Yugoslavia is now Serbia-Montenegro. Their initial outing with their new image has suddenly turned. After Serbia-Montenegro took a 2-0 lead in the 52nd minute, Azerbaijan tied it with two goals by Gurbanov in 59th and 78 minutes. Game now in the 88th minute.
Full time 2-2. This gives Azerbaijan their first point and first goals in their 4th game. It also makes Wales away win in Azerbaijan more impressive. Current standings in group 9: Teams..... Pld W D L GS GA Pts Wales......... 3 3 0 0 6 1 9 Serbia-Mon...3 1 2 0 5 3 5 Italy............ 3 1 1 1 4 3 4 Finland........ 3 1 0 2 3 4 3 Azerbaijan... 4 0 1 3 2 9 1
What a shocker. You just never know when Azerbaijan will stun a team (i.e. like that win over Slovakia in 2002 wcq). Serbia-Montenegro gave up 1 goal in two games: none to Finland and one against Italy. And now 2 against Azerbaijan at home no less? Just unreal. I bet Wales and Italy are jumping for joy after hearing this result.
I know I am jumping for joy. This is a potentially crushing result for Yugosla ... er, Serbia-Montenegro. They just threw away the advantage they had gained when they got that away point vs Italy. Next games: Mar 29 Italy vs Finland Wales vs Azerbaijan April 4 Serbia-Montenegro vs Wales If Italy can play as well as they did yesterday vs Portugal, they should be able to take out Finland. Anything short of that would be disastrous for them. But Finland is not a bad team and also needs a result to keep in touch with the top of the group. Wales should be able to handle Azerbaijan at home (yesterday's result ought to reduce any overconfidence). The April 4 game is obviously crucial for S-M (that's a funny abbreviation, isn't it?! I think I'll just keep calling them Yugoslavia). After this embarrassment, I suspect they'll regroup and beat Wales at home. We will see.