Kamil Grosicki and Pawel Wszolek scored two goals each as an experimental Poland lineup thrashed Finland 5-0 in an international friendly on Saturday to extend their winning streak to five games in the run-up to Euro 2016.
Poland left Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski on the bench in the first half, along with ACF Fiorentina’s on-loan winger Jakub Blaszczykowski, who scored the winning goal in last Wednesday’s friendly against Serbia.
However, the game was effectively over as a contest by halftime as Poland scored three goals before the break.
Photo: EPA
Stade Rennais’ Grosicki opened the scoring in Wroclaw in the 18th minute, netting from a precise cross by Legia Warsaw rightback Artur Jedrzejczyk.
Two minutes later, Grosicki crossed from the left for Hellas Verona’s on-loan midfielder Wszolek to chip in for 2-0.
Wszolek then found Filip Starzynski, who curled the ball into the net from the edge of the penalty area in the 32nd minute.
Photo: Reuters
Wszolek scored again in the 66th minute following a fortunate rebound off a Finland defender after being set up by Grosicki, who completed the rout with five minutes remaining having collected a pass from defender Bartosz Salamon.
Poland are in Group C at Euro 2016 along with world champions Germany, Ukraine and Northern Ireland.
RUSSIA 3, LITHUANIA 0
Reuters, MOSCOW
Brazilian-born goalkeeper Guilherme made history when he went on as a halftime substitute in Russia’s victory over Lithuania on Saturday.
The Lokomotiv Moscow stopper became the first player born outside of Russia to represent the national team when he replaced Stanislav Kritsyuk.
The 30-year-old, who received his Russian passport last year, had little to do as the Euro 2016 finalists eased to a comfortable win.
Fedor Smolov scored five minutes before halftime, while Alexander Golovin and Denis Glushakov were also on target after the break for Leonid Slutskiy’s side.
Coach Slutskiy named a largely experiential lineup, with only Sergei Ignashevich and Igor Smolnikov likely to start their first Euro 2016 game against England in Marseille, France, on June 11.
Smolov was given a chance to stake his claim for a place at the finals in France and the Krasnodar forward impressed in a 45-minute outing.
He broke the deadlock in the 40th minute with an excellent left-footed finish beyond goalkeeper Vytautas Cerniauskas after being sent clear by a Dmitri Tarasov pass.
It was Smolov’s fifth goal on his 11th international appearance.
Substitute Golovin then made it 2-0 after pouncing on a knock-down from Alexander Kerzhakov.
Glushakov made sure of the win when he headed the ball in at the near post following a corner.
Lithuania failed to qualify for Euro 2016.
AUSTRIA 2, ALBANIA 1
Reuters, VIENNA
Austria struck twice in the first 13 minutes before surviving an uncomfortable second half on the way to a tight win over fellow Euro 2016 finalists Albania on Saturday.
Marc Janko scored an opportunist goal and Martin Harnik took advantage of a defensive howler as Albania’s rearguard, which did not concede an away goal in the qualifying campaign, fell apart early on.
Janko ran on to Zlato Junuzovic’s flicked pass, was partially stopped by a defender, but managed to cleverly hook the ball past Etrit Berisha after six minutes. It was the experienced forward’s 26th goal in 51 internationals.
Seven minutes later, home goalkeeper Robert Almer hit a long clearance, the Albania defense let it go and were caught out by the lurking Harnik, who ran on and fired a shot past Berisha.
Albania, warming up for their first major finals, replied two minutes after the break when Ermir Lenjani burst through Austria’s rearguard to blast his shot between Almer and his near post.
The large visiting contingent of fans let off firecrackers in celebration, causing a delay to the restart as the stadium announcer ordered them to stop.
Albania had plenty of possession after that and gave Austria, who dropped only one point in qualifying for Euro 2016, some uncomfortable moments.
Albania finished with 10 men when Ergys Kace was sent off in the 78th minute for stamping on Aleksandar Dragovic’s ankle.
HUNGARY 1, CROATIA 1
Reuters, BUDAPEST
A late free-kick by captain Balazs Dzsudzsak earned Hungary a draw with fellow Euro 2016 finalists Croatia on Saturday.
Ivan Perisic set up the opening goal for Juventus striker Mario Mandzukic after a good one-touch build-up in the 29th minute.
Dzsudzsak came close to an equalizer when his fierce low shot in the 36th minute went just wide.
The hosts applied more pressure in the second half and the midfielder did not miss the next time he had a chance, drilling a superb long-range effort into the top corner in the 79th minute.
“We played offensively in the first half, but in the second we dropped back a bit and Hungary had more possession,” Croatia coach Ante Cacic said.
Hungary coach Bernd Storck thought his side deserved a draw.
“I expected a bit more from my team in the first half, more chances,” he said. “In the second half we had opportunities, played better, and that pleased me because we were playing against a quality team.”
Saturday’s other result:
‧ Azerbaijan 0, Kazakhstan 1
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was