Euro 2024 Qualifiers Archives

Ronaldo hits two as Portugal thrash Bosnia and Herzegovina

Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice as Roberto Martinez’s relentless Portugal thrashed Bosnia and Herzegovina 5-0 on Monday in Euro 2024 qualifying.

Portugal, who booked their place at the tournament in Germany next summer with a win over Slovakia last Friday, continued their superb form under the Spanish coach with their eighth victory in eight games since he arrived.

Ronaldo netted his 126th and 127th Portugal goals, further extending his record as the top all-time men’s international goalscorer.

Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes added the third before Barcelona duo Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix joined in the fun, all before half-time.

Bosnia, led by veteran target-man Edin Dzeko, languish fifth and can no longer progress from the group, after Slovakia beat Luxembourg 1-0.

Bosnia have two games remaining and are seven points behind second-placed Slovakia in Group J, with Portugal the runaway leaders.

Martinez’s side have scored 32 goals and only conceded twice, racking up all 24 points possible so far.

Al-Nassr striker Ronaldo, 38, opened the scoring from the penalty spot and dinked home his second with a neat finish, but was replaced by Martinez after 65 minutes, while still in search of his hat-trick.

The former Real Madrid forward was also confronted by a pitch invader shortly before half-time, but stewards swiftly intervened.

Fernandes and Cancelo finished with sublime accuracy and power as the hosts’ defence crumbled miserably, while Felix stroked in the fifth.

Bosnia tightened up in the second half but it was far too little, far too late.

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Italy falter, England and Belgium on track for Euro 2024

Defending European champions Italy drew 1-1 with North Macedonia in a Euro 2024 qualifier on Saturday to suffer a blow in their hopes of making it to next year’s finals from Group C where leaders England took a valuable point in a 1-1 away draw against Ukraine.

England lead the Group C of Euro 2024 qualifiers with 13 points with Ukraine on seven. Italy and North Macedonia both have four points.

Italy next face a crucial Euro 2024 qualifying test against Ukraine on Tuesday.

Luciano Spalletti took charge of Italy for the first time following Roberto Mancini’s shock resignation but his team flopped against the side which dumped them out of the last World Cup in the play-offs.

Ciro Immobile put Italy ahead but Enis Bardhi smashed in a free-kick for the hosts with nine minutes remaining in Skopje.

Ukraine hosted England in Poland and marched out onto the pitch in Wroclow with national flags draped over their shoulders in front of around 40,000 of their own fans.

“Very tough place to come. You could feel the atmosphere, a unique occasion,” said England manager Gareth Southgate after his team’s run of four consecutive wins in the group came to an end.

Oleksandr Zinchenko put Ukraine in front with a thundering shot after a sweeping drive through midfield on 26 minutes.

England, however, hit back in the 41st minute when Harry Kane played a ball over the top and Kyle Walker slipped the ball home for his first international goal on his 77th appearance.

Belgium went joint top of Group F with a 1-0 away win at Azerbaijan, lifting them level on 10 points with Austria.

Yannick Carrasco scored the only goal in Baku as new manager Domenico Tedesco extended his run to five games without defeat.

Sweden are third in the group on six points after they thumped Estonia 5-0.

Switzerland lead Group I of Euro 2024 qualifiers by two points after a see-saw 2-2 draw with Kosovo for whom La Liga based Vedat Muriqi scored twice.

In the same group, Romania and Israel drew 1-1 and are locked in a struggle for second place, separated by a point on nine and eight points respectively.

The top two teams in each group qualify for the Euro 2024.

As hosts, Germany are playing only friendly internationals but they are a team in crisis and their problems worsened in a 4-1 humiliation at the hands of Japan in Wolfsburg.

Junya Ito and Ayase Ueda scored either side of a Leroy Sane strike in the first half, with Japan scoring twice in the final five minutes as home fans jeered.

Germany captain Ilkay Gundogan said simply “we are not good enough right now, it’s a completely bitter day — we all need to ask questions of ourselves.”

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Dembele, Nkunku back in France squad for Euro 2024 qualifiers

Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele and RB Leipzig forward Christopher Nkunku are among the players recalled to the France squad named on Thursday by coach Didier Deschamps ahead of two Euro 2024 qualifiers in for June.

Fitness problems meant both players missed France’s opening qualifying matches in March, when they beat the Netherlands 4-0 at home and won 1-0 away to the Republic of Ireland.

They now go into a match against minnows Gibraltar in Faro, Portugal on June 16, and a home clash with Greece three days later, on top of qualifying Group B with six points.

“You will say I am very pragmatic, but the three points that are available against Gibraltar have the same value as those we took against the Netherlands or in Ireland,” Deschamps told reporters in Paris.

“He was supposed to be in the squad for the World Cup but was ruled out by injury, but now he is back on top form,” added Deschamps of Nkunku, who scored four goals in the last five Bundesliga games of the season for his club as they finished third.

He is set to feature for Leipzig in this weekend’s German Cup final against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Chelsea centre-back Wesley Fofana is also in the squad and will hope to make his full France debut after withdrawing from the March list due to injury.

Real Madrid left-back Ferland Mendy was also handed a first call-up since before the World Cup, while injured Arsenal defender William Saliba is among the notable absentees.

Highly-rated Nice midfielder Khephren Thuram was left out, while Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba and Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante — two stars of France’s triumphant 2018 World Cup campaign — are again absent after injury-ravaged seasons.

France squad for Euro 2024 qualifiers against Gibraltar and Greece:

Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola (West Ham United/ENG), Mike Maignan (AC Milan/ITA), Brice Samba (Lens)

Defenders: Axel Disasi (Monaco), Wesley Fofana (Chelsea/ENG), Theo Hernandez (AC Milan/ITA), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool/ENG), Jules Kounde (Barcelona/ESP), Ferland Mendy (Real Madrid/ESP), Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich/GER), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich/GER)

Midfielders: Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid/ESP), Youssouf Fofana (Monaco), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid/ESP), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus/ITA), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid/ESP)

Forwards: Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich/GER), Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona/ESP), Olivier Giroud (AC Milan/ITA), Randal Kolo Muani (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig/GER), Marcus Thuram (Borussia Moenchengladbach/GER)

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France survive Ireland scare, Netherlands ease past Gibraltar

PARIS: France held on to beat Ireland 1-0 in Dublin on Monday to win their second Euro 2024 qualifier, while the Netherlands eased past Gibraltar 3-0.

Right-back Benjamin Pavard pounced with half an hour remaining at a sold-out Lansdowne Road before two superb Mike Maignan saves in the final two minutes.

With 30 seconds to play in Dublin, AC Milan’s Maignan, who has succeeded former captain Hugo Lloris as Les Bleus’ goalkeeper, tipped over team-mate Jules Kounde’s panicked header.

From the resulting corner Maignan saved the visitors’ skin as he made a similar save from Nathan Collins’ powerful effort.

“Mike’s stop allowed us to stay in the match and claim a clean sheet, so I’m going to say that he’s the man of the match,” Bayern Munich’s Pavard told television channel TF1.

“I had the chance to play, it was succesful, I scored, even if a defender’s main objective is to defend well,” he added.

In Rotterdam, Manchester City centre-back Nathan Ake scored twice in a little over half an hour as the Netherlands overcame 10-men Gibraltar, 200th in the FIFA rankings.

Atletico Madrid forward Memphis Depay opened the scoring in the first half with a towering header before veteran Liam Walker was shown a red card the other side of the break.

Oranje captain Virgil van Dijk bemoaned a lack of goals at De Kuip from his team, who lost heavily to France in their Group B opener on Friday.

“You score three goals, but you have to score many more,” van Dijk said.

“This is a game where you can hardly ever get it right. You have to win 10-0, so to speak,” he added.

Gregoritsch’s ‘rollercoaster’

In Group F, Sweden bounced back from a heavy opening defeat to Belgium by hammering Azerbaijan 5-0 in Solna.

Emile Forsberg, Viktor Gyokeres, Jesper Karlsson and Anthony Elanga netted for the hosts and Bahlul Mustafazade scored an own goal.

Austria avoided an upset at home to beat Estonia 2-1 despite trailing after 25 minutes from a Rauno Sappinen effort.

Cologne winger Florian Kainz opened his account for his country with 22 minutes to play before Michael Gregoritsch completed the comeback with two minutes to go.

Real Madrid’s David Alaba came off the bench after 46 minutes after Gregoritsch has missed a first half penalty.

“I’ve had enough of rollercoaster rides,” Gregoritsch told broadcasters ORF.

“I also have to apologise to the team for letting them worry for so long,” he added.

Dominik Szoboszlai superb free-kick set Hungary on their way to a 3-0 success over Bulgaria as they started their campaign clinically.

Elsewhere in Group G, Dusan Vlahovic’s double were more than enough as Serbia beat Montenegro 2-0 in only their third meeting since Montenegro declared independence in 2006.

In Group E, the Czech Republic were held 0-0 by lowly Moldova as Karol Swiderski scored his ninth goal in 21 internationals as Poland beat Albania 1-0 after losing to the Czechs on Friday.

On Tuesday, the pick of the ties is in Group A as Spain head to Scotland with the next international window in June.

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Ronaldo ‘very important’ for Portugal, says Martinez

LUXEMBOURG: Cristiano Ronaldo remains a “very important” player for Portugal, coach Roberto Martinez said on Sunday after the veteran striker scored a second successive brace in Euro 2024 qualifying against Luxembourg.

The 38-year-old opened the scoring for the Euro 2016 winners by turning in Nuno Mendes’ header and slotted home another in the 31st minute as Portugal won 6-0.

Ronaldo, who also netted twice against Liechtenstein on Thursday, increased his records of most men’s international appearances and goals to 198 and 122 respectively.

“Cristiano is a unique player in the world, with the highest number of international caps,” said Martinez, who has restored Ronaldo to the starting line-up after he was dropped during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

“The experience he has for the dressing room is very important.

“All players have an important role. The younger ones due to their willingness to play and players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Rui Patricio and Bernardo Silva bring experience.

“It’s important to have a complete dressing room.”

Martinez joined Portugal after the World Cup, replacing Fernando Santos who had been in charge since 2014.

The Spaniard has enjoyed a fine start, with his team already two points clear at the top of Group J having scored 10 goals without reply.

Joao Felix, Bernardo Silva, Otavio and Rafael Leao were all also on the scoresheet in Luxembourg.

READ: Saka shines as England dismiss Ukraine in Euro qualifier

Saka shines as England dismiss Ukraine in Euro qualifier

LONDON: Gareth Southgate hailed “ruthless” Bukayo Saka as the England forward’s breathtaking goal inspired a 2-0 win against Ukraine that maintained his side’s perfect start to their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign on Sunday.

Southgate’s team followed an impressive victory against Italy in their Group C opener with another composed display highlighted by Saka’s brilliance and the latest example of Harry Kane’s predatory instincts.

Saka has been one of the standout performers in Arsenal’s climb to the top of the Premier League this season and the forward was at his very best once again at Wembley.

It was Saka’s pin-point cross that allowed Kane to give England the lead in the first half as the Three Lions captain extended his record tally for his country.

Kane wrote himself into the record books against Italy, scoring his 54th international goal to surpass Wayne Rooney as England’s all-time leading goalscorer.

Surrounded by his wife and children, the Tottenham striker was presented with a golden boot before kick-off, but quickly got back down to business with goal number 55.

Kane had been more instrumental than most in England’s progress to major tournaments in his career, scoring 34 times in just 29 qualifying group matches.

Aged 29, Kane is at his peak, while the 21-year-old Saka is only just starting to explore the vast depths of his potential, as he showed with his superb long-range goal.

“Once he receives inside and turns you know there’s a chance that might happen. It’s a top-level finish,” Southgate said.

“That’s really the ruthless part he’s added to his game in the last 18 months.

“There were times where you weren’t certain he was going to finish, and now you’ve got real confidence when he’s through on goal.

“Everyone can see technical quality. It is the mentality that is the outstanding part.”

England’s 2-1 victory over European champions Italy on Thursday — their first success on Italian soil since 1961 — was a significant statement of intent in their bid to finally win a first major trophy since 1966.

Dismissing Ukraine in business-like fashion ensured the positive mood will continue while England wait to resume their qualifying campaign against Malta and North Macedonia in June.

“I’m really pleased. We made a difficult game look straightforward,” Southgate said.

“To back up the Italy result was important but there is still room to grow.”

Patient England

It was an emotional occasion for more than 1,000 Ukrainians and their host families, who were invited to the game as special guests of England’s Football Association having been displaced by the war with Russia.

Showing solidarity with Ukraine, England’s players joined their opponents before kick-off behind a Ukrainian flag with “Peace” written across it.

“It was amazing to see so many Ukrainian fans here. We knew it was going to be emotional and we all have tremendous sympathy with what’s going on. Everyone’s supporting Ukraine,” Southgate said.

Beaten in the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and the European Championship final two years ago, England are still chasing their trophy holy grail.

In their first home game since last year’s World Cup campaign ended in a painful quarter-final defeat against France, Southgate’s men showed their hunger has not been dulled by so many agonising near-misses.

England had been patient against Ukraine’s massed defence and, while their build-up might have looked ponderous at times, it was a steady approach that paid off in the 37th minute.

Saka whipped a perfectly-weighted cross towards the far post and when Oleksandr Karavaev couldn’t get enough power on his attempted clearance, Kane stuck out a boot to deflect it in from close range.

Having provided the assist for Kane, Saka got on the scoresheet himself three minutes later.

Taking possession 20 yards from goal, the Arsenal forward easily evaded Mykola Matviyenko and curled a sublime strike over Anatoliy Trubin into the far corner for a jaw-dropping goal that brought the previously subdued Wembley crowd to their feet.

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Spain make winning start as Croatia held in Euro 2024 qualifying

PARIS: Spain won 3-0 against a Norway side missing the injured Erling Haaland in the opening round of Euro 2024 qualifiers Saturday, while Wales snatched a stoppage-time equaliser to frustrate Croatia.

Dani Olmo turned in Alejandro Balde’s driven low cross on 13 minutes in Malaga and Joselu scored twice on his Spain debut to give new coach Luis de la Fuente a victory in his first match in charge.

Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga pulled off a brilliant reflex stop to deny Fredrik Aursnes and clawed another effort off the line on his first start for Spain since October 2020.

Alexander Sorloth then volleyed wide before Espanyol striker Joselu came off the bench and bagged a quick-fire double — heading in his first and sweeping home a rebound for the second.

“I still can’t believe it,” said the 32-year-old Joselu, the first Spain player to net twice on his international debut since Fernando Morientes in 1998.

“For any player this is just the best thing that can happen. It’s the reward for all the daily work.”

Three-time European champions Spain next go to Scotland, who saw off Cyprus 3-0 in their Group A opener after Scott McTominay scored twice late on as a substitute at Hampden Park.

Cyprus finished with 10 men after Nicholas Ioannou was sent off for a second yellow in added time.

“It’s a really good start but we have to try and back it up on Tuesday against the Spanish,” said Scotland manager Steve Clarke.

Norway, who haven’t played at a major tournament since Euro 2000, will again be without Manchester City striker Haaland for next week’s trip to Georgia because of a groin problem.

Unlikely Welsh hero

Croatia, finalists and semi-finalists at the past two World Cups, conceded a last-gasp equaliser to kick off Group D as Wales debutant Nathan Broadhead tapped home a flick-on from a long throw.

“I got a bit overwhelmed to be honest, a bit emotional,” Broadhead, who plays for third-tier Ipswich, told S4C. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long.

“We needed a point, we came here to try and win but to get a point is good as well.”

Andrej Kramaric’s low shot from just outside the area had given Croatia the lead in Split against a Wales team beginning life after the retirement of their record goalscorer and captain Gareth Bale.

Luka Modric won his 163rd cap for Croatia, who have never lost a home European Championship qualifier — a run now spanning 36 matches dating back to 1994.

Turkey came from behind to defeat Armenia 2-1 in Yerevan as efforts from Orkun Kokcu and Kerem Akturkoglu cancelled out an early own goal by former Liverpool defender Ozan Kabak.

Renato Steffen scored a first-half hat-trick as Switzerland thrashed Belarus 5-0 in a game played behind closed doors in Serbia.

UEFA has banned Belarus from playing at home due to the country’s support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Granit Xhaka and Zeki Amdouni, on his second international appearance, added goals in the second half as Switzerland powered top of Group I.

Dennis Man and Denis Alibec were on target as Romania eased to a 2-0 win away to 10-man Andorra, while Israel drew 1-1 at home to Kosovo.

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Ronaldo wants to be ‘most capped player in history’

LISBON: Cristiano Ronaldo made no secret Wednesday of his ambition to notch up another world record — for the number of international caps — a day before Portugal face Liechtenstein in Euro 2024 qualifiers.

The 38-year-old was named in new Portugal coach Roberto Martinez’s first squad despite being dropped from the starting lineup for Portugal’s final matches of the World Cup in Qatar.

Ronaldo already holds the world record for men’s international goals, with 118, and the European men’s record of 196 caps, a tally that also equals the world landmark with Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa.

“Records are my motivation,” Ronaldo told reporters.

“I want to become the most capped player in history. That would make me proud.

“But it doesn’t stop there, I still want to be called up very often.”

Ronaldo’s international career began in August 2003 in a friendly against Kazakhstan and he has represented Portugal in every international competition since Euro 2004.

After the Liechtenstein match, Portugal face Luxemburg on Sunday.

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