Tuesday, March 22, 2011

International Opta Facts - March 25-27



Serbia v Northern Ireland
This will be the first ever competitive meeting between Northern Ireland and an independent Serbia, although Serbia did win 1-0 at Windsor Park in an international friendly in 2009.
Nigel Worthington's men are unbeaten in three Euro qualifiers, drawing two and winning one.
Northern Ireland have only won one of their last 15 internationals, however, a 1-0 win at Slovenia in September 2010.
Nikola Zigic has scored in each of the three Serbian Euro 2012 qualifiers so far; all in the final half hour of matches.


Wales v England
England and Wales have only met twice since May 1984, with the Three Lions victorious on both occasions.
England have alternated between victory and defeat on their last five trips to Wales. For this to continue, they would lose at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.
England have won five of their last six away qualifying matches, losing only to Ukraine when they had already secured a place at the 2010 World Cup.
England have only failed to score in two of their last 13 fixtures in all competitions.
Wales have lost their last four internationals, scoring just one goal in the process.
Darren Bent has scored two goals from two shots on target in his last two international appearances.
Gary Speed's side have conceded six second half goals in their last three outings combined.
Darren Bent and Andy Carroll have each scored exactly the same goals as Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch combined in the Premier League this season (11).


Republic of Ireland v Macedonia
Ireland have already defeated Macedonia twice in home qualifiers, winning 3-0 in a World Cup qualifier in 1996 and 1-0 in a European Championships qualifier in June 1999.
Robbie Keane has scored four goals in Ireland's last six games at the Aviva Stadium.
Ireland have netted in eight of their last nine internationals, only failing to score against Argentina (0-1).
Macedonia have only won one of their last eight internationals, and that was against European minnows Andorra.
Macedonia have failed to score in each of their last four outings.


Scotland v Brazil
Brazil have won seven and drawn two of their previous nine matches against Scotland.
This will be the first meeting between these two sides since a Tom Boyd own goal gave Brazil a 2-1 victory in the group stages of the 1998 World Cup in France.
Kris Commons has scored in his last two internationals for Scotland.
Scotland have won three of their last four home internationals, losing only to World and European champions Spain.
Brazil have lost both of their last two internationals, failing to score each time. The last time that Brazil lost three games in a row was July/August 2001.