Skip to content

3 things you need to know from Monday's Euro 2016 qualifying action

Ruben Sprich / Reuters

Monday marked yet another day packed with dramatic international fixtures as 18 teams looked to kick off their Euro 2016 campaign with three points. England silenced the haters at St. Jakob-Park, Spain put their poor World Cup showing behind them at the Estadi Ciutat de Valencia, and David Alaba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic went at each other as Austria hosted Sweden at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion.

Here are three things you need to know from Monday's Euro 2016 qualifying action:

Danny Welbeck notches brace to kickstart England's qualifying campaign

Five shots on target. Well done, Roy Hodgson.

In a match that will ease the concerns of England supporters following their side's lackluster 1-0 friendly win over Norway, the Three Lions kicked off their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign in impressive fashion on Monday, emerging with a 2-0 away win to Switzerland courtesy of two goals from Arsenal's newest hero, Danny Welbeck.

[Courtesy: Reddit user "Omar_Til_Death"]

It could have been worse for Switzerland, too. England, who reverted to a midfield diamond instead of playing a traditional 4-4-2, continually threatened in front of goal and showed a fluidity that hasn't been seen from them in quite some time. Swiss 'keeper Yann Sommer was forced to make a number of saves, including two big stops on Wayne Rooney.

While Fabian Delph, who earned his first international start in the fixture, could be seen as England's lone point of weakness due to his reckless first-half challenges, the Aston Villa midfielder actually combined well with those around him through his 90 minutes on the pitch.

Spain thrash Macedonia in match of firsts

La Furia Roja reverted to the Spain we've all come to know over the past 10 years, easily disposing of Macedonia 5-1 to grab three points from their first Euro 2016 qualifying fixture.

The match marked something of a new era for Vicente del Bosque's side, who are readjusting following the international retirement of Xabi Alonso and Xavi Hernandez. Koke looks to be the long-term replacement for the former, while Paco Alcacer, who earned his first international start and scored the winning goal in the 17th minute, looks to be a potential replacement for the latter.

Furthermore, Barcelona revelation Munir El Haddadi earned his first Spain cap only three weeks after making his debut for Barcelona's first team.

Other firsts included Sergio Ramos notching his first penalty goal for Spain with a phenomenal "Panenka," and Sergio Busquets scoring his first-ever goal for the reigning European champions in his 70th international appearance.

But despite all of the above, it was one of Spain's more established squad members who was arguably the most impressive player of the match.

Early goals see Austria, Sweden play out to draw

In a match between two sides who missed out on this summer's World Cup despite being in the same qualifying group, Austria held Sweden to a 1-1 draw.

Of course, the fixture featured two larger-than-life superstars in David Alaba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with the 22-year-old Austrian opening the scoring from the penalty spot in the seventh minute and the 32-year-old Swede failing to score but saying he was "satisfied" with the result after the final whistle.

A match where Ibrahimovic fails to score is always slightly depressing, but there were no shortage of Zlatan-esque moments throughout the contest.

First up was an elbow from Ibrahimovic that nailed Alaba directly in the face.

And towards the final minutes of the match came a hilarious moment where Rubin Okotie gathered up the courage to invade Ibrahimovic's personal space.

#DareToTouchZlatan

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox