World Cup hopes over and a successful debut

It wasn’t a great evening for Peter Pekarík and Stevan Jovetić. The defender player 90 minutes as Slovakia prdocued a great fight to take the lead twice against World Cup runners up Croatia, only to be held to a 2-2 draw in Osijek. However, Russia’s win at the same time ended Pekarík and his team’s hopes of qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar in 2022. The 2018 hosts top the group on 19 points, sitting out of Slovakia’s reach alongside Croatia on 17. Meanwhile, World Cup hopes are very slim for Jove and Montenegro following their 2-0 defeat in Norway. With two games remaining, Montenegro are six points adrift of second place with a nine-goal weaker goal difference, leaving qualification possible yet unlikely.

Successful debut

Christalino Atemona had a debut to remember for Germany U20s. The defender played the full game, helping his side keep a clean sheet to during a strong win over Romania on Monday afternoon. Head coach Christian Wörns was pleased with his team’s performance after the 4-0 win, especially out of possession in the first half. “The first half was close. Romania were not any easy team to play again, but we stayed compact and didn’t allow much. Then at some point you have to take the lead and that’s what we did,” said Wörns. Poland U20 head coach Miłosz Stępiński also had a reason to be pleased, with his side picking up a 5-1 away win against Norway. Goalkeeper Marcel Lotka was an unused substitute.

Two Herthaner in action

The two Hertha players with fixtures still to play will be in action on Tuesday evening. Krzysztof Piątek and Poland (14 points) will travel to Albania (15) as they look to claim second place off their hosts into second place with a win (12/11/21, 20:45 CEST). A win would increase Poland’s chances of qualification for Qatar 2022 with just one more game remaining after tonight’s clash. Jurgen Ekkelenkamp will also be on the hunt for important qualification points, as Netherlands U21 host Wales in Nijmegen in their qualifiers for the U12 European Championship in Georgia and Romania 2023. A win will be the goal for Netherlands after a draw last time out against Switzerland.