Thursday’s qualifying: Stanciu left the Euro, complications for the World Cup medalist

Thursday’s Euro 2024 qualifying football programme offered many surprises. The Czechs were beaten by Albania, the Romanians lost to Belarus and the Armenians blew their qualifying campaign.

In the Czech group, besides the blunder of our national team, the Poles confirmed their role as the favourite. They won 2:0 in the Faroe Islands and leapfrogged the Czechs. However, they have only a point lead and the Czechs have a game in hand.

In Group A, the Scots held a goalless draw in Spain for a long time, but eventually lost 0:2. The Norwegians lost to Cyprus and with a 4:0 win theoretically stayed in the race for direct promotion.

The Scots remain at the top of the group with 15 points, while the second-placed Spaniards are three points worse off but have a game in hand. The Norwegians are two points behind second place, with a game to play. Georgia and Cyprus are out.

It was a day of surprises. The Turks maintained their one-goal lead after a mistake by Croatia’s Dominik Livakovic until the final whistle. Armenia exploded in Latvia, falling 0:2.

The Turks are now ahead in the table. The Croatians are three points behind but have a game in hand. Armenia are probably out of the game with the loss, they are down three points. So does Wales, but they have a game in hand.

In Group I, the conflict in Israel has meant that the local footballers have not played Switzerland. The Romanians only drew with Belarus, while Kosovo, as expected, lost 3-0 to Andorra.

The Swiss still hold the first place, with the Romanians a point behind and the Israelis three points behind. However, both competitors of captain Nicolae Stancio’s team have one match to play, so Romania is under pressure.

Source: UEFA