A little reprieve! Italy dominated North Macedonia 5-2 this Friday evening in Rome, but must still pocket at least one point next Monday against Ukraine to validate its ticket for Euro 2024 in Germany (from June 14 to 14 July).
The reigning European champions won thanks in particular to a double from Federico Chiesa (41 and 45 + 2nd), not without experiencing a scare when Jani Atanasov (52nd and 74th) reduced the score to 3-2. Italy now has 13 points, like Ukraine, but has moved back to 2nd place in Group C, qualifying for the German Euro, thanks to its better goal difference (+7 against +3). A draw against the Ukrainians on Monday in Leverkusen will therefore be necessary to validate qualification.
In the same group, the English, finalists of the event in 2021, deprived of Jude Bellingham and short of ideas, barely beat Malta (2-0) at Wembley.
For their part, Albania and Denmark became the 12th and 13th countries qualified for Euro 2024, thanks to a 1-1 draw in Moldova and a 2-1 victory against Slovenia respectively.
The Danes qualified thanks to their 2-1 victory in Copenhagen and are even guaranteed to finish at the top of Group H. They won thanks to goals from Mæhle and Delaney and will return to a competition where they had climbed to semi-final during the last edition, in 2021.
There are 11 tickets left to be awarded
After this defeat, the Slovenes will be able to settle for a draw on a decisive final day against Kazakhstan, who can dream of a historic first qualification in the event of victory on Monday.
Before them, the Albanians had qualified in Chisinau, obtaining the point from the draw they lacked. They will take part in their second Euro in Germany, after the 2016 edition played in France. The players of Brazilian coach Sylvinho, who played on the Lyon bench, are assured, one day before the end of the qualifying phase, of finishing in one of the first two places in their group, with 14 points in seven matches, while that Moldova, 3rd, only has 10. They only lost one match, on the first day, in Poland (1-0).
In their group, the second ticket to Germany will be played between the Czech Republic and Moldova, while a draw will be enough for the Czechs (12 pts) to leave the Moldovans (10 pts) behind them.
The eleven teams that have already qualified are Germany, as host country, Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain, Scotland, Turkey, Austria, England, Hungary and Slovakia. There are therefore 11 tickets left to be allocated, between the end of qualifying and the play-offs.
