The 2021/22 season drew to a close in most parts of Europe at the end of May but that doesn’t mean we will be starved of football over the summer. There’s lots of international action as well as summer leagues from all over the world to keep us entertained and we at FotMob aim to highlight that in our latest weekly column: Last Weekend.
On the agenda for this week, we have the final UEFA World Cup qualification play-off, a promotion play-off from Spain, and a few fixtures from the Americas.
??????? Wales: Wales 1-0 Ukraine
The headline act in international football this weekend was the final European World Cup qualification play-off, which featured Wales and Ukraine, who had emphatically beaten Scotland in the semi-final during midweek. The winner would get a ticket to Qatar and a place in Group B alongside England, Iran and the USA.
Ukraine started very quickly and even had the ball in the back of the net in the third minute when Oleksandr Zinchenko took a quick free-kick and sent it past Wayne Hennessey, who was busy setting up his wall. The referee had not blown his whistle, though, so Wales’ blushes were spared. The visitors continued to look the more threatening side as they had over two-thirds of possession, but they went behind against the run of play in the 34th minute when Andriy Yarmolenko diverted Gareth Bale’s free-kick past his own goalkeeper, George Buschan.
Oleksandr Petrakov’s side pushed even harder for a goal thereafter and created a host of presentable opportunities, but Hennessey was equal to them all. The Welsh goalkeeper kept a clean sheet despite facing nine shots on target worth a cumulative 1.61 xGOT.
The Welsh defenders also deserve their fair share of credit for their hard work in preserving their side’s lead. Ben Davies was particularly outstanding, as he made four interceptions, two blocks and as many clearances.
So, although they were under the cosh for the majority of the match, Wales held on to their slender lead and booked a place in the World Cup for the first time in 64 years. The Ukrainian players should certainly leave with their heads held high, though, as they gave a very good account of themselves in both of their play-off matches.
?? Spain: Eibar 0-2 Girona (AET; 1-2 on aggregate)
All of Europe’s top-five leagues had concluded well before the end of May, but the season is not over in Spain as the third and final team to be promoted from the second division remains undecided. The two-legged promotion play-off semi-finals were played over the course of this week, with Eibar and Girona, and Las Palmas and Tenerife vying for the two spots in the final.
Eibar were on course for direct promotion by finishing in the top two until the 90th minute of the final matchday, when they needed just a point against bottom-club Alcorcón. They went on to concede in stoppage time, so Real Valladolid’s comfortably win against Huesca meant that they went on to steal their place.
The first leg of the play-off semi-final was held in Girona in midweek, and it was the visitors who prevailed thanks to Ager Aketxe’s incredible strike from range. That was the only goal of the match, as Eibar held on to their lead even after playing the entirety of the second half with just ten men on the pitch.
Girona threw everything they had to find an equaliser in the first leg to no avail, but less than a minute into the return leg, the tie was levelled on aggregate by Borja García, who thrashed a volley from the edge of the box in to the top corner. Eibar went on to dominate proceedings thereafter, but much like their opponents in the first leg, they could not score a goal before the full-time whistle.
Funnily enough, less than a minute into extra time, Girona put the ball in the back of the net again. The assistant referee raised his flag as he thought it was offside, but VAR found veteran striker Cristhian Stuani to have just about stayed behind the last defender, so the goal was given.
Eibar’s push for a goal remained fruitless, so they were knocked out of the promotion play-offs. In the final, Girona will face Tenerife, who prevailed over Las Palmas in a Canary Islands derby on the other side of the draw.
?? Brazil: Flamengo 1-2 Fortaleza
Over in Brazil, Fortaleza finally notched up their first victory of the league season in their ninth match, as they beat Rio giants Flamengo after scoring the winning goal in the second minute of stoppage time.
They took the lead before the half-hour mark when Jussa slipped Robson in behind with a through ball, and the striker delicately sent a chipped finish over the goalkeeper and into the net. Flamengo equalised on the stroke of half-time and had a golden opportunity to take the lead early on in the second half after VAR awarded them a penalty. Pedro, the man who won it, stepped up to take it, but he hit the post and missed. Then, right at the end of the match, the ball broke for Hércules after Flamengo’s keeper parried a shot away, and the Fortaleza substitute’s scuffed volley ended up in the net.
This was not Fortaleza’s first win of the season in all competitions, though, as they had won half of their six group stage games in the Copa Libertadores as they progressed to the knockouts in a fairly tough group that also had Argentine champions River Plate and Chilean league leaders Colo Colo.
The Libertadores’ Round of 16 kicks off at the end of this month, so Fortaleza should aim to get out of the relegation zone in the league by then, as they currently sit bottom of the table, five points away from 16th-placed Juventude.
?? MLS: Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 Real Salt Lake
There is an international break in North America currently as the second edition of the CONCACAF Nations League is underway, but there was still one match played in MLS as the Vancouver Whitecaps faced Real Salt Lake.
Ranko Veselinović opened the scoring for the Whitecaps just after the half-hour mark, but Justin Meram equalised less than ten minutes into the second half. The visitors had more chances to grab a winner thereafter, but a stoppage-time penalty converted by Scot Ryan Gauld saw the Canadian club secure all three points. After the match, Vanni Sartini conceded that his side did not deserve to win.
This result sees Vancouver move to within a point of the play-off spots in the Western Conference, as their turnaround after a dismal start to the season continues. They had won just one of their first eight league matches and were at the bottom of the table this time last month, but have only tasted defeat on one occasion since then.
Their xG trendline for the season so far makes for interesting reading.
The underlying numbers show that the Whitecaps did recover well after a dismal start to the season, but their recent performances indicate that their ongoing run of form may not be very sustainable. What this means is that while Sartini’s side should be pleased with where they are relative to the initial stages of the season, there is lots of work to be done if they are to enter the top eight.
?? Argentina: Estudiantes 1-1 Gimnasia
The Argentine top flight kicked off this weekend, and the headline fixture saw Fortaleza’s Copa Libertadores Round of 16 opponents Estudiantes host Gimnasia in the 181st edition of the Clásico de La Plata, one of the fiercest derbies in Argentine football.
Estudiantes were the clear favourites as they were undefeated in the last 20 derbies going into this one, and they duly took the lead in the 40th minute as centre-back Agustín Rogel headed in Emmanuel Mas’ cross from very close range. They took this lead into the half-time break, but the scores were level just seven minutes into the second half thanks to Cristian Tarragona, who cleverly finished Ramón Sosa’s through ball.
That is how the match finished, as Gimnasia took away a good point after delivering a very respectable performance.
Written by Neel Shelat.
Cover Image from IMAGO