Win for Ali, Germans draw, but Daniel downed

FCBayernNews · News fetcher Joined: 31 Aug 2006 Posts: 1330 votes: 2

16.11.2006

Ali Karimi and his Iran team-mates must be considered a good outside bet for next year's Asian Cup after topping their qualifying group, but Germany have plenty to ponder following a drab 1-1 draw in Cyprus, and Belgium's chances of appearing at the Euro 2008 in Switzerland and Austria took a nosedive following a home defeat to Poland.

Germany's impressive international campaign in 2006 ended on a subdued note after the side coached by Joachim Löw struggled to a 1-1 Euro 2008 qualifying draw against minnows Cyprus in Nicosia, leaving the World Cup hosts on 14 wins from 18 matches in the calendar year.

Former Bayern star Michael Ballack opened the scoring on 15 minutes with his 35th goal in 75 full internationals, but Ioannis Okkas levelled for the lively hosts shortly before half-time. The Cypriots looked the more likely to win it in a dull second half as the Germans' perfect record in qualifying came to an end.

Lahm and Schweinsteiger feature

"We started well, but we lost the plot after they equalised," Bayern left-back Philipp Lahm declared afterwards. "We've had worse results than that, and we've just got to be satisfied with a point." Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger, the only German international to appear in all 18 fixtures this year, both went the full distance in Nicosia.

"It was obvious many of my players weren't sharp enough," coach Löw reflected, excusing his side for a below-par display. "We simply weren't very good today, but you have to allow the players that once in a while." The result means Germany have taken 10 points from four matches and lie ahead of the Czech Republic at the top of Group D on goal difference, with Slovakia (6 pts) and Cyprus (4 pts) in third and fourth.

Blow for Belgium, jubilation in Iran

Daniel van Buyten and his Belgian colleagues suffered a serious setback en route to next season's tournament in Austria and Switzerland, as the Red Devils fell 1-0 to Poland in Brussels and slipped to fourth in the group standings with seven points from five matches. Finland (11) top the section ahead of Serbia and Poland (both on 10 points).

The only Bayern victory on the night arrived courtesy of Ali Karimi and Iran, 2-0 winners against South Korea in their final 2007 Asian Cup Group B qualifier. The crowd at the Azadi stadium in Tehran celebrated their heroes winning the group thanks to goals from Gholam Reza Enayati (48) and Hossein Badamaki (90). The Asian Cup takes place in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam next July.