European Qualifiers: Spain, Scotland and Türkiye book places | European Qualifiers
Spain, Scotland and Türkiye are the three latest teams to earn places at UEFA EURO 2024 after Spain’s 1-0 victory in Norway secured their own qualification and Scotland’s, while Türkiye downed Latvia 4-0 to join them.
UEFA.com rounds up the Matchday 8 action on the road to the finals in Germany.
Sunday’s results
Group A: Georgia 4-0 Cyprus, Norway 0-1 Spain
Group D: Türkiye 4-0 Latvia, Wales 2-1 Croatia
Group E: Czechia 1-0 Faroe Islands, Poland 1-1 Moldova
Group I*: Switzerland 3-3 Belarus, Romania 4-0 Andorra
*The match between Kosovo and Israel has been postponed.
Norway 0-1 Spain
Gavi’s precise winner in Oslo sent Spain to EURO 2024 with two matches to spare and ended Norway’s hopes of finishing in the top two. After dominating possession during the first half, La Roja added accuracy to their slickness when the Barcelona midfielder struck as part of a spell of pressure four minutes after the break, the goal proving sufficient to take the three-time champions to an eighth successive EURO tournament. The result meant Scotland also qualified.
Key stat: Spain have only failed to score in one of their last 43 European Qualifiers – their 2-0 defeat in Scotland in March.
Türkiye 4-0 Latvia
Türkiye left it late before sealing qualification for EURO 2024 with a flurry of goals against a plucky Latvia side. Yunus Akgün’s stunning volley just before the hour set the hosts on their way, and after Latvia’s Jānis Ikaunieks had a header cleared off the line and rattled the crossbar with another, Cenk Tosun came off the bench to score a double. Making his 50th appearance, his goals fell either side of a neat Kerem Aktürkoğlu finish, with the last three strikes coming in the space of six minutes.
Key stat: Türkiye have lost only two of their last 25 EURO qualifying matches (W17 D6).
Wales 2-1 Croatia
Wales boosted their EURO 2024 qualifying hopes with a hard-earned victory in Cardiff. Harry Wilson broke the deadlock in the 47th minute when he latched onto David Brooks’ through ball and neatly flicked past the advancing Dominik Livaković. Wilson then doubled the lead on the hour mark when he glanced home Daniel James’ cross. Substitute Mario Pašalić headed in Luka Modrić’s corner to halve the deficit 15 minutes from time, but Wales held out for all three points.
Key stat: Croatia have suffered back-to-back European Championship qualifying defeats for the first time.
Elsewhere
- Albania could have clinched qualification on Sunday if results had gone their way in Group E, but that prospect was scuppered when Czechia edged the Faroe Islands 1-0 in Plzeň. Tomáš Souček’s 76th-minute penalty moved the hosts within two points of Albania.
- Granit Xhaka made his 118th Switzerland appearance in their thrilling 3-3 draw against Belarus, moving him level with long-time record holder Heinz Hermann as his nation’s most-capped player. His team led 1-0, then trailed 3-1 before mustering two late goals that ensured Belarus cannot finish in the top two of Group I.
- Poland’s qualification hopes took a dent in Group E as they could only draw 1-1 with Moldova. Missing the injured Robert Lewandowski, they needed Karol Świderski’s second-half leveller to avoid defeat at home.
Monday’s fixtures
Group B: Gibraltar vs Republic of Ireland, Greece vs Netherlands
Group F: Azerbaijan vs Austria (18:00), Belgium vs Sweden
Group J: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Portugal, Iceland vs Liechtenstein, Luxembourg vs Slovakia
Tuesday’s fixtures
Group C: England vs Italy, Malta vs Ukraine
Group G: Lithuania vs Hungary, Serbia vs Montenegro
Group H: Finland vs Kazakhstan (18:00), Northern Ireland vs Slovenia, San Marino vs Denmark
Kick-offs 20:45 CET unless stated otherwise
