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Italy's Jorginho (left) and Ukraine's Alexander Zinchenko in a duel
Photo: CHRISTOPHER NEUNDORF / EPA
Defending champions Italy, Slovenia and the Czech Republic have qualified for the 2024 European Football Championship in Germany. This means that 20 of 24 European Championship participants have been confirmed. The Italians shook their way to the finals with a 0-0 draw in Leverkusen on Monday in a direct duel against Ukraine.
Despite the result, the game in Leverkusen was a duel with many scoring chances on both sides. The Ukrainians, who would have qualified directly with a win, have another chance to qualify for their fourth European Championship in a row in the playoffs in March. The match took place in Germany because of the Russian war of aggression. The Ukrainians had already played home games in Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The Italian players and fans made a statement for peace before kick-off when they clapped their hands during the Ukrainian anthem. Numerous families who had fled Ukraine were also invited to the game. The Ukrainian association expressed its gratitude with the message "We thank Germany for its hospitality" on numerous advertising boards.
A point would have been enough for the Italians, but they started actively and offensively. And the Ukrainians also had their chances again and again. The fact that the first half remained goalless did not fit with the course of the game. Which didn't change after the change. Italy were superior, but both teams had opportunities. The Italians were lucky in the third minute of stoppage time when there was no penalty after Francesco Acerbi tackled Michailo Mudrik in the penalty area.
Czech Republic wins comfortably, Slovenia celebrates late
The Czechs, on the other hand, celebrated a 3-0 (1-0) victory against Moldova. David Doudera (14th minute), Tomas Chory (72nd) and Tomas Soucek (90th) scored the goals for the hosts, who would have been satisfied with a draw.
Slovenia took an early lead against Kazakhstan through RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko (20', penalty). Ramazan Orasov then scored the equaliser in the 48th minute. In the 86th minute, Benjamin Verbic scored the winner for the Slovenians. Kazakhstan can also qualify for the European Championship via the playoffs.
Italy, the Czech Republic and Slovenia will each travel to Germany as group runners-up. Before Italy, the European Championship runners-up England, who had already been confirmed as group winners, remained unbeaten in North Macedonia by a 1-1 (0-1) advantage after an own goal by the hosts in the qualification. Due to the head-to-head comparison, the Czech Republic could not get past Albania, who successfully defended the top spot with a 0-0 draw against the Faroe Islands. The Slovenians were also level on points with group winners Denmark (0-2 in Northern Ireland).
As hosts, Germany was automatically confirmed as a participant in the European Championship. The last place to be awarded via regular qualification will be played out on Tuesday in Group D by World Cup bronze medallists Croatia and Wales in a long-distance duel. The remaining three spots will be played out in the playoffs at the end of March in three tournaments of four teams each.
max/dpa/sid