The Netherlands and Denmark achieved valuable victories this Sunday in the qualifying phase for Euro 2024, as visitors to Ireland (2-1) and Finland (1-0) respectively, while Poland lost 2- 0 in Albania and the purpose is seriously complicated.
A loss to Poland would leave one of the continent’s biggest stars, Robert Lewandowski, out of next year’s event in Germany.
The Netherlands achieved a crucial victory over Ireland in Dublin which allowed it to remain second in group A, when the top two in each group qualify.
Their victory came with a comeback. Adam Idah put the Irish ahead with a penalty in the 3rd minute, but the ‘Oranje’ got back into the game with a penalty taken by Cody Gakpo (18) and a determined goal from Wout Weghorst (56).
After losing 4-0 to France on the first day, the Netherlands chained three victories that allowed it to add 9 points, as did Greece (3rd), which beat Gibraltar 5-0 on Sunday and has a game to play more than the Dutch.
France, who did not play today, comfortably lead the group, with a whopping 15 points.
Lewandowski’s Poland were left in a very difficult situation when they lost 2-0 on their trip to Albania, thanks to goals from Jasir Asani (37) and Mirlind Daku (62).
Poland had already suffered to beat a weak Faroe Islands team at home on Thursday, but Lewandowski showed up in the last half to avert disaster. This time the Barcelona striker could not score and his team ran out of firepower.
In five games, Poland has a record of two wins and three losses, a total of 6 points, in the fourth position. It was even surpassed today by Moldova (3rd), who this Sunday won 1-0 against the lowly Faroe Islands.
The Moldovans have 8 points, the same as the Czech Republic (2nd), who did not play in the group this Sunday, while Albania, with three points added, is the surprising leader of the group with 10 points.
Group G: Serbia recovers
After the slip suffered on Thursday when they lost at home to Hungary and lost the lead of the group, Serbia got back on track with a 3-1 victory in their visit to Lithuania.
Aleksandar Mitrovic was the star of the night by scoring three goals for the Serbians.
In the classification, Serbia (2nd) reached Hungary by 10 points, remaining the leader due to the better goal difference. Hiding, two points away, is Montenegro (8th), who did not disappoint today and defeated bottom Bulgaria 2-1.
Serbia and Montenegro have not qualified for a European Championship since their political split in 2006. They last competed in the continental tournament in 2000, when they were united as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Group H: Finland relinquishes the lead
At the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland defended its surprising lead in group H, but to no avail: it lost 1-0 to Denmark.
The Danish victory came in the last part of the game, with a long-range shot by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (87) that goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky could not reach.
Denmark already beat Finland on the first day of this qualifying phase, last March at home. These are the two games the Finns have lost in the group, since they have won the other four.
In the classification, Slovenia, who won 4-0 in San Marino, is the leader with 13 points, the same as Denmark (2nd). Finland fell to third place, with 12 points, the same as Kazakhstan, which defeated Northern Ireland 1-0 (5th), without a place in this race.
