Euro 2016 Qualifying: Examining Latest Results and Updated Table
England got their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign off to a winning start on Monday night with a confident 2-0 win over Switzerland courtesy of a Danny Welbeck double in Basel.
Having received criticism after a poor World Cup campaign—they went out in the group stages not winning a match—Roy Hodgson's men started on the road to France in solid fashion.
Fellow World Cup underperformers Spain also got off to a positive start in their group as they thrashed Macedonia 5-1.
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Here we examine the latest results from Monday's games and look at the standings with the majority of teams having played their opening qualifier.
| Group A | |||||
| Netherlands | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Czech Republic | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Latvia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Iceland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kazakhstan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Group B | |||||
| Bosnia-Herzegovina | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Belgium | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Israel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wales | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cyprus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andorra | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Group C | |||||
| Spain | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Slovakia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Belarus | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Luxembourg | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Ukraine | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Macedonia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Group D | |||||
| Poland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Germany | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Republic of Ireland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Scotland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Georgia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Gibraltar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Group E | |||||
| Lithuania | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| England | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Estonia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Slovenia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Switzerland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| San Marino | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Group F | |||||
| Finland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Northern Ireland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Romania | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Hungary | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Greece | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Faroe Islands | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Group G | |||||
| Russia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Montenegro | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Sweden | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Austria | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Moldova | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Liechtenstein | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Group H | |||||
| Italy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Croatia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Norway | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bulgaria | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Azerbaijan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Malta | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Group I | |||||
| Denmark | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Albania | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Serbia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Armenia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Portugal | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Date | Fixture | Result |
| September 7 | Georgia vs. R. of Ireland | 1-2 |
| September 7 | Germany vs. Scotland | 2-1 |
| September 7 | Gibraltar vs. Poland | 0-7 |
| September 7 | Hungary vs. Northern Ireland | 1-2 |
| September 7 | Faroe Islands vs. Finland | 1-3 |
| September 7 | Greece vs. Romania | 0-1 |
| September 7 | Denmark vs. Armenia | 2-1 |
| September 7 | Portugal vs. Albania | 0-1 |
| September 8 | Luxembourg vs. Belarus | 1-1 |
| September 8 | Spain vs. Macedonia | 5-1 |
| September 8 | Ukraine vs. Slovakia | 0-1 |
| September 8 | Estonia vs. Slovenia | 1-0 |
| September 8 | San Marino vs. Lithuania | 0-2 |
| September 8 | Switzerland vs. England | 0-2 |
| September 8 | Russia vs. Liechtenstein | 4-0 |
| September 8 | Austria vs. Sweden | 1-1 |
| September 8 | Montenegro vs. Moldova | 2-0 |
| September 9 | Kazakhstan vs. Latvia | |
| September 9 | Czech Republic vs. Netherlands | |
| September 9 | Iceland vs. Turkey | |
| September 9 | Andorra vs. Wales | |
| September 9 | Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Cyprus | |
| September 9 | Azerbaijan vs. Bulgaria | |
| September 9 | Croatia vs. Malta | |
| September 9 | Norway vs. Italy |
England Pass Toughest Test
With Euro 2016 set to involve 24 teams as opposed to the former 16-side format, the top two teams from each group will qualify along with the best of those finishing in third spot.
Hence, in a group involving England and Switzerland along with Lithuania, Slovenia, Estonia and San Marino, the Three Lions should have no trouble making it through to the final competition.
However, their opening encounter away to a Swiss side ranked ninth in the world, per FIFA, was always going to prove England's toughest test and they passed it with aplomb.
Hodgson handed a surprise start to Aston Villa's Fabian Delph and used a diamond formation in midfield with Wayne Rooney and Welbeck up top, as reported by the Daily Mirror's John Cross:
This allowed Raheem Sterling to influence the game more effectively, he, Rooney and Welbeck all combining very well on the counter-attack for the first goal of the night, per AFP's Tom Williams:
All things being equal—and there is still a long way to go—Monday's result at St Jakob Park puts England in the best position possible to top Group E, as they will face no tougher challenge in their qualifying campaign.
Spain's New Era Begins With Win
Vicente del Bosque's Spain side are the defending European champions having won the tournament in 2012 but their performances at the World Cup suggested wholesale changes were needed to the squad.
Monday's squad was missing previous stalwarts Xavi, Xabi Alonso and David Villa—all now retired—but La Roja went about their qualifying opener in fine fashion.
Sergio Ramos, Sergio Busquets, David Silva, Pedro and Paco Alcacer—in his first start—all found the net as Spain won 5-1.
The 19-year-old Munir El Haddadi made his international debut from the bench while Cesc Fabregas showed his quality as he ran proceedings, per Opta:
There is a long way to go before Spain retain their indomitable aura cultivated over recent years of dominance—they still looked edgy at the back—but this result was a decent start.
They should certainly qualify for France on top of their group and there is enough young talent in the squad to predict that Spain will still be competing for the top prizes for years to come.
