Spain, Scotland and Turkey lock up Euro 2024 spots
Spain secured a place in the Euro 2024 tournament by winning 1-0 in Norway. In addition, Scotland also earned their spot in the tournament due to the result. Turkey also joined the list of teams that have qualified for the competition.
Date: October 15th, 2023 at 11:43 PM Updated: October 16th, 2023 at 2:05 AM
In Oslo, Gavi, who plays for Barcelona's midfield, scored the single goal at the beginning of the second half, where his shot bounces into the corner. This goal helped Spain to qualify for the upcoming finals in Germany and they still have two games remaining.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente expressed his joy over the team's impressive growth and promising prospects. He credited their relentless efforts that have led them to this point.
On account of their goal difference, they are now the leaders of Group A. However, the outcome of the match also guaranteed Scotland's qualification to the tournament. Norway, on the other hand, is trailing behind with five points and their last match is scheduled for the following month.
Scotland's captain, Andy Robertson, declared that the team's first mission has been completed by qualifying directly instead of going through the play-offs as they did last time. In their previous attempt to qualify, they hoped to achieve automatic qualification this time around, and they successfully achieved their objective.
Since the Euro 2000, Norway has not made it to a significant competition. However, there is still a possibility for a squad with the likes of Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard to reach the play-offs and progress further.
In the group's other match, Georgia dominated Cyprus by achieving a remarkable 4-0 victory.
Turkey had an incredible week which included being named co-hosting country along with Italy for the Euro 2032. They concluded their week with a remarkable win over Latvia, scoring four goals in the final minutes of the game and securing their place in the finals.
Yunus Akgun scored the first goal just before the hour mark, and Cenk Tosun, who used to play for Everton, scored two goals towards the end of the match. Kerem Akturkoglu also scored a goal, but it was in the middle of Cenk Tosun's late goals. This helped the Group D leaders secure a win.
Turkey's coach, Vincenzo Montella, expressed his joy in confirming their qualification after their victory. He shared his happiness with UEFA.com.
I might be the most content coach on earth at this very moment. For that reason, I'll savor this moment now and then resume our planning right away.
Turkey are six points ahead of Wales in the standings. Wales surpassed Croatia to grab the second spot thanks to Harry Wilson, who scored both goals in a 2-1 triumph over the previous year's World Cup semi-finalists in Cardiff.
Wilson managed to outrun the Croatian defense to delicately place the first goal soon after the second half began, and later scored the second goal by lightly brushing a cross into the net from Dan James.
Mario Pasalic was able to score a goal, however, Wales now have complete control over their fate as they enter the final stages of qualifying matches that are set to take place in November.
Croatia could miss out on a big international competition for the first time since the 2010 World Cup due to consecutive losses.
Switzerland was forced to score two goals in the later stages of the game against Belarus in order to salvage a 3-3 tie. However, this resulted in them losing their position as leaders of Group I, which was then taken over by Romania.
In the city of St. Gallen, Xherdan Shaqiri scored a perfectly curved goal to give Switzerland the lead. However, Belarus, who had previously lost 5-0 to Switzerland in March, managed to equalize thanks to Max Ebong.
During the game, Denis Polyakov scored a goal with a header from a corner kick, putting Belarus ahead of their opponents. The visitors appeared to be headed for an unexpected victory until Dmitri Antilevski scored their third goal at minute 84.
Switzerland narrowly avoided defeat thanks to a last-minute equalizer by substitute Zeki Amdouni. The comeback began when Manuel Akanji scored a goal from a free-kick taken by Shaqiri.
In a football match between Romania and Andorra, Romania won easily, scoring four goals and keeping the opponent team scoreless. With this win, Romania has become one point ahead of their rivals. However, the Swiss team has a game left to play, which was supposed to happen in Tel Aviv on Thursday. However, the conflict between Israel and Hamas led to the cancellation of the game. Therefore, the Swiss team still has a chance to catch up with Romania.
The game scheduled for Sunday between Kosovo and Israel was canceled due to the conflict.
Tomas Soucek scored a decisive penalty in the 76th minute leading the Czech Republic to a close 1-0 victory against the Faroe Islands. This win has moved the team to the second position in Group E, just behind Albania.
The Polish football team had a difficult time during the game against Moldova in Warsaw as their leading striker Robert Lewandowski was injured and could not participate. As a result, Poland had to work hard to recover from the disadvantage and eventually managed to secure a 1-1 draw against Moldova.
The Polish team ranks third in their group, however they have already played one more game than the teams who are first and second. They will be playing an important match on November 17th, as they host the Czechs and must win it.
Out of the total 24 available places to be filled, seven have been secured by teams so far. As Germany is hosting the tournament, they have earned an automatic qualification spot. On Friday, the teams of France, Portugal and Belgium successfully acquired their spots in the tournament.
