Koeman celebrates with Greece for a late penalty goal. He scores not only for Portugal over Bosnia, but also for Iceland and Ireland. Belgium-Sweden were 1-1 before the suspension
Unrest in the city, fear in the locker rooms. On the penultimate evening of matches valid for the Euro2024 qualifiers, Brussels finds itself paralyzed by a terrorist attack. Belgium and Sweden, involved in the clash valid for Group F, play for one half (which ended 1-1) and then refuse to take the field for the second half. The other matches, however, continued regularly: the Netherlands won 1-0 in Greece (goal by Van Dijk from a penalty awarded by Dumfries), CR7 scored a brace and dragged Portugal (5-0) in Bosnia. Iceland and Ireland also scored, scoring four goals against Liechtenstein and Gibraltar respectively. Finally, Slovakia and Austria achieved a narrow success: Calzona’s national team (now one point away from qualification) won at Luxembourg, while Sabitzer scored against Azerbaijan and dragged the Austrians to the European Championship.
GROUP B
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A crucial challenge, in Athens, for Koeman’s Holland. Greece arrives second in the standings, with 12 points, behind already qualified France. The Oranje need a victory and, to achieve it, the coach is counting on Dumfries and Reijnders as starters. The first, great opportunity arrives in the 26th minute: Van Dijk goes down into the area and the referee points to the spot, but Weghorst lets himself be hypnotized by Vlachodimos who saves a not irresistible shot. In the second half the goalkeeper gives another show and denies Bergwjin the 1-0. The Dutch push, the Greeks defend but give in at the best moment, during injury time. Pavlidis brings down Dumfries in the penalty area, the referee awards another penalty which this time Van Dijk makes no mistake. Holland and Greece therefore find themselves on equal points (12) in the group, while Ireland rises to 6 thanks to the success in Gibraltar. The first half of the match ends 2-0, with goals from Ferguson – the baby center forward of De Zerbi’s Brighton – and Johnston, both of whom scored from Doherty’s kissed cross. After the break, the Wolverhampton full-back confirmed himself as the absolute protagonist: he scored the 3-0 goal, with a header, following a corner. In the 80th minute Robinson scored the final 4-0, condemning Gibraltar – still with zero points – to yet another defeat.
GROUP F
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Belgium and Sweden take to the field in a surreal atmosphere: in Brussels, shortly before the match, two Swedish fans were victims of a terrorist attack in the city centre. About five kilometers from the stadium, a man allegedly shouted “Allah Akbar” before firing numerous shots with his Kalashnikov. The teams played the first half anyway, with the guests taking the lead in the quarter of an hour with a nice move by Gyokeres: the 25-year-old started quickly centrally, sat down Vertonghen and then beat Sels. In Belgium De Ketelaere and Lukaku are the starters and Roma’s centre-forward, in the 31st minute, re-establishes the balance: the former Bologna player Helander trips Mangala in the area, Big Rom appears on the spot and makes it 1-1. Having returned to the locker rooms for the break, the players refuse to resume the match in the second half: for reasons of public order, the match is suspended and the fans are invited not to leave the stadium, considering that the police have not yet you manage to identify the terrorist. However, the Belgians are already certain of qualification, as is Austria who, in the 6pm match, beats Azerbaijan: Italian De Biasi’s national team holds their own for 45 minutes, but is forced to surrender at the start of the second half . Sabitzer, left out of the starting eleven, came onto the pitch at half-time and immediately scored. In the 47th minute the referee awards a penalty for handball, the 29-year-old appears on the spot and seals the final 1-0.
J GROUP
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Portugal never stops and, at home to Bosnia, scores yet another goal, reaching 32 goals scored – against just 2 conceded – in the qualifying matches. Ronaldo&Co beat Pjanic and Dzeko’s national team 5-0, confirming themselves at the top with full points (24). Leao still starts but fails to leave his mark. The driving force is always CR7: in the 5th minute he makes it 1-0 from a penalty, in the 24th minute he doubles his lead with a one-on-one dig at the goalkeeper. Bruno Fernandes scores the hat-trick, while the fourth goal (in the 32nd minute) is a pearl from Cancelo, who curls a shot from the edge of the area after a clumsy shot from captain Ronaldo. The first half ends 5-0, with Joao Felix joining the party with an easy shot from a central position. In the second half, Martinez’s national team limited themselves to managing the advantage. The match between Luxembourg and the Slovakia of Italian Calzona is much more balanced, as they suffer in the first half but resist the flashes of Rodrigues and Olesen. The Slovaks are focusing on the all-Italian trio in the middle: Duda and Lobotka with the former AC Milan player Kucka. In the 77th minute they also found the 1-0 goal (goal from the newly substitute Duris, with a volley from a cross from the former Fiorentina player Hancko), then Dubravka protected the lead with the sound of miraculous interventions. Slovakia is now second (16 points), +5 on Luxembourg. In fourth place and on 10th place is Iceland, which climbs up the table thanks to the huge home success against Liechtenstein: 4-0 for the hosts, two goals in each half. Finnbogason, Haraldsson and Sigurdsson scored, who opened the ball with a penalty and then repeated it with a right-footed shot from the edge, becoming the best scorer in the history of the national team.
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