14 Oct 2010

England frustrate fans again

7:44 am on 14 October 2010

England's footballers have frustrated their fans again after a lethargic and pedestrian goal-less draw with tiny Montenegro in a Euro 2012 qualifier in London.

Apart from England's brief attacking rally in the last 15 minutes, there was little to entertain the 73,000 fans at Wembley.

There was even less for Italian fans to cheer about though.

The Group C match in Genoa was abandoned after six minutes when Serbian fans threw flares into the pitch and at Italian fans.

Crowd trouble had already delayed the kickoff for 35 minutes. FIFA's likely to award a 3-0 walkover win to the Italians while Serbia may be banned.

The world champions Spain won 3-2 in Glasgow after Scotland came from 2-0 down to equalise, only to concede a late winner while Wales lost 4-1 in Switzerland.

There were 1-1 draws for Northern Ireland in Faroe Islands and Ireland in Slovakia while winners include the Netherlands, France, Greece, Portugal and Russia.