Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Group A has a very different look to it now after last night’s action. France have moved back to the top of the table after their emphatic 4-0 win over the Netherlands but it was also a night to forget for Sweden as defeat for them has seen them knocked off top spot.
They traveled to Bulgaria last night and in a result which has blown the group wide open suffered a 3-2 defeat in Sofia. That win for the Bulgarians has also seen them enhance their own chances of qualification for the finals in Russia next year.
With just the group winners being assured qualification it is now all to play for in Group A as Bulgaria have leapfrogged the Netherlands into third place and now just find themselves a point behind Sweden with three games to go.
In what was a topsy-turvy encounter last night Bulgaria would take the lead twice only to see them pegged back each time by the Swedes. Stanislav Manolev would open Bulgaria’s account on 12 minutes but that advantage would be wiped out by Celtic’s Mikael Lustig who scored just before the half hour.
Once again the home side would find themselves in front in the first half when Georgi Kostadinov would make it 2-1 to Bulgaria just four minutes later. It looked like they would be going into the break ahead but striker Marcus Berg leveled proceedings for the second time that evening.
With both teams searching for a late winner it was Bulgaria who would be rewarded as Ivaylo Chochev scored the goal that earned Bulgaria all three points with just 11 minutes remaining. A huge blow for Sweden but a massive win for the Bulgarians.
Here are the highlights
While in the other group games, Luxembourg earned something of a surprise win over Belarus thanks to Daniel De Mota’s goal on the hour
