Balotelli sees red in draw; Scotland upset Croatia
Scotland caused the upset of the latest round of World Cup qualifiers in Europe with a 1-0 victory at Croatia on Friday.
But it was still errant Italy forward Mario Balotelli who stole the headlines as he was sent off in his team’s 0-0 draw at Czech Republic.
There was little to get excited about in the game itself as the hosts dominated but were kept at bay by a Juventus-dominated Italian rear-guard.
But 18 minutes from time AC Milan striker Balotelli picked up his second booking within three minutes to earn a red card.
That sent the troubled 22-year-old into an angry fit as he lashed out at anything within range once he’d left the pitch, as Italy coach Cesare Prandelli told him to sit down on the bench and stay calm.
“Balotelli was indeed agitated, it was his personal problem and he should learn to cope with it,” said Prandelli.
Buffon saves day for Italy
Gianluigi Buffon kept Italy in the match with saves from Vladimir Darida, Petr Jiracek and Libor Kozak. “We would have lost without him, he was the best one on the pitch,” the coach said of his goalkeeper.
That was enough to push out the Azzurri lead over second-placed Bulgaria at the top of Group B to three points, with the Czechs two-points further back.
In Zagreb, Robert Snodgrass notched the only goal of the game as Gordon Strachan’s Scotland earned their first win of the qualifying campaign, ending Croatia’s unbeaten Group A record.
Snodgrass volleyed home on the stretch after a mazy run from Wigan’s Shaun Maloney ended with the ball breaking kindly to his team-mate off a home defender.
“It’s amazing what you can do when you get a group of players who play for each other and who play from the heart,” said a defiant Strachan after his first win as national team boss. Croatia are currently ranked fourth in the Fifa world rankings.
Portugal beat Russia to go top
Portugal gave themselves a Group F lifeline as Helder Postiga’s ninth minute winner gave them a 1-0 success against previously-unbeaten Russia.
Portugal are now top of the group, two points above Russia, who have two games in hand.
Ukraine ensured Group H remained even more congested at the top with a stunning 4-0 win over leaders Montenegro.
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