England consolidated their perfect record in style with a 7-0 demolition of North Macedonia, while Ukraine needed a penalty to beat Malta, sending Italy third in their EURO 2024 qualifying group.
The Azzurri did not play this week, as they were already involved in the Nations League Final Four, where they lost 2-1 to Spain and beat hosts the Netherlands 3-2 to secure the bronze medal in the tournament.
That means they have still only played two games in the EURO 2024 qualifying group and have three points.
Ukraine came back from 2-0 down to beat North Macedonia 3-2 at the weekend, then this afternoon scraped a 1-0 win over Malta thanks only to a rather soft penalty kick converted by Viktor Tsygankov, so are now second with six points from three matches.
England have played four games already and won all of them, so are comfortably out in front with 12 points.
Group C
| Rank | Teams | Played | Goal difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | 8 | 18 | 20 |
| 2 | Italy | 8 | 7 | 14 |
| 3 | Ukraine | 8 | 3 | 14 |
| 4 | North Macedonia | 8 | -10 | 8 |
| 5 | Malta | 8 | -18 | 0 |
Gareth Southgate’s men swept North Macedonia aside 7-0 in Manchester tonight, including a Bukayo Saka hat-trick.
The top two teams from each group are automatically qualified for the EURO 2024 tournament, with more places decided by play-offs.
This evening’s results mean Italy are third with three points from two games, but have a goal difference of +1 compared to North Macedonia’s -7.
The qualifiers resume on September 9 with North Macedonia-Italy and Ukraine-England, then on September 12 there’s Italy-Ukraine and Malta-North Macedonia.
A really bad night. Forza Italia…
😰 😳
This is what being an Azzurri fan is – top of the world then average but current form is terrible. Mancini has to go simple. Italy usually bounce back when everyone doubts them. FORZA AZZURRI