European Qualifiers: Spain, Türkiye and Albania win | European Qualifiers
Spain ended Scotland’s perfect start, Türkiye defeated Croatia and Albania saw off Czechia as UEFA EURO 2024 qualification got back under way on Thursday.
UEFA.com rounds up the Matchday 7 action on the road to the finals in Germany.
Thursday’s results
Group A: Cyprus 0-4 Norway, Spain 2-0 Scotland
Group D: Croatia 0-1 Türkiye, Latvia 2-0 Armenia
Group E: Albania 3-0 Czechia, Faroe Islands 0-2 Poland
Group I*: Andorra 0-3 Kosovo, Belarus 0-0 Romania
*The postponed match between Israel and Switzerland has been rescheduled for Wednesday 15 November.
Spain 2-0 Scotland
Spain saw off a stubborn Scotland to move three points behind them with a game in hand at the top of Group A, going ahead through captain Álvaro Morata’s 73rd-minute header and sealing victory courtesy of debutant Oihan Sancet’s close-range finish four minutes from time.
La Roja midfielder Mikel Merino shot against a post during the first half as the visitors’ perfect group stage record ended, although Steve Clarke’s side, who would have qualified with a draw, remain well placed to reach the finals.
Key stat: Spain have won 25 successive EURO qualifying home matches since a 1-0 defeat against Greece in June 2003.
Croatia 0-1 Türkiye
Barış Alper Yılmaz was the hero as Turkey overtook Croatia to move to the Group D summit after a hard-earned win in Osijek.
Vincenzo Montella made a winning start to his tenure with the Crescent-Stars, who condemned their hosts to a first ever home defeat in a EURO qualifier.
Yılmaz settled the contest on the half-hour as he raced onto Salih Özcan’s through ball, before delightfully lifting over the advancing Dominik Livaković.
Key stat: Croatia suffered their first defeat in 11 EURO qualifiers, having won seven and drawn three of their previous ten.
Albania 3-0 Czechia
Jasir Asani’s sweetly struck ninth-minute opener came against the run of play, with Czechia having been better in the early stages in Tirana. But once Albania led, this game was relatively comfortable for the Group E leaders with Czechia losing Mojmír Chytil to a second booking late in the first half.
Taulant Seferi duly scored a second-half double, both from inside the box, as Albania opened up a four-point advantage at the top of Group E, with Czechia five points further back in third place.
Key stat: Albania have won four and drawn one of their last five EURO qualification matches, while Czechia’s run of six matches unbeaten in all competitions has come to an end.
Elsewhere
- Erling Haaland scored his fifth and sixth goals of the qualification campaign as Norway saw off point-less Cyprus in Group A. Haaland’s side remain third, two points behind Spain but having played a match more.
- Poland moved second in Group E after a comfortable away win against Faroe Islands thanks to goals from Sebastian Szymański and Adam Buksa.
- Latvia picked up their first points in Group D with a 2-0 win over Armenia. They are unable to finish in the top two, but got a morale-boosting victory and dented Armenia’s hopes of qualifying courtesy of goals from Jānis Ikaunieks and Daniels Balodis.
Friday’s fixtures
Group B: Netherlands vs France, Republic of Ireland vs Greece
Group F: Austria vs Belgium, Estonia vs Azerbaijan (18:00)
Group J: Iceland vs Luxembourg, Liechtenstein vs Bosnia and Herzegovina, Portugal vs Slovakia
Saturday’s fixtures
Group C: Ukraine vs North Macedonia (15:00), Italy vs Malta
Group G: Bulgaria vs Lithuania (18:00), Hungary vs Serbia
Group H: Northern Ireland vs San Marino (15:00), Slovenia vs Finland (18:00), Denmark vs Kazakhstan
Kick-offs 20:45 CET unless stated otherwise