Tag: Euro Qualifiers

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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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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OSLO: Norway’s star striker Erling Haaland will miss the country’s next two Euro qualifiers against Spain and Georgia due to a groin injury, the Norwegian FA said Tuesday.

Haaland, who recently scored five goals for his club Manchester City against Leipzig in the Champions League and a hat-trick against Burnley in the FA Cup, complained about groin pain following the Burnley game over the weekend.

The Norwegian Football Federation said Haaland had left the national team’s training camp in Marbella, Spain, to undergo a medical follow-up with his Premier League club.

“We hoped it was just a discomfort that would pass by Saturday, but after tests and examinations yesterday it is clear that he will not be ready for the games against Spain and Georgia,” team doctor Ola Sand was quoted as saying in a statement.

Norway will play two away games in their Euro 2024 qualifying group A debut, first against Spain in Malaga on Saturday and Georgia in Batumi on Tuesday.

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STOCKHOLM: AC Milan’s veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was named on Thursday in Sweden’s squad for this month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers, when he could break Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff’s age record.

Ibrahimovic, 41, last featured for his country 12 months ago and will beat Zoff’s Euro qualifier milestone of 40 years and 90 days set in 1983 if he features in games against Belgium on March 24 or Azerbaijan on March 27.

He has played just three game for Milan this season after recovering from a knee issue.

“Zlatan has made three slightly longer substitutions now in Milan and feels fit and in decent shape even though he has been away for a while,” coach Janne Andersson said in a statement.

“From that perspective, I think he can contribute. Especially on the pitch, but also off the pitch,” Andersson added.

Should Sweden make it all the way to next year’s competition in Germany, Ibrahimovic could also beat the record set by Hungary’s Gabor Kiraly, who played in the 2016 edition aged 40.

After Sweden failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup Zlatan said last year that he will “continue as long as I can,” and he has said he is “panicking” at the prospect of retiring.

The three countries are all in the qualifying group F, together with Estonia and Austria, with the top two reaching the finals.