Alvaro Morata and Oihan Sancet on Thursday scored second-half goals as Spain ensured there would be no Scottish party with a 2-0 victory in their Euro 2024 Group A encounter, leaving a frustrated Scotland waiting to book a place in the finals.
Scotland lead the group with 15 points from their six games, having endured defeat for the first time in the campaign, while Spain have 12 points from five matches and Norway 10 from six.
Scotland will qualify if Norway fail to win at home to Spain tomorrow.
Photo: Reuters
The victory extends Spain’s winning run in home Euro qualifiers to 25 matches dating back to 2003, but they were kept at bay for much of the night by some brave Scotland defending, although the loss after 44 minutes of captain Andy Robertson to injury was a blow for the visitors.
Scotland thought they had scored the opener midway through the second half when Scott McTominay netted from a free-kick, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
“The big moments went against us,” Scotland midfielder John McGinn told Viaplay. “It’s a sore blow losing Robbo early, then thinking we’re ahead, we regroup and then they score. You need to be very careful what you say. I think everyone watching that game from a Scotland point of view, wherever you were, it just felt like we weren’t getting any 50-50 decisions.”
Ferran Torres found himself one-on-one with visiting goalkeeper Angus Gunn in the first minute, but put his shot wide and the hosts went closer when Mikel Merino’s shot crashed into the post.
McTominay’s free-kick from a tight angle squeezed in at the far post, but a video assistant referee check adjudged defender Jack Hendry to have been offside, before Spain finally made their possession count as Morata stooped to head home Jesus Navas’ cross.
The points were safe when Aaron Hickey’s slip under no pressure allowed Sancet to score from a Joselu cross, although it did appear the last touch came off defender Ryan Porteous.
“It was tough today, at the end we take the three points and we’re very happy with that,” Morata told the BBC. “They [Scotland] defended good and they are very dangerous in counterattacks. When they have this spirit, they are a good team.”
Norway cruised to victory in the other game in the group as Erling Haaland scored twice in a 4-0 win in Cyprus.
Turkey claimed a 1-0 victory over Croatia thanks to a goal on the half hour by Baris Yilmaz as they went top of Group D with 13 points from six games, three ahead of Croatia, who have played a game fewer. In the other match in the group Latvia defeated Armenia 2-0.
Albania kept up their unexpected challenge for a first ever Euros qualification with a 3-1 victory over the 10-man Czech Republic.
A brace from Taulant Seferi helped them to the victory that leaves them top of the Group E on 13 points from six games, five ahead of the Czech Republic in third, who have a game in hand.
With fixtures to come against Moldova and the Faroe Islands, Albania stand on the brink of their greatest achievement in international soccer.
Sebastian Szymanski and Adam Buksa scored for Poland in a 2-0 win in the Faroe Islands that keeps them second in the group.
In Group I, Kosovo won 3-0 away in Andorra, while Belarus were held 0-0 at home by Romania.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
RSS