By Robert Wheeler
- England and Scotland both qualify
- Wales won a crucial fixture
- Win and a defeat for Northern Ireland
Europe – England and Scotland will both be at the European Championships in Germany next year.
 |
England have qualified
England defeated Italy 3-1 at Wembley to book their place at the European Championships next year. The victory also avenged their defeat in the Euro 2020 final.
Gianluca Scamacca who never really got going for West Ham United at the London Stadium scored in the capital to give Italy the lead. However, Jude Bellingham was then brought down in the box which led to Harry Kane equalising from the spot.
Marcus Rashford then finished off a quick England counter-attack to give his side the advantage. The victory was then secured when Kane’s determined run led to him making it three for England.
At the last European Championships, Gareth Southgate‘s side came agonisingly close to glory as they lost to the Azzurri on penalties. Now they have another chance at going one step further in Germany.
Scotland are going to Germany
Scotland suffered their first defeat of this qualifying campaign as they lost 2-0 to Spain at the Estadio de La Cartuja. Scott McTominay had thought he had given his side the lead with a free-kick from a tight angle but for VAR to rule it out for a marginal offside.
Alvaro Morata then gave the home side the lead and a slip from Aaron Hickey led to Oihan Sancet sealing the victory. Despite the result, Steve Clarke‘s team qualified as Spain defeated Norway. This means that the Scots will be going to back-to-back European Championships.
Wales claim important three points
Wales’ qualification process has been mixed but they defeated Croatia to leapfrog themselves into second place in Group D. Harry Wilson scored both goals in a 2-1 victory at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Wilson’s first goal came after half-time as he clipped the ball over Dominik Livakovic. The Welsh forward then doubled their lead with a header from Dan James’ cross. The visitors got one back through Mario Pasalic but it was too little too late.
Win and a loss for Northern Ireland
After five defeats in a row, Northern Ireland defeated San Marino 3-0 in a comfortable night at Windsor Park. Paul Smyth gave them an early lead with a fantastic scissor kick.
Smyth then turned provider as he crossed in for Josh Magennis to double their lead. VAR then ruled out Smyth’s volley that would have been his second of the game. However, Conor McMenamin was on hand to seal the victory with a tap-in.
However, Michael O’Neill‘s side were brought back down to earth as they then lost to Slovenia 1-0. Adam Cerin got the goal from a free-kick and any hope of Northern Ireland getting back into the game was dashed when Shea Charles was sent off.
The European Championship qualifiers will return on November 15.
 |
| Follow Britwatch - Sport in General, Brits in Particular! | |
|---|---|
| Soundcloud | |
| YouTube | |
| We may receive compensation for products purchased via affiliate links on this website | |