Mateo Kovacic’s double gives Croatia the 2:0 victory over Turkey
Mateo Kovacic, Chelsea’s Croatian midfielder scored twice in the first half of last night’s victory against Turkey, moving Croatia into first place in Group D alongside Wales on four points.
The World Cup 2018 silver & 2022 bronze medalists won in Bursa after being held to a 1-1 tie by Robert Page’s team the previous week in Split.
In his previous 91 appearances, Kovacic had only scored three times for his nation, making him an unexpected source of Croatia’s goals.
Scotland overtake Norway following a tie in Georgia
In the Euro 2024 qualifying match, Georgia and Norway drew 1-1 in Tbilisi, leaving Scotland in charge of Group A. Scotland defeated Spain at Hampden Park thanks to a Scott McTominay double, putting them three points clear at the top of the group and five ahead of Norway after two games.
Alexander Sorloth’s great opening shot gave Stale Solbakken’s team the advantage over Georgia, but Georges Mikautadze cancelled it out an hour later.
Romania and Switzerland are in charge of Group I
With goals from Ruben Vargas, Zeki Amdouni, and Silvan Widmer, Switzerland defeated Israel 3-0 to retain their perfect record in Group I.
In another Group I match, Nicolae Stancui and Andrei Burca scored early goals to give Romania a 2-1 victory against Belarus in Bucharest. However, the visitors fought back and cut the lead to one goal with Vladislav Morozov’s goal four minutes from time.
After a 1-1 draw in Kosovo, where Edon Zhegrova had given the hosts the lead in the 59th minute, Albert Rosas, the hero of his nation, Andorra, moved the principality over Belarus in the standings.
Belgium beat Germany in a friendly match
Domenico Tedesco’s team, Belgium, battled to a 3-2 friendly victory in Germany, giving him two victories in as many games, and increasing pressure on the host nation of Euro 2024
In Cologne, Belgium defeated Germany for the first time since 1954, as both sides were desperate to recover from their shocking World Cup group stage defeats in December.
Germany was outmatched in the first half as Belgium attacked at will and scored the game’s first goal in the sixth minute after a brilliant five-pass play from deep inside its half. Yannick Carrasco was unmarked and had plenty of room on the left, so he rifled the ball home.
After a not-so-great German defence, Kevin De Bruyne slipped the ball through for Romelu Lukaku to score from within the box before the hosts had a chance to react.
In their first Group F Euro 2024 Qualifier victory against Sweden on Friday, the Belgian striker also scored a hat-trick. He had the chance to score again in the 20th minute, but his powerful header hit the crossbar.
Niclas Fullkrug, a striker, converted a penalty on the stroke of halftime to give Germany, who defeated Peru 2-0 on Saturday, their first international victory since their World Cup elimination in Qatar. This was Fullkrug’s sixth goal in six international contests.
Despite a more animated second half, the hosts nevertheless let up a third goal, which was scored by De Bruyne after another quick Belgium move.
In the 88th minute, Serge Gnabry reduced the deficit, but it was not sufficient to ease Hansi Flick’s strain.
