Gennaro Gattuso continued his excellent start as Italy coach as Moise Kean scored twice in an epic 5-4 victory against Israel to move second in Group I. Meanwhile, Kosovo secured just their second-ever FIFA World Cup™ qualifying victory with a 2-0 victory over Sweden in Group B.
Meanwhile, on a busy day of FIFA World Cup 26™ qualifying action, there were comfortable victories for Switzerland, Denmark, Croatia, Scotland and the Faroe Islands.
Group B
Kosovo goals: Elvis Rexhbecaj (26), Vedat Muriqi (42)
Kosovo stunned Sweden in Ljubljana to storm on to three points from two outings and leave their opponents on one. Both goals were from lightning, box-to-box counter attacks. Fortune favoured them with the first, with Elvis Rexhbecaj’s shot coming back off goalkeeper Robin Olsen, hitting him and going in. Vedat Muriqi got the second following neat play from Albion Rrahmani. Franco Foda’s side defended resolutely in the second half, with Ilir Krasniqi nullifying Viktor Gyokeres. Kosovo substitute Lindon Emerllahu saw red for a second bookable offence late on, but Sweden were unable to capitalise.
Switzerland goals: Nico Elvedi (18), Breel Embolo (33), Dan Ndoye (38)
Breel Embolo continued his fine goalscoring form as Switzerland surged to the top of the table with a comfortable victory over Slovenia. After scoring a brace against Kosovo, the Rennes forward headed home a Fabian Rieder corner midway through the first half to make it six goals in his past five internationals.
The home side had earlier taken the lead in the 18th minute when centre-back Nico Elvedi guided a Ruben Vargas corner into the net with a glancing header. In almost a carbon copy goal, Embolo doubled the home side’s lead on 33 minutes. Switzerland then made it 3-0 before the break when Dan Ndoye swept home a Remo Freuler cross into the roof of the net, which proved the final score.
Group C
Scotland goals: Che Adams (43), Zakhar Volkau own goal (65)
Scotland claimed their first win of these qualifiers with a 2-0 victory over Belarus. The Scots made much of the first-half running and came close when John McGinn struck the post. It was the Aston Villa man who unlocked the Belarusians, as his cross was knocked down by Scott McTominay for Che Adams to bundle home on the stroke of half-time.
Steve Clarke’s men continued to ask the questions after the interval. McTominay saw a header well saved before the ball ended up in the net again, as Zakhar Volkau headed a Billy Gilmour knock-down past his own goalkeeeper. Adams nearly made the game safe late on but his effort was cleared off the line.
Denmark goals: Mikkel Damsgaard (32), Andreas Christensen (62), Rasmus Hojlund (81)
Denmark recovered from a disappointing start to their campaign by running out worthy winners in Piraeus. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg robbed Dimitrios Kourmpelis on the edge of the Greece penalty area, and Mikkel Damsgaard swivelled balletically and picked out the top corner to snap the deadlock. Andreas Christensen was the surprise scorer of the second. The centre-back was allowed to cruise forward unchallenged and, from the edge of the box, he curled the ball into the bottom corner. The Danes’ third was bizarre. Substitute Patrick Dorgu rounded goalkeeper Konstantis Tzolakis but hit the post with an open goal to aim at. Fortunately for Brian Riemer’s side, Rasmus Hojlund was on hand to tap it home.
Group I
Israel goals: Manuel Locatelli own goal (16), Dor Peretz (52 & 89), Alessandro Bastoni own goal (87)
Italy goals: Moise Kean (40 & 54), Matteo Politano (58), Giacomo Raspadori (81), Sandro Tonali (90+1)
Italy edged a pulsating game to make it six points from a possible six under Gennaro Gattuso. A sliding Manuel Locatelli inadvertently put Israel ahead in Debrecen but, after he’d hit the bar at the other end, Moise Kean equalised. Following exquisite footwork from Manor Solomon, Dor Peretz rammed the ball into the top corner to restore Israel’s advantage, only for Kean to level again. Matteo Politano stylishly volleyed Italy in front after a glorious flick from Mateo Retegui, before Giacomo Raspadori’s canny, close-range finish. Another own-goal, this time from Alessandro Bastoni, reduced the deficit, and Peretz restored parity following a splendidly-worked free-kick. With time almost up, however, Sandro Tonali curler home a dramatic winner from outside the box.
Group L
Croatia goals: Kristijan Jakic (35), Andrej Kramaric (51), Edvin Kuc own goal (85), Ivan Perisic (90+2)
Kristijan Jakic scored a wonder goal as Croatia dispatched 10-man Montenegro to overtake Czechia on top of the table on goal difference. In the 35th minute, Jakic weaved his way past two defenders on the edge of the box before rifling in a powerful left-footed drive into the far corner to break the deadlock.
A goal down, Montenegro were soon a man down when Andrija Bulatovic received a second yellow card for taking down Croatia captain Luka Modric just before the half-time break. Andrej Kramaric then doubled Croatia’s lead in the 51st minute when he poked home Josip Stanisic’s flicked-on header from a Modric corner. As time ran out, Lovro Majer’s strike took a wicked deflection off Edvin Kuc before Ivan Perisic found the target.
Faroe Islands goal: Martin Agnarsson (68)
The Faroe Islands completed a double over Gibraltar with a 1-0 victory at Europa Point Stadium. The home side edged a first-half of few chances, but couldn’t maintain their level in the second period.
The game was decided shortly after the hour-mark, when substitute Joannes Kalso Danielsen cut the ball back for Brandur Hendriksson. His effort was saved but only as far as Martin Agnarsson who tapped home. Victory moves Eydun Klakstein’s side into third and six points off the top two, while Gibraltar remain without a point and are now officially out of the running.
What they said…
“It was a real nightmare today. They surprised us early on. We weren’t brilliant today. The win was crucial, but we’re crazy. We concede goals too easily; we need to improve. However, we always had the courage to react. We will enjoy these two victories.”
Gennaro Gattuso, Italy coach
“It was a crazy game, it was incredible, but we managed to get the result. I’m happy with how we approached these games. There’s a lot of work to do, but we’re happy with the mental aspect.”
Matteo Politano, Italy winger
How qualifying works
The first round will follow a familiar format, with 12 groups of four or five teams, and the section winners securing World Cup slots. The continent’s four remaining berths will then be settled in a 16-team UEFA play-off competition involving the 12 group runners-up and four best-ranked UEFA Nations League section winners.
