Germany has defeated Azerbaijan by four goals to nil in Hanover, and now turns its attention to its vital Oct. 10 showdown in Moscow with Group Four rivals Russia.
Germany Captain Michael Ballack scored the opening goal from the penalty spot in the 13th minute after Lukas Podolski was brought down by Azerbaijan captain Samir Abbasov.
The underdogs bounced back and nearly grabbed an equalizer in the 37th minute, but Germany goalkeeper Rene Adler saved the close range shot by Mahir Shukurov.
Super-sub Miroslav Klose came on for striker Mario Gomez and went on to bag two goals in the second half. Lukas Podolski got Germany’s fourth in the 71st minute to seal the victory.
The win means Germany go top of their group with 22 points from their eight games. They have the chance of qualifying automatically for the World Cup finals if they can beat Russia in Moscow on Oct. 10.
Ballack said his side began strongly but then failed to make their mark. It wasn’t until the second half that Germany’s game began to flow more. This was made easier when Azerbaijan’s captain, Abbasov, was sent off.
One last hurdle
Azerbaijan’s goal keeper Aghayev, right, makes a saves against Gomez Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Gomez couldn’t find the net
Ballack, who plays his club soccer for Chelsea in the English Premier League, said the upcoming game with Russia would be the toughest of the whole campaign.
“We have reached our target, now it will come down to the wire,” said the German captain. “We did what we had to do. Now we face our most difficult game and we have to prepare well for the game in Russia.”
However Germany national coach Joachim Loew slammed his side’s performance in the first half. “I told the team in very clear terms at halftime that we can’t accept a performance like that and the spectators’ whistles also made it clear they were not happy,” Loew said.
Germany was booed off the pitch by some of the 30,000 fans in the AWD stadium in Hanover.
“But after the break we came from the outside and our game was much better. Our qualifying campaign is on track and we have done well. I am confident for our match against Russia,” the coach added.
Super-sub
Germany’s head coach Joachim Loew Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Loew said Germany’s first half was below par
Loew went into the match with an ace up his sleeve, and his decision to bring on Bayern Munich star Klose to spearhead a 4-3-3 formation was a good tactical decision.
Klose has now scored 47 goals for Germany, leaving him joint third in the list of all-time German top scorers alongside Rudi Voeller and Juergen Klinsmann.
“For Klose, the second half was liberating as he showed what he can do,” said Loew. “He is not yet 100 percent fit, but he was outstanding. Both he and Lukas Podolski have unbelievable goal-to-game ratios.
“We now have 22 points from a possible 24, which is near perfect in terms of qualification.”
Azerbaijan coach Berti Vogts, who is also a former Germany coach, said he was happy his side gave the Germans a run for their money, adding that the red card given to his captain was the turning point in the game.
“You can’t play against a team like Germany with 10 players,” said Vogts. “It is like playing against 11 robots. They are simply too strong and organized for that.”
European nations through
Azerbaijan boss Berti VogtsBildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Berti Vogts’ side was outclassed
In other World Cup qualifiers on Wednesday night, European champions Spain, along with the Netherlands and England, clinched their spots for a trip to South Africa. England cruised into next summer’s finals with a 5-1 mauling of Croatia, Holland knocked out Scotland with a 1-0 win, while Spain shut down Estonia 3-0.
Meanwhile Portugal is still in with a chance of qualifying thanks to a 1-0 win at Group One rivals Hungary. France, however, is still struggling, with Serbia staying four points clear atop Group Seven after a 1-1 draw in which both sides finished with 10 men.
In Group One, Denmark were held to a 1-1 draw at Albania but they lead the group on 18 points, ahead of Sweden (15) who eked a 1-0 win in Malta, and Portugal and Hungary (both on 13).
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Turkey finished 1-1 which leaves Turkey still four points adrift of Bosnia who would clinch second place in Group Five with a win at Estonia next month.
Switzerland remains three points clear at the top of Group Two after a 2-2 draw at Latvia and Greece missed a chance to make up ground after a disappointing 1-1 draw at Moldova. Greece and Latvia stay level on 14 points, with Israel moving to 12 after a 7-0 hammering of Luxembourg.
Slovakia greatly improved their qualification chances with a 2-0 win over Northern Ireland in Belfast to move five points clear at the top of Group Three.
Slovenia beat Poland 3-0 to move into second in the group, level on 14 points with Northern Ireland but with a game in hand. Poland’s coach Leo Beenhaaker immediately was sacked. Belgium’s interim coach Franky Vercauteren has also thrown in the town after his side went down 2-1 against Armenia and ending their chances of qualifying. And the Czech Republic embarassed San Marino 7-0 to stay in the running on 12 points.
The dazzling U.S. Open run by American teenager Melanie Oudin ended abruptly on Wednesday in a hail of unforced errors, while Roger Federer was tested but marched into his 22nd consecutive grand slam semi-final.
Ninth-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki was steady, if unspectacular, in defeating the unseeded Oudin 6-2 6-2 to reach the semi-finals of the year’s final grand slam.
“I’ve had a great run this tournament,” said the 17-year-old Oudin. “I’m a perfectionist, so… losing isn’t good enough for me. Today I was a little bit fragile.”
Top seed Federer overcame an inspired comeback effort by Robin Soderling to beat the 25-year-old Swede 6-0 6-3 6-7 7-6, winning the final-set tiebreaker 8-6.
“It was so close toward the end,” said Federer, who has beaten Soderling in all 12 career meetings, including at Wimbledon and the French Open this year.
“It’s a great relief to come through. He started to play better and better as the match went on. I knew he was going to be tough but the beginning was bit too easy.
“All of sudden he found his way into the match.”
In the semi-finals, the five-times defending champion will face fourth seed Novak Djokovic, who advanced with a 7-6 1-6 7-5 6-2 victory over Spain’s Fernando Verdasco, the 10th seed.
Elsewhere, Belgium’s unseeded Yanina Wickmayer dispatched Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko 7-5 6-4 and set up a semi-final encounter with Wozniacki.
But the big news of Day 10 at Flushing Meadows was the quiet elimination of Oudin, the diminutive Georgian who failed to respond to the urging of the 23,000 fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
FOREHAND FALTERS
Oudin, who beat fourth seed Elena Dementieva and former champion Maria Sharapova en route to the quarter-finals, had 43 unforced errors during the 88-minute match against Wozniacki and only seven winners from her chief weapon, the forehand.
“I started off slow,” said Oudin, ranked number 70. “I wasn’t able to come back. She’s such a strong player. She doesn’t give you anything for free. She plays incredible defense, makes me hit a thousand balls.
“I don’t know what else I could have done. I could have been more consistent and been more patient but she really made me think out there and made me have to hit a winner to win the point. I was a little too impatient.”
The 19-year-old Wozniacki kept the pressure on Oudin, registering only five winners, while letting her opponent spray the ball all around the stadium on a blustery night.
A Philadelphia man who accused former Indianapolis Colts receiver Marvin Harrison(notes) of shooting him has died from wounds sustained in another shooting.
Philadelphia police say Dwight Dixon died Friday. Dixon, 33, had been hospitalized since being wounded multiple times by an unknown shooter in July.
Dixon was convicted in January of lying to police about the earlier shooting, which happened April 28, 2008. His lawyers say Dixon initially did not say Harrison shot him because he was afraid of him.
Investigators determined that a gun owned by Harrison was used in that shooting but declined to file charges because of conflicting accounts of who pulled the trigger.
The Colts released Harrison in February. He remains a free agent.
Highlanders Football Club of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, has fired coach Madinda Ndlovu over his failure to restore the once-competitive team’s fortunes.
Ndlovu led the team to just 7 victories in 21 games, leaving it in 10th place in the 16-team Premier Soccer League and mathematically out of the running for the title.
He replaced Methembe Ndlovu, sacked after the last season when Highlanders finished in seventh place. Highlanders last won the PSL title in 2006.
Highlanders Chairman Themba Ndlela told reporter Marvellous Mhlanga-Nyahuye that the club and Ndlovu parted ways amicably, adding a new coach will be named before season’s end.
BALTIMORE — As if things weren’t bad enough for the Baltimore Orioles, who just clinched their 12th consecutive losing season: On Wednesday, a temporary fence and police tape surrounded the spot that had been occupied by a monument to one of the team’s all-time greats, Cal Ripken.
The large aluminum No. 8 outside the Camden Yards ballpark was stolen Tuesday night by four young men who were arrested about two hours later, Baltimore police said. The monument was recovered.
Surveillance cameras captured video of the men removing the 4-foot monument and placing it in the bed of a pickup truck, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.
Police put out an all-points bulletin, and the men were arrested in east Baltimore after officers responding to a disorderly conduct report spotted the object in the truck bed, Guglielmi said.
The Orioles have a series of aluminum monuments depicting retired uniform numbers outside one entrance to the downtown ballpark. They include Brooks Robinson’s 5, Jim Palmer’s 22 and Eddie Murray’s 33.
The suspects were identified as Gary Parker, 19, of Baltimore; Matthew Rayner, 19, of Chase; Patrick Reynolds, 18, of Middle River; and Jason Stoneberner, 19, of Essex.
They were being held at the city’s Central Booking and Intake Center on charges of felony theft and destruction of property, police said. There was no indication they had attorneys.
Police returned the monument to the Orioles on Wednesday after taking photos and examining it for evidence, Guglielmi said.
“I don’t know if they’ll be able to reuse it,” he said.
Orioles spokesman Monica Barlow said the team had no comment about the theft because it was a police matter. She said she did not know when the monument would be reinstalled. The Orioles began a five-game road trip with a 10-0 drubbing by Boston Tuesday night, their 82nd loss of the season, and will return home Monday.
Ripken had no comment on the theft, said his spokesman, John Maroon.
Allen Iverson has finally found a home this offseason and he will take a one-year deal with the Memphis Grizzlies.
“God Chose Memphis as the place that I will continue my career. I met with Mr. Heinsley, Chris Wallace and my next head coach Lionel Hollins,” Iverson wrote on his Twitter page.
The Memphis Commercial Appeal initially reported the signing.
Iverson, 34 years old, will take what has been widely reported as an offer for $3.5 million with incentives.
Iverson was previously mentioned in connection with teams like the Bobcats, Knicks and Heat among others this offseason.
Iverson finished last season with the Pistons and although he was on Detroit’s playoff roster, he was not an active participant, and was he actually with the team. He averaged 17.5 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds last season. He was sent to the Pistons in a swap last season that sent Chauncey Billups to the Nuggets.
Sporting News’ Sean Deveney reported earlier this week that Iverson to Memphis looked inevitable. With Iverson in Memphis, the team has a number of scorers to choose from, but will there be enough shots to go around? In addition to Iverson, the team added forward Zach Randolph this offseason. The duo joins Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo, who are viewed as promising young building blocks in Memphis. The Grizzlies already have point guard Mike Conley in the backcourt and selected UConn center Hasheem Thabeet in this year’s draft.
“I feel that they are committed to developing a winner and I know that I can help them to accomplish that. I feel that I can trust them,” he wrote on Twitter.
For more coverage of Allen Iverson’s offseason decision making, click here.
UPDATE, 11:47 p.m.: The Grizzlies confirmed the signing later Wednesday and scheduled a Thursday news conference open to the public at FedExForum.
