Group B: France fulfills duty
- Gibraltar 0-3 France
Olivier Giroud opened the score early in the game. In the 3rd minute, Kingsley Coman was allowed to hit a cross to Giroud, who was criminally left alone. The French center forward gratefully accepted the invitation and nodded off to make it 1-0. Shortly before the break, Kylian Mbappé increased the penalty. Not much happened until the 78th minute before Gibraltar defender Aymen Mouelhi steered the ball into his own goal.
- Greece 2-1 Ireland
Group C: England are not showing any weaknesses
Coach Gareth Southgate’s side showed no problems against Malta. In the 4-0 win, England scored all the goals in the first half. Maltese Ferdinando Apap unluckily scored in his own goal to make it 1-0. Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold doubled before Harry Kane put the lid on it with a 3-0 penalty. Then in the 2nd half, Southgate took various forces off the field and his team managed the win effortlessly. Substitute Callum Wilson scored the final 4-0 point with his penalty.
- North Macedonia – Ukraine 2:3
After the first half, North Macedonia looked like the sure winner. With a double strike, the “Red Lions” went in front through goals from Enis Bardhi (31st) and Eljif Elmas (39th). But the Ukrainians didn’t give up and, for their part, scored a double strike. Within 6 minutes, Ilya Zabarnyi (62nd) and Yukhym Konoplya (67th) equalized again. When North Macedonia defender Visar Musliu saw the yellow card for the second time and was thrown off the field, the Ukrainians pushed for victory. Viktor Tsygankov scored the much-celebrated winner for Ukraine in the 83rd minute.
Group D: Late Drama in Latvia
The Latvians celebrated in the 94th minute: Kristers Tobers redeemed the Latvian fans with his goal to make it 2:2. However, the party mood quickly faded. Just two minutes after the equaliser, Irfan Can Kahveci scored Turkey’s winner. A lively game had developed beforehand. The combative Latvians were not discouraged by falling behind twice and a red card, but were not rewarded in the end.
Group H: Denmark in luck
- Denmark 1-0 Northern Ireland
The Danish mini-victory was almost in jeopardy, but thanks to the VAR, the Scandinavians saved the 1-0 lead over time. Callum Marshall scored for the Northern Irish in the 95th minute to make it supposedly 1-1. Supposedly because Charles Dion was offside. Although he didn’t touch the ball, he still intervened in the game by blocking Kasper Schmeichel’s sight in the Danes’ goal. Jonas Wind scored the winning goal for Denmark in the 47th minute of the game.
- Finland 2-0 Slovenia
- San Marino 0-3 Kazakhstan