Football
ESPN staff 10y

Poland stun Germany, Robbie Keane hits hat trick for Republic of Ireland

Germany suffered their first competitive defeat as world champions, going down to a shock 2-0 loss to Poland in Warsaw.

Arkadiusz Milik opened the scoring in the 51st minute, heading home unmarked from a Lukasz Piszczek cross. Germany pushed and pushed for the equaliser but were hit by a sucker punch.

Robert Lewandowski superbly played in Sebastian Mila and he beat Manuel Neuer with a precise finish to send the home crowd into raptures.

It meant Poland finally tasted victory over Germany at the 19th attempt.

Robbie Keane plundered a hat trick as Republic of Ireland maintained a perfect start to their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign with a 7-0 demolition of minnows Gibraltar in Dublin.

Keane struck three times inside 12 first-half minutes to set up a second successive Group D victory, while James McClean added a second-half double either side of keeper Jordan Perez's own goal, and Wes Hoolahan capped a fine individual display by scoring the seventh with 59 minutes gone.

Martin O'Neill's men were expected to win the game and win it handsomely, and they did so in a fashion that will have pleased those who have bemoaned Ireland's failure to dispose of weaker opposition so emphatically in recent years.

Scotland picked up their first three Euro 2016 qualifying points thanks to a nervy 1-0 win over Georgia at Ibrox.

Gordon Strachan's home side were the better team, but it took an own goal in the 27th minute to bring victory.

Georgia keeper Giorgi Loria pushed Shaun Maloney's drive from inside the box onto the leg of defender Akaki Khubutia, and the ball trundled over the line.

The win sets up Scotland for a trip to Warsaw to play Poland on Tuesday night, but improvement will be required if they are to bring points back.

A brilliant late free-kick from captain Balazs Dzsudzsak earned Hungary a 1-1 draw against Romania in their Euro 2016 Group F qualifier at the Arena Nationala in Bucharest.

Despite going behind on the stroke of half-time to a well-taken goal from Raul Rusescu, Hungary showed great resilience to battle back and were rewarded with eight minutes left when Dzsudzsak curled in a superb 25-yard effort.

Northern Ireland are the unlikely early leaders of Group G after first-half finishes from Gareth McAuley and Kyle Lafferty eased them to victory over Faroe Islands to make it two wins in as many matches.

A 2-0 scoreline may not be one to write home about against a side ranked 179th in the world, and only going in one direction on this evidence, but the result is a significant one - taking Michael O'Neill's side to the summit and giving them their best start to a campaign since 1968.

Both goals came inside 20 minutes and although a mountain of possession did not yield a third, goalkeeper Roy Carroll ensured it would be a blemish-free night at Windsor Park with his superb penalty save from Frodi Benjaminsen.

Finland missed the opportunity to move to the top of the group as they were held 1-1 by Greece.

Having opened their campaign with a straightforward victory in the Faroe Islands, Mixu Paatelainen's side came from behind to share the points with a Greece side who claimed their first point of the group.

Nikolaos Karelis put the visitors in front with a smart first-half finish, with Jarkko Hurme hitting back for Finland before the hour mark.

Albania proved their giant-killing performance in Portugal was no fluke as they came within minutes of beating former European champions Denmark in Tirana.

Gianni De Biasi's side stunned Portugal in September and looked ready to dish out another 1-0 defeat when Ermir Lenjani fired the Eagles ahead at the Qemal Stafa Stadium.

Albania pushed hard for another goal but exhausted themselves in the process, eventually conceding a late goal to Lasse Vibe.

That forced a 1-1 draw which saw the points -- and top spot in European Championship Qualifying Group I -- shared.

Also, in the group, Serbia winger Zoran Tosic scored a last-minute equalizer as his side salvaged a 1-1 draw away to Armenia.

The 27-year-old CSKA Moscow player netted from outside the box after being set up by Dusan Tadic to cancel out the 73rd-minute Robert Arzumanyan header that had looked set to bring Armenia a first-ever win over Serbia.

The hosts had missed the chance to take a 2-0 lead when Marcos Pizelli had an 83rd-minute penalty saved by goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic.

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