Vargas and Zeqiri hold Italy to a draw - victory for Jensen
Defeat for Günther and Germany U19s
First Team
15.11.2021, 10:44
It was a successful weekend for the majority of FCA players away on international duty. Switzerland's Ruben Vargas and Andi Zeqiri held reigning European champions Italy to a draw, while Fredrik Jensen and Finland won despite being a man down.
After a 1-1 draw with Italy, Ruben Vargas and Andi Zeqiri still have a chance of qualifying directly for the 2022 World Cup. Mainz's Silvan Widmer put Switzerland ahead in the 11th minute, before Giovanni di Lorenzo equalised before the break (36'). Italy had a chance to win it in the dying minutes, but Jorginho missed from the spot. Vargas started for the Nati, and was replaced by Zeqiri in the closing minutes.
With one matchday left to go, Switzerland are in second place but level on points with leaders Italy. They will face Bulgaria on Monday (20:45 CET) while Italy face Northern Ireland at the same time.
Victory for Jensen and Finland
Fredrik Jensen and Finland still have a chance of securing a spot in the play-offs. The Scandinavians won 3-1 against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Teemu Pukki missed a penalty in the 25th minute, as Marcus Forss put Finland ahead just minutes later (29'). They then went a man down after Jukka Raitala was shown a red card (37'), but goals from Robin Lod (50') and Daniel O'Shaughnessy (73') secured them the win. Luka Menola got one back for Bosnia in the 69th minute, with Jensen coming off the bench in the closing stages.
Finland are currently in second place, three points ahead of Ukraine with one game left to play. They will now face group leaders France on Tuesday (20:45 CET).
Meanwhile, Lasse Günther and the Germany U19s fell to a 3-1 defeat against Russia U19s in their second qualifier for the U19 European championship. Artem Sokolov (40'), Iaroslav Gladyshev (47') and Eduard Bagrintsev (70') scored for Russia, with Göktan Gürpüz putting Germany on the board in injury time (90'+1). Günter played the full 90 minutes.
