unchallenged. It was Dzeko's fifth goal against Belgium.
Marouane Fellaini's thundering header from a corner and a sharp turn and shot from De Bruyne gave Belgium a one-goal cushion halftime.
But Belgium needed keeper Thibaut Courtois in top form to save a cracking drive from Haris Medunjanin until Eden Hazard won and converted a penalty in the 78th minute to calm home nerves.
Italy needed 69 minutes to break down a stubborn, tenacious Malta before Graziano Pelle struck to give them a 1-0 win in their Euro 2016 qualifier on Thursday.
Italy, without a win in their previous four matches, struggled to find a way through a massed Maltese defence in front of a sparse crowd at the Artemio Franchi stadium.
The win took them top of Group H with 15 points from seven games, one more than Croatia who drew 0-0 in Azerbaijan earlier on Thursday.
Pelle, who scored the only goal when Italy won by the same score in Malta earlier in the group, was in the thick of the action for Italy as he had a shot deflected over the crossbar and headed over from a corner early on.
Malta, bottom of the group with one point, nearly took a sensational lead just before the half hour when Alfred Effiong curled a shot just wide of Gianluigi Buffon's far post.
Norway's Vegard Forren struck early in the second half to earn a 1-0 win over lacklustre Bulgaria to improve their chances of reaching the finals.
The Czech Republic snatched a 2-1 come-from-behind win against Kazakhstan thanks to two late second-half headers from substitute Milan Skoda
Group A
Czech Republic 2 - 1 Kazakhstan
Netherlands 0 - 1 Iceland
Turkey 1 - 1 Latvia
Group B
Belgium 3 - 1 Bosnia-Herzegovina
Cyprus 0 - 1 Wales
Israel 4 - 0 Andorra
Group H
Azerbaijan 0 - 0 Croatia
Bulgaria 0 - 1 Norway
Italy 1 - 0 Malta
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