Azzurri feeling the strain

Football dwarf
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, along with assorted members of the European press, had plenty to chew on this morning. Not least those at the German tabloid Bild. "We played like amateurs," it said after "a tortuous 2-1 win against the team ranked 119th in the world" - the Faroe Islands. Three Group 5 points count for little when Germany "are unable to put a football dwarf in its place".

A Welsh lesson
Giovanni Trapattoni was another revered former international feeling the strain. The Italy coach was taught a "Welsh lesson" in the 2-1 defeat in Cardiff, according to the daily Gazzetta dello Sport. "Trap sinks in Wales" ran the headline. It was the Azzurri's fifth loss in ten games this year, and the Corriere dello Sport called for the trainer to go saying, "Goodbye Trap".

Sack a journalist
Trapattoni was swimming against the tide of opinion when he retorted: "Do they sack a journalist when he writes three bad articles in a row? I don't think so. I still believe in our qualifying chances." The Group 9 table told a different story though, Wales going top after what the Western Mail newspaper termed "a famous victory on a night of drama and unbearable tension".

England's red faces
Adding to Welsh joy was England's Group 7 draw with F.Y.R Macedonia. Sven-Göran Eriksson's team were undone by defensive errors, David Seaman allowing Artim Sakiri's corner past him for the opening goal. The Daily Mirror was unforgiving of the veteran, writing: "On one of English football's most embarrassing nights, no one had a redder face than Seaman." Those comments were articulated by the Guardian: "The time has come to recognise that Seaman's vulnerability to long-range shots is a serious problem. His legs are leaden, his movement hesitant, his positioning suddenly unsure."

World loves a winner 
More sure of themselves were Switzerland, having claimed a deserved 2-1 success in the Republic of Ireland. "Fabio Celestini's 87th-minute winner capped an excellent defensive performance" by the section leaders. The daily Neue Züricher Zeitung chorused: "We are back. With this success and seven points from three matches, Switzerland are on their way to EURO 2004™."

Kiss of life
Portugal could be beckoning for Turkey too, after a "rain of goals" against Liechtenstein gave Senol Günes's side a third straight win. The Milliyet daily wrote: "On the night England drew with F.Y.R. Macedonia, they [Turkey] strengthened their place as group leaders." In Group 6, meanwhile, Greece had more reason to believe following their first victory of the campaign against Armenia. The Sportime, Adesmeftos and Eleftheros Typos newspapers all ran the headline "Kiss of life by Demis", in honour of goalscorer Demis Nikolaidis.

Job well done
France also did "a very good job" in beating Malta 4-0 in Group 1. According to Le Figaro, the UEFA European Championship holders are "on the right track" under new coach Jacques Santini. And it was no surprise to see the Faroe Islands in credit after the narrow defeat against Germany. Only the frame of Oliver Kahn's goal denied the Faroes an equalising goal that would have registered on the Richter scale - and the Danish journal B.T. hailed "a fantastic fighting display" by Henrik Larsen's team which "with a bit of luck would have been even better". "A great experience," added the Faroese daily Sosialurin.