Author: Amrit Santlani
Monday night’s UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers were marred by a tragic incident when two fans wearing Sweden shirts were shot dead in Brussels. The match between Sweden and Belgium was abandoned after half-time. Elsewhere, Portugal scored five goals against Bosnia-Herzegovina, while Virgil van Dijk scored a 93rd-minute penalty to give the Netherlands a 1-0 win over Greece.
Belgium – Sweden – 1-1 (Lukaku 31 (penalty) – Gyokeres 15) – match canceled
A few hours before the start of the match, two Swedish fans were shot dead a few kilometers from the stadium, and another person was injured. Subsequently, a video appeared on social media in which the gunman claimed to be associated with the Daesh terrorist group and fled the scene armed with a machine gun.
To ensure safety, fans were not allowed to leave the stadium for around two hours. The police then escorted the visiting fans through security to the airport.
UEFA said: “Following the suspected terrorist attack in Brussels, after consultation with the two teams and the local police authorities, it has been decided that the UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying match between Belgium and Sweden will be canceled.”
The decision can be considered logical. In any case, Belgium have already secured their ticket to the European Championship, and the Swedes, even in theory, will not be able to dislodge Austria, who beat Azerbaijan (1-0), from second place.
Bosnia and Herzegovina – Portugal – 0:5
In Group J, Portugal, who have already booked their place at Euro 2024, had 6 shots on target during the match and scored 5 goals. And all in the first half.
Ronaldo scored twice in the 20th minute (his 126th and 127th goals for the national team). Bruno Fernandes scored his own goal and provided an assist for João Cancelo. João Felix scored four minutes before the end of the first half. The goal was ruled offside by the VAR and was awarded.
Note that in this qualifying round, Portugal won 8 out of a possible 8, with a goal difference of 32-2. Slovakia will probably leave the group with them. They beat Lubkemburg (1-0) on this matchday, and in the remaining two games they only need to pick up one point.
Greece – Netherlands – 0:1
In Athens, Greece hosted the Netherlands in a virtual play-off, with both teams fighting for second place. The guests controlled most of the contest, but only managed to break through the defense at the end.
Midway through the first half, Koulierakis brought down van Dijk, but Weghorst couldn’t beat Vlachodimos to the penalty spot. Bergwijn was later caught offside trying to link up with Weghort, but the Greeks held on for a 0-0 scoreline at half-time.
Bergwijn was prevented from scoring a minute after the restart, a misplaced pass from Konstantinos Mavropanos allowed the Dutch to counter-attack, but Vlachodimos made another important save to keep the goal intact. In the 93rd minute, Van Dijk converted a penalty, bringing a crucial victory for the guests. In injury time, Greek coach Poyet was shown a red card when the referee went to look at the VAR monitor to see if there was another Dutch penalty, but this time he decided not to award it.
France has already left this group. The Netherlands and Greece have 12 points each, but the Greeks still have home games against the French, while the Dutch still have matches against Ireland and Gibraltar. They are unlikely to lose second place, especially as they have an advantage in head-to-heads against Greece.