Solid Italy and ruthless Portugal both seal away wins | OneFootball

There were eight games on the Euro 2024 qualifying slate today, and here is what went down around the grounds.

Italy register win with impressive road showing

Scorers: Retegui 14′, Pessina 27′

Italy’s new generation finally got themselves in the win column with an impressive away win in Malta to reclaim second place in Group C.

Italy looked to right their wrongs after losing to England from the off, and they were rewarded for their efforts inside of 15 minutes, as the new boy Mateo Retegui headed home his second goal in two games to grab the lead.

Mancini’s men continued to press the hosts, and found their second goal before the half-hour mark, as Matteo Pessina tapped the ball home from point-blank range.

Any wind in the Malta sails appeared to fade away with the second Italian goal, allowing the visitors to cruise into the break with a comfortable lead.

Italy’s attacking thrust weakened in the second half after a flurry of changes, but in typical Mancini fashion the Azzurri controlled the final proceedings to nab their first win in Group C.

Clinical Portugal cruise past Luxembourg

Scorers: Ronaldo 9′, Félix 15′, Silva 18′, Otávio 77′, Leão 88′

A ruthless showing in front of goal saw Portugal breeze past Group J whipping boys Luxembourg to secure a second win from their first two EURO 2024 qualifying games.

It did not take long for Cristiano Ronaldo to stab home from close range after Nuno Mendes nodded the ball down in front of goal, giving Portugal the lead inside of 10 minutes.

It quickly went from bad to worse for Luxembourg, as Portugal nabbed two more goals in quick succession, with João Félix and Bernardo Silva both heading in respectively superb fashion.

With those strikes, Portugal saw their first three attempts on target find the back of net. And after a solid start from the home side, Luxembourg were all but out of the tie inside of 20 minutes.

Ronaldo inflicted more pain on the home side, finishing off his brace after being played in behind by Bruno Fernandes to hand Portugal a sensational four-goal lead in the first half.

Late strikes from substitutes Otávio and Rafael Leão was all the Portuguese needed to cap off their supreme performance on the night, ensuring Roberto Martinez collected his second win in qualifying as Portugal boss.

England collect comfortable victory over Ukraine

Scorers: Kane 37′, Saka 39′

Bukayo Saka lead England to a comfortable victory over Group C foes Ukraine, winning the game thanks to two goals in two minutes late in the first half.

Ukraine proved to be no slouch for England in the opening exchanges, as both sides traded chances.

The Three Lions took control of possession as time wore on in the opening 45 minutes, but remained fairly blunt in front of goal.

Harry Kane looked set to launch England into the lead, but the Spurs man sent his point-blank effort over the bar, and looked to potentially be in an offside position should it have found the back of the net.

Kane would not be denied from close range a second time, as he was found by an inch-perfect Bukayo Saka cross at the back-post for a tap-in to snatch England the lead in the final ten minutes of the half.

England doubled their lead in style less than three minutes later, as Saka lashed a superb curling shot into the top corner to set Wembley alight before the break.

The hosts looked more than happy to sit on their lead as the second half wore on, almost as if trying to rest their legs by slowing the game down to a crawl.

While Ukraine had their flurries of attacking play, the ever-reliable England defence stood strong and saw the home side through to a second straight Group C victory.

Elsewhere, Kazakhstan pulled off the unthinkable over Denmark with a 3-2 comeback win!

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