2023-10-17 00:00:29
Dutch captain Van Dijk gave his team the victory. ANGELOS TZORTZINIS / AFP
TOPS/FLOPS – In an evening with six matches on the program, some teams took a big step towards qualification while others were almost eliminated.
TOPS
The Netherlands are reassured
A few days after losing at home to the French team, the Dutch selection reassured itself on Monday evening by winning by the smallest of margins (1-0) in Greece. Despite a first penalty saved by Greek goalkeeper Valchodimos in the first half, captain Van Dijk took responsibility at the end of the match to strike the second shot on goal and give his team the advantage. In a game marked by a low technical level, the Oranje finally got the better of their opponents and are giving themselves some breathing room in these qualifications. The Greeks may have regrets.
A fiery first half for the Seleção
After twenty minutes of play in Bosnia, mass was said. Thanks to a double from Cristiano Ronaldo, who brought his number of selection goals to 125, and a third from Bruno Fernandes, Portugal was able to have a quiet evening. Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix added to the score, and at halftime the score was 5 to 0. Even if the score did not change in the second half, the Portuguese seemed on a mission: 24 points obtained in 8 matches , the maximum, for 32 goals scored and two conceded. Already assured of finishing first in their group, the walk in the park continues for the Seleção.
Group J: suspense for second place
Behind Portugal, unattainable and certain to finish first in its group, second place is expensive: three nations can still hope to obtain it. Iceland, thanks to its big victory over Liechtenstein (4-0), is hanging on. Luxembourg suffered a setback but remains in the game despite the defeat against the Slovaks (0-1), who seem to have taken the advantage. The last two days are likely to be exciting in this J group.
Read alsoEuro 2024 qualifiers: the group rankings
FLOPS
Greek fans show a sad image of football
It’s an almost usual image but one to which we refuse to get used. While the Netherlands earned two penalties in the match against Greece, Greek fans used lasers to obstruct the vision of the shooters. First that of Weghorst, whose shot on goal was also stopped by goalkeeper Vlachodimos. Then against Van Dijk in the 93rd minute. Even if the Dutch captain converted his shot on goal, we cannot accept such events in stadiums. We hope to no longer see this type of gesture during the final days of the playoffs.
Luxembourg is moving away from the dream
Even if all hope is not yet in vain, Luxembourg missed the boat on Monday evening. The team from the country of 640,000 inhabitants, however, had a unique opportunity. In the event of victory, she would have been perfectly placed to qualify for the first major tournament in Luxembourg’s history. But the Slovak goal in the 77th minute brought the supporters back to earth. From now on, to hope to compete in Euro 2024, we will have to win against Bosnia and Luxembourg and hope for two Slovak defeats against Iceland and Bosnia. Not impossible, but improbable.
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