With France, Belgium, Portugal, Spain and England all safely through to Euro 2024 in some comfort, all eyes have been on the other big names in European football this week, and there has been a huge sigh of relief in the Netherlands.
Ronald Koeman’s team has finally made it to the showcase in Germany thanks to a rocket of a finish from Hoffenheim striker Wout Weghorst in a 1-0 win over the Republic of Ireland. The win confirmed second place in Group B for the Oranje behind runaway winners France, who just put 14 goals past Gibralter, and the fanatical Dutch fans can now prepare to cross the border to Germany next summer. The Euro 2024 betting odds will place the Netherlands as a last eight candidate, but their supporters will be hoping for more.
There will be a sea of Orange in the stadia at the Euro finals and that is always a welcome sight, but it has been a nervous conclusion to the campaign. The Netherlands crucial victory over Ireland was much more comfortable than the score line suggests though, as the visitors only registered three shots throughout the game while their hosts fired 19 in on the Ireland goal.
There is still another giant of football in danger and a huge match in store on Monday night when reigning champions Italy visit Ukraine to compete for the second spot in Group C. With three wins from four the Azzurri seems to be finding form at the right time and they currently hold the second place. Both teams are assured of a play-off spot at least, but that is the last thing Italy would want to go through now, having missed out on two consecutive World Cups. Ukraine are at a big SBOTOP price of 4.64 to give the Azzurri another nightmare.
Haaland misses out again
When the best players in Europe line up in Germany next summer there will be one huge omission, and it’s a player who many defenders across Europe will be delighted to avoid; none other than Erling Braut Haaland. His team, Norway, weren’t even playing on Saturday night when they went out of the competition. They needed Israel to beat Romania to keep their hopes alive but the Romanians confirmed their place with a 2-1 win in Israel, coming back from a goal down.
Israel will meet Bosnia as the top two in the Path B play-offs but the door has been slammed shut on Norway. Haaland is yet to play at a major finals; in fact Norway haven’t been in a World Cup since 1998 or in a European Championships since 2000. For a team currently ranked 42nd in the world that is a big disappointment, particularly as their Scandinavian neighbours, Denmark and Sweden have been regular participants and even Finland and Iceland have graced the big finals.
With 27 goals in 29 internationals and an incredible 49 in 47 league games for Manchester City, Haaland is the most prolific goal scorer in world football and his absence from Germany 2024 will be a big miss. He didn’t feature in Norway’s final game with Scotland, a 3-3 draw.
Moldova still in it on Monday night
Even more annoyingly for Norway fans it seems that Moldova, officially the fifth worst team in Europe, can still qualify for Germany 2024. After a distinctly average set of Euro 2024 results Moldova, ranked 157th in the world and with just two wins under their belts, can still qualify for their first ever tournament with a win over the Czech Republic on Monday night.
Only the minnows from Malta, Andorra, San Marino and Liechtenstein rank lower than Moldova who kept their hopes alive thanks to a late equaliser against Group E leaders Albania on Friday. They currently sit fourth in Group E but can rise to second place if they manage to beat the Czech Republic, who just need to avoid defeat to book their tickets to Germany.
On the face of it, you would expect the Czechs, who come into the game on the back of a hard earned 1-1 draw with Poland, to at least match Moldova but they do have one or two issues. Inspirational captain Tomas Soucek, who scored the Czech’s goal against the Poles, suffered a head injury and he will be assessed before the game. And three of the Czechs’ other players had a brain freeze in the aftermath of he clash with Poland, going out partying…and getting caught.
Soucek’s West Ham team-mate Vladimir Coufal, along with Jakub Brabec and Jan Kuchta, was sent home after being spotted in a nightclub in Olomouc on Saturday night. These issues can only help the Moldovans who have shown they are competitive, by matching the top team in the group last time out. If Moldova make it to the finals and Italy go out that would be a story!
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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