Italy got its wish, the dark horse lost 0-3, and Kane had no chance of surpassing Haaland
The European Championship qualifiers have come to an end, with multiple teams fighting for a direct qualifier. On this matchday, England drew 1-1 with North Macedonia and ended undefeated. Italy withstood the indiscriminate bombardment of its opponents, drew 0-0 with Ukraine, and qualified for the main tournament as they wished. In addition, the Czech Republic beat Moldova 3-0 to end their opponents' hopes of qualifying. Slovenia beat Kazakhstan 2-1 to finish top of the group.
England 1-1 North Macedonia
England qualified two rounds early and secured top spot in the group, with Gareth Southgate unloading all his baggage and making a heavy rotation for the game, with Manchester City youngster Rico Lewis making his international debut and Harry Kane on the bench. It was supposed to be a good opportunity to train the troops, but I didn't expect the Three Lions who were paddling to almost get rid of it.
In the 15th minute, Grealish knocked back from the left side of the penalty area, and the follow-up Rice blasted a high-quality heavy cannon, which had no choice but to hit the post and pop up. In the 24th minute, Maguire played Infernal Affairs, first making a mistake in the back pass and then tackling Elmas in the box, but the referee said it was fine.
In the 38th minute, Rico Lewis fought for the top in the penalty area and threw his hand in the face of the opposing striker, and the referee finally awarded a penalty after watching VAR. Pickford then saved the ball but couldn't go wide, with the former slotting home to send the Three Lions 1-0 down into the dressing room.
Back in the second half, Bukayo Saka broke down the right and Grealish smashed the ball into the empty net at the back post, but the referee signalled for offside. In the 58th minute, Kane replaced Watkins, who was not playing well, and the effect was quite obvious. Just 40 seconds later, Foden crossed from a corner and Kane headed home, but the goal was officially counted as an own goal by Atanasov.
It's bad news for Kane, who was expected to surpass Erling Haaland in goals of the year, but the two are now evenly matched. In the end, England drew 1-1 with North Macedonia and ended the European qualifiers with an unbeaten record.
Italy 0-0 Ukraine
After beating North Macedonia 5-2 at home in the last round, Italy also held the initiative to advance in their hands, and this game is a away game to challenge Ukraine, and only a draw will be able to qualify. However, a draw will qualify, and it is not so easy to play, and Italy will be bombarded by opponents on the road.
In the 14th minute of the first half, Tsygankov went straight to the front and directly penetrated Barella and Jorginho, but unfortunately Sudakov's powerful shot was defused by Donnarumma. In the 29th minute, Chiesa Jr. split the ball in the middle, but Frattesi's one-handed shot was cleared by Trubin.
Three minutes later, Chiesa Jr. once again showed his ability, breaking down the left and sweeping the back post, Raspadori scooped in the air to miss consecutive chances. After the rematch, Ukraine gradually took over the game, bombing around Italy's goal. In the 66th minute, Tsygankov broke through the cross from the right, Di Lorenzo's header was cleared by a mistake to give a gift, Mudryk flanked and pushed at the back point, Donnarumma arrived in time and flew to keep the ball away.
Another minute later, Tsygankov crossed again, Mudryk couldn't get the ball in the middle, and Italy escaped again. In stoppage time, Mudryk crossed in the box and went down under Cristante's defence, but Manzano refused to award a penalty and Italy breathed a sigh of relief.
In the end, Italy drew 0-0 with Ukraine, and while retreating from the away side, they also successfully qualified for the European Championship as the second in the group through the advantage of each other's records.
Czech Republic 3-0 Moldova
In addition to the two giants, the contest between the Czech Republic and Moldova also affects people's hearts. Before this game, the Czech Republic had 3 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss, accumulating 12 points and temporarily ranking second in the standings. Moldova, on the other hand, has 10 points with 2 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss, although it ranks fourth, but if it wins, it will directly overtake its opponent and get a direct place.
A life-and-death battle was on the horizon, and the Czech Republic did not give its opponent any chance. In the 14th minute, Tomas Sauri sent a straight stopper, Dojera drove straight into with the ball, and scored with a single push, 1-0!
In the 72nd minute, the Czech Republic's corner kick offensive, Tomas Sauri received a cross from his teammates, and scored another goal with a header, 2-0! Before the end of the game, Soucek scored a volley in the middle of the penalty area, completely killing the suspense of the game, and the Czech Republic defeated the opponent 3-0 and qualified as he wished.
For Moldova, ranked 157th in the FIFA rankings, the result was a bit brutal, as they fought until the final round and failed to reach the main draw of the European Championship for the first time.
In the rest of the games, Slovenia beat Kazakhstan 2-1 to successfully hold on to the top two places in the standings and also qualify for the straight place. As a result, 20 teams have already qualified for the European Championships, leaving one direct place between Croatia and Wales.