European Championship 2016 Qualifiers: Winners and Losers from Sunday Games
Poland, Northern Ireland, Albania, Romania and Germany secured automatic qualification to Euro 2016 on an exciting day of qualifiers on Sunday.
Michael O'Neill's men are perhaps the pick of the storylines, topping Group F with a 1-1 draw in Finland to cap a truly remarkable 18 months in football, while neighbours Republic of Ireland didn't fare so well, losing to Poland and being forced to settle for a play-off spot.
Read on for Bleacher Report's winners and losers from the evening's play, and check out the updated Euro 2016 qualifying standings over at UEFA.com.
Winners: Northern Ireland
1 of 5
Early in the day, Northern Ireland secured a 1-1 draw away to Finland, therefore confirming their place at the summit of Group F. That is some achievement, make no mistake.
There’s no doubt they’ve benefitted from an expanded qualifying pool—Romania, Hungary and Greece aren’t the fiercest of opposing outfits—but the job they’ve done to secure 21 points cannot be understated.
Kyle Lafferty, a Norwich City backup, scored seven campaign goals, the defence stood strong and the set-piece routines were excellent.
They’d only won one game in 16 heading into the qualifiers and Michael O’Neill was on the brink of the sack, but he’s turned it around in remarkable fashion and now, for the first time in history, the Green and White Army will contest a European Championships.
Losers: Serbia
2 of 5
Serbia lost 2-1 to Portugal on Sunday in a game that lacked any major group-specific implications, but did compound a truly shocking campaign which needs forgetting on every level.
What has happened to Nemanja Matic? His red card for lashing out at his marker’s head during a challenge was justified, and it only serves to remind how bad he’s been at the start of this season—for both club and country.
Aleksandar Kolarov limped off and received a red card for protestation later on, Aleksandar Mitrovic missed a glut of chances and Serbia remain on four points for the campaign as it stands.
Oh, and then there’s the drone incident in the match vs. Albania—an event that left a sour taste in world football fans the world over.
The sooner this dismal qualifying stretch is over for the Serbs, the better.
Winners: Albania
3 of 5
Albania made history on Sunday, sealing progress to their first-ever senior international tournament of any kind. Per UEFA.com, "their only European final tournaments to date had been the Under-18 showcase in 1982 and the Under-16s in 1994."
Coming into the day, the Black Eagles needed a victory in Yerevan against Armenia to leapfrog Denmark and seal automatic progress, and they managed just that: A 3-0 scoreline didn't flatter them as they ran riot early on and held out neatly at the end.
The Danes must now contest a play-off, falling well short over the course of the campaign considering the strength of their squad on paper.
Losers: Republic of Ireland
4 of 5
The Republic of Ireland travelled to Poland knowing a 2-2 draw or a victory would see them through to the Euro 2016 proper, but anything less would force them to settle for the dreaded play-offs.
Unfortunately, they lost 2-1 after goals from Grzegorz Krychowiak and Robert Lewandowski, and due to disciplinary issues late in the game, will now face the play-offs without Jonathan Walters and John O’Shea due to yellow and red cards respectively.
"You're going to have suspensions along the way, especially 10 games, and some teams only play eight. It's wee bit unfair," Martin O’Neill said regarding the enforced absences, per ESPNFC’s Miguel Delaney.
It will be some task for Ireland to qualify—the play-offs are the epitome of nail-biting—and now they’ll be missing two key players.
Winners: Poland
5 of 5
Poland, on the other hand, ran out veritable winners from Sunday’s action. The National Arena in Warsaw was a fortress once again, the home fans cheering their side to victory and pushing them over the line and into the Euro 2016 finals next summer.
Their presence at Euro 2012 was automatic due to their status as hosts, but this time around, they’ve earned their spot the hard way, fighting tooth and nail, grinding in a tough group and pulling off some memorable wins.
Robert Lewandowski, the world’s most in-form striker right now, has scored the necessary goals to haul them over the line, and the strong workmanlike quality in midfield they boast can be an asset in a gruelling summer tournament.
Poland have the key pieces in place to flourish next summer; now they’ve given themselves the platform to do so.
