Day of rest for group B of the Euro 2024 qualifiers, that of the France team, this Saturday was however rich in international matches for the European selections. Here’s what to remember from the evening’s matches.
Norway too short in Spain
Attractive on paper and promised to return soon to a major international competition, for the first time since Euro 2000, the Norwegian selection passed an important test in Spain, against the favorite of group A. Deprived of Erling Haaland, it lost (3-0), after having cracked at the end of the match, but not without having shown good dispositions.
Led very early after a goal from Dani Olmo (13th), Martin Odegaard and his teammates played evenly throughout the game, even getting an equalizing ball in the 80th, completely harvested by Alexander Sorloth. A failure from which they never recovered: in the process, they conceded two goals in quick succession (84th and 85th) from Joselu, for his first balls. The Espanyol striker, who discovered La Roja this week, will remember his first cap for life.
Croatia hooked by Wales
Croatia has long thought it had done the hardest against Wales, opening the scoring through Andrej Kramaric (28th). But the spectators of Stadion Poljud suffered a cold shower at the end of the match, while Luka Modric, who had just left the field, and his teammates were already congratulating each other. On a long touch sent into the area, Nathan Broadhead appeared at the far post to crucify at close range to crucify Dominik Livakovic (90 + 3) and offer the draw to his people.
Belarus humiliated by Switzerland
Threatened with exclusion by UEFA, because of the support of its government to Russia, Belarus received Switzerland on neutral ground, in Novi Sad (Serbia) this Saturday. Georgi Kondratiev’s players almost regretted being still there against those of the Nati, who crushed them (5-0) unceremoniously. Author of a hat-trick in the first half hour of the match, Renato Steffen put his selection in orbit, before Granit Xhaka (62nd) then Mohamed Amdouni (65th) finished the job.
Germany serious against Peru
Exempted from a qualifying match, Germany had scheduled a friendly against Peru to carry out some tests, without all their usual captains. Once again, the Mannschaft was able to count on the efficiency of Niclas Füllkrug, who offered victory to his team (2-0), by signing a double. The Werder Bremen striker, replacing during the World Cup, who is now at five goals in five selections, scored valuable points with Hans-Dieter Flick, who is still trying to solve the recurring problems of his team at the forefront.
But also…
In Group A, the same as Spain and Norway, Scotland did the job against Cyprus (3-0), with a double from Scott Mctominay. In Group B, which also includes Croatia and Wales, Turkey brought back three precious points from Armenia (1-2). In Group I, that of Switzerland and Belarus, Israel and Kosovo neutralized each other (1-1), while Romania won in Andorra (0-2).
