In the early morning of March 24, Beijing time, the first round of the 2024 European Cup qualifiers ended a number of matches, Italy lost 1-2 to England, Portugal defeated Lestenstein 4-0, Denmark defeated Finland 3-1, and San Marino lost 0-2 to Northern Ireland.
Italy vs England
It's a repeat of the last European Cup final, with Italy eager to sweep away the spectre of missing the World Cup in the qualifier stage and England aiming to complete the revenge of the European Cup defeat. Rice and Kane combined to give England a 2-0 lead in the first half, and Retegui pulled Italy back in the second half, only to lose 2-1 and the reigning European Championship champions were given a black start.
Statistically, it was Italy's first defeat to England in their last seven meetings, after a record of three wins and three draws unbeaten, the last time losing was in a friendly in 2012, when they fell 2-1 away. In addition, it was the first time in the history of the Italian team that it had lost to England in an official match, setting a humiliating record.
Portugal vs Array Stanstein
According to statistics, the last time the two teams met was in August 2009, when Cristiano Ronaldo was absent and Portugal beat Steung Stein 3-0, and met again after 14 years. Now that Cristiano Ronaldo continues to be selected for the national team, new manager Martinez has given him another chance to start, who also lived up to expectations, scoring twice, one from a penalty and one from a free kick, plus a combined goal from Joao Cancelo and B, resulting in a comfortable 4-0 victory for Portugal.
In this match, Ronaldo directly set 7 records, becoming the player with the most appearances in the history of the men's national team with 197 appearances, while scoring the 120th goal of the national team, the 100th goal of the official national team, the 830th goal of his career, the 33rd goal of the European Preliminary Round, the first goal of his career, and the goal for the Portuguese national team for 20 consecutive years.
Denmark vs Finland
Encountering a group stage round at the 2022 World Cup has given Denmark the title of a pseudo-powerhouse. This time in the European Championship qualifiers, Denmark drew a lot, played a normal and stable final, opened the game against Finland, relying on Hoylund's hat-trick in the 21st, 82nd and 90th minutes, and finally won 3-1.
San Marino against Northern Ireland
As the penultimate fish belly in football, San Marino still did not break the winless record against Northern Ireland at home, and eventually fell 0-2. According to statistics, San Marino's winning streak has expanded to 128, still the longest consecutive men's national team in football, the last time won in 2004, when they beat Liechtenstein 1-0, which is the only victory the team has won so far.