Euro 2016: Winners and Losers from Sunday's Qualifiers
The Euro 2016 qualifiers continued into Sunday night, with the schedule producing some entertaining results and some fascinating passages of play.
Sweden and Austria moved one step closer to sealing qualification to the tournament, while England made it six wins in six attempts with a last-gasp victory in Slovenia. Spain just edged Belarus in a surprisingly tight game, while Russia continued to toil under Fabio Capello.
Here, B/R picks out the big winners and losers from the evening.
Winner: Jack Wilshere
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Jack Wilshere has had a tough time re-entering the Arsenal XI since his return from injury, but manager Roy Hodgson has shown faith in him and welcomed him back with open arms.
That show of confidence benefited England in a big way on Sunday, as the midfielder responded with two goals from outside the box that caused involuntary yelps of delight from those watching.
His second strike, taken from around 25 yards and rocketed into the top corner, was the best. Samir Handanovic could only stand flat-footed as it sailed past him.
Wilshere came into the game with zero goals from 27 caps. He finished with two from 28.
"[The goals] summed up Jack's game," Hodgson told ITV's live broadcast after the game. "In the second half, he took over the midfield, creating chances, doing his job defensively too and chipping in with two goals."
Loser: Roy Hodgson
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We start with a caveat: Roy Hodgson made some good decisions in the second half of Sunday's game, namely bringing on Adam Lallana, who played a huge part in turning things around for England. Goal.com's Jay Jaffa rightly commended the manager for making this "bold" move, and England did play well, fashioning five or six clear-cut chances.
However, it's impossible to ignore the crippling decision to play Phil Jones at right-back. Again. This was semi-acceptable when England's only other option was Glen Johnson, but now that Nathaniel Clyne has arrived, there really is no excuse for playing a centre-back out of position.
Jones struggled in predictable fashion, and his woeful throw-in during the final third directly led to a Slovenian counter-attack and goal. It boggles the mind as to why he continues to get a look-in on the flank.
Winner: Alvaro Morata
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Alvaro Morata didn't score during Spain's slender 1-0 defeat of Belarus. However, he did put in a performance that proves he truly grasps the No. 9 role in his nation's XI, and his stock gets a boost because of it.
La Furia Roja are now guilty of looking stale in patches, with the midfield play uninspiring and monotonous. Morata makes the runs any good No. 9 should, though, and seems more in tune with the playmakers than Diego Costa ever has.
The Juventus man has enjoyed a breakout season and made himself a firm fixture in Vicente del Bosque's thoughts. He's a winner on the night and a winner for the season.
His instincts are pure, and his nous in the box gives La Furia Roja an extra edge often missing—even with Costa in the lineup.
Loser: Fabio Capello
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Fabio Capello's Russia lost 1-0 at home to Austria on Sunday night. In doing so, it allowed even more crippling doubts to wash over the Eastern European nation's state of play.
Russia were one of the worst sides at the FIFA World Cup 2014 and failed to qualify from their very reasonable group. The tonic to that should have been a strong Euro 2016 qualifying process—they're hosting a World Cup in 2018, after all!—but they've again flattered to deceive.
Losing to Austria is not shameful in 2015, but this was a must-not-lose—particularly with David Alaba missing. They remain third in Group G with just eight points from six games.
Winner: Sweden
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Russia's loss to Austria gave Sweden the chance to widen the gap between the two nations in Group G, and it's a chance they grasped firmly.
The Scandinavian outfit raced into a 3-0 lead over Montenegro, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic netting a brace and 2009 Under-21 European Championship hero Marcus Berg grabbing the other.
Austria now sit well atop the Group G standings with 16 points, and Sweden are second with 12—four clear of an ailing Russia outfit who may need to settle for a play-off to reach Euro 2016.
