The team led by Montella beats Latvia 4-0 and is top of group D, the Spaniards knock out Haaland’s Norway. Kvara scored in Georgia’s 4-0 win over Cyprus
Montella’s Turkey like Spain and Scotland: all three secured a ticket for Euro2024 this evening. The national team led by the Italian coach wins 4-0 against Latvia and takes first place in Group D, moving within 6 points of Wales, who today won 2-1 against Croatia. Spain is also smiling (1-0, goal by Gavi, against Haaland’s Norway), which flies on equal points (15) with Scotland: both are qualified. The Czech Republic did well tonight (1-0 against Far Oer), while Georgia and Romania went wild: Kvaratskhelia scored in the 4-0 against Cyprus, Marin from Empoli did the same in the 4-0 against Andorra. Finally, Switzerland and Poland draw, playing Belarus and Moldova respectively.
group a
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Evening with the big match of the group, with Spain gaining three points against Haaland’s Norway. The Norwegians fail to serve Haaland properly, Morata&Co take advantage and, after several attempts, find the 1-0. In the first half Alvaro makes a mess: Carvajal crosses into the middle, Strandberg comes close to scoring an own goal, the ball travels directly towards the goal line and the former Juve player, instead of protecting it, kicks it into the net and sees the goal disallowed for offside. In the second half, Gavi reinvented himself as the team’s driving force and, in the 49th minute, beat Nyland after a series of rebounds in the area. The advantage stamped by the Barça jewel holds out until the 90th minute, Spain wins and qualifies while Norway must hope for the playoffs. In the afternoon it was Georgia-show. Kvicha Kvaratskhelia’s national team wins 4-0 against Cyprus: the Napoli striker starts and participates in two goal-scoring actions. In the 58th minute he made it 2-0 (touch in the corner one-on-one with the goalkeeper), then kicked off the action for the hat-trick, scored by Shengelia. Kiteishvili and Mikautadze scored the other goals.
The ranking
| Teams | Points | Games played |
|---|---|---|
GROUP D
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Vincenzo Montella’s Turkey started well, wasted a lot, eventually scored and put on a show at the end. Engaged in the match against Latvia, Calhanoglu and his associates dominate in the first 45 minutes: a dozen shots on target, a goal disallowed by Akgun, a crossbar hit by Bardakci and countless classy shots from the usual Akturkoglu. Yet, the 1-0 only arrived in the 58th minute, when Akgun beat the opposing goalkeeper with a great left-footed shot from a central position. Latvia wakes up, but in the 83rd minute Turkey closes the match thanks to newly introduced Tosun. The striker replaces Yilmaz in the 75th minute and, a few minutes later, doubles the lead with a true striker’s header. In the 87th minute Akturkoglu made it 3-0, in the 92nd minute Tosun scored a double with an easy touch into an empty net. At the final whistle, there is celebration in Turkey: Montella’s national team, with two successes in two matches, is arithmetically qualified for the European Championship. Second place currently belongs to Wales, who win 2-1 against Croatia. In the first half, Page’s team dominates but doesn’t score, after the interval, however, Wilson goes wild. The Fulham striker celebrates twice in 13 minutes: in the 47th minute he beats Livakovic with a lob, in the 60th minute he mocks him with a header. The goal from Pasalic, who came on as a substitute, was of little use as he headed a corner from Modric. The Atalanta player made it 2-1, but was unable to drag the Croatians towards a draw.
| Teams | Points | Games played |
|---|---|---|
GROUP E
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The European dream becomes more and more complicated for Szczesny, Zielinski and Milik. The Juve and Napoli players started in Warsaw’s match against Moldova, but in the 25th minute the guests were already ahead with a goal from the usual Nicolaescu. The Heerenveen center forward unlocks the match with a touch following a corner and just before the break he comes close to scoring an encore with a header. Poland woke up in the second half, after Milik was stopped twice in a few moments by the Moldovan goalkeeper Railean. The 1-1 goal was scored by Swiderski, who in the 53rd minute received the ball with his back to goal, twisted in on himself and pierced Railean himself. In the final, the Poles push in search of a turnaround, which however doesn’t come: they are now third in the standings, -1 behind the Czech Republic, fresh from the 1-0 win in the afternoon against the Faroes (decisive goal by Soucek, from a kick from penalty, in the 76th minute).
| Teams | Points | Games played |
|---|---|---|
GROUP I
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The final word is still missing, but Dragusin and Marin’s Romania is ever closer to qualifying for Euro 2024. The national team led by Iordanescu gives Andorra a poker: the first three goals all arrive in the first half, while the hosts arrive in the second half of home they simply administer the large advantage. In the 23rd minute Captain Stancu opens the ball with a gem from a free kick. Hagi doubled the lead in the 28th minute, while in the 44th minute Empoli’s Marin made it 3-0 from a penalty. The final 4-0 is signed by Coman with a left-footed shot from close range in the 50th minute: Romania wins and flies to 16 points, +1 from Switzerland which risks slipping against Belarus. In fact, on the pitch at 6pm, Sommer and his teammates took the lead through Shaqiri and then conceded three goals between the 61st and 84th minutes. The Belarusians came close to scoring, but in the end they were forced to settle for a draw: Akanji (goal in the 89th minute) and Amdouni (in the 90th minute) brought Switzerland back into the game, setting the score at 3-3.
| Teams | Points | Games played |
|---|---|---|
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