MOSCOW -- Alexander Mostovoi ensured
Russia stay top of their World Cup qualifying group on
Wednesday, scoring the winner in an unconvincing 1-0 victory
over the Faroe Islands.
Watched by a 10,500 crowd at the 80,000-capacity Luzhniki
stadium in Moscow, there were few scoring opportunities for
either side in the group one tie.
Faroe Island players were angry though when the referee
turned down penalty appeals in the first half after striker John
Petersen went tumbling to the ground.
Mostovoi struck in the 18th minute, scooping the ball up in
the penalty area and drilling it past goalkeeper Jakup
Mikkelsen.
Rolan Gusev later hit the bar for Russia, as did Dmitry
Khokhlov in the second half.
The win gave Russia 10 points in the standings. Switzerland moves into second place on eight points with a 5-0 rout of Luxembourg, while Slovenia drops to third on seven points after tie 1-1 with Yugoslavia.
Slovenia grab late equaliser against Yugoslavia
LJUBLJANA -- A last minute Zlatko Zahovic
goal earned Slovenia a 1-1 draw at home to Yugoslavia in their
World Cup European group one qualifier on Wednesday.
Zahovic's equaliser cancelled out Savo Milosevic's 32nd
minute strike, enabling Slovenia to remain in second place in
the group on seven points from five matches.
Yugoslavia are fourth in the group on five points from three
matches. Russia lead the standings on 10 points from four
matches.
Once they had taken the lead, Yugoslavia were quite content
to soak up pressure and hold on for a narrow victory until
Zahovic blasted in a 25-metre free kick to earn a share of the
points.
Swiss Frei hits hat-trick in first full game
ZURICH -- Alexander Frei celebrated his
first full match for Switzerland with a hat-trick in a 5-0 World
Cup rout of Luxembourg on Wednesday.
The Servette Geneva striker calmly slid the ball past
Luxembourg goalkeeper Alija Besic in the ninth minute of the
group one qualifier.
Frei then beat Besic again on 31 minutes but had to wait
until the final moments before completing his tally.
Johann Lonfat bundled the ball home 20 minutes into the
second half and Swiss veteran Stephane Chapuisat swung in a
beautiful swerving strike in the 72nd minute.
But it was Frei's night. The 21-year-old only made his
international debut as a substitute on Saturday in the
impressive draw against Yugoslavia.
Goalkeeper Marco Pascolo had little to do on his 50th
international appearance for Switzerland.
Swiss coach Enzo Trossero had to watch from the stands after
receiving a one match ban for arguing with officials during the
game in Yugoslavia.
COPYRIGHT 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights
reserved. Republication or
redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior
written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or
delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.