Albania and Denmark stamped their ticket
MADRID, Nov. 17 (.) –
The Italian soccer team thrashed North Macedonia (5-2) this Friday to get closer to a difficult ticket to Euro 2024 within Group C, while Albania and Denmark sealed their mathematical classification with the last day remaining.
Italy was at risk at the Olympic Stadium in Rome and had Federico Chiesa as a hero, with a double at the end of the first half, after Jorginho had forgiven a penalty. However, Jani Atanasov’s reply, with two other goals, gave excitement. Luciano Spalletti’s men found peace with Giacomo Raspadori 10 minutes from time.
The win at the Olympic Stadium leaves Italy with 13 points, second, tied with Ukraine, its rival on Monday on the last day. Thus, a tie would give Italy the second ticket to the EURO from Group C, which England leads with 19 points to aim for the top seed in the draw for the continental tournament.
The ‘Three Lions’, with Cole Palmer’s debut, beat Malta (2-0) in a duel that led to a rout with a visiting own goal in the eighth minute. Wembley saw an emotional tribute to the recently deceased Sir Bobby Charlton, although the goals were hard to come by until Harry Kane made it 2-0 in the 75th minute.
On the other hand, Albania added the point they needed, a 1-1 away win in Moldova, within Group E to ensure their presence in Germany next summer. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic kept second place with a 1-1 against Robert Lewandowski’s Poland, which does not depend on itself to even play in the play-offs.
Furthermore, in the direct duel between Denmark and Slovenia for the EURO ticket from Group H, the Danish team won (2-1) with a goal from Thomas Delaney in the second half. The Parken Stadium in Copenhagen celebrated qualification for the continental tournament, while Slovenia will have another ‘final’ on Monday against Kazakhstan with both competing for second place.
