Spalletti’s Italy Ends in Heartbreak After Strong Fightback
It was another dramatic morning of European World Cup qualifiers, with plenty of goals and storylines. Spalletti’s Italy ends in heartbreak after strong fightback, as Luciano Spalletti bowed out as Italy’s manager with a 2-0 win over Moldova in Reggio Emilia. Although the Azzurri secured their first points of the World Cup qualifying campaign, it wasn’t enough to erase the disappointment of their earlier 3-0 loss to Norway. The former Napoli boss had already confirmed that this Group I match would be his last in charge. Moldova had an early scare for Italy when Ion Nicolaescu’s header found the net, but it was ruled out for offside after a VAR check. Giacomo Raspadori opened the scoring with a strike from the edge of the box just before halftime, and Andrea Cambiaso doubled the lead shortly after the break.
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Norway and Haaland Stay Perfect
Meanwhile, Norway strengthened their grip on the top spot in Group I with a 1-0 win away to Estonia, maintaining a perfect record through four games. Manchester City’s Erling Haaland struck just past the hour mark to seal the victory and keep Norway in command of the group standings.
Belgium Edge Wales in Thriller
In Group J, Belgium kicked off their campaign with a wild 4-3 win over Wales in Brussels. The Belgians raced to a 3-0 lead within 35 minutes thanks to a Romelu Lukaku penalty, a strike from Youri Tielemans, and a curling effort by Jeremy Doku. However, Wales clawed their way back. Harry Wilson converted a penalty just before halftime, Sorba Thomas scored his first international goal to make it 3-2, and Brennan Johnson completed the comeback with a header to level the match at 3-3. Lukaku thought he had netted a late winner, but VAR disallowed it due to the ball going out earlier in the play. The final blow came from Kevin De Bruyne, who volleyed in the match-winner with two minutes left.
More Results Across Europe
North Macedonia edged past Kazakhstan 1-0 with a first-half goal from Aleksandar Trajkovski, moving them a point ahead of Wales. Croatia continued their dominant run in Group L with a crushing 5-1 win over the Czech Republic. After an early goal from Josko Gvardiol was ruled out, Andrej Kramaric gave Croatia the lead. Tomas Soucek equalized for the Czechs, but Croatia hit back with a penalty from Luka Modric and goals from Ivan Perisic, Ante Budimir, and another from Kramaric. Despite the heavy defeat, the Czech Republic remains top of the group. Lastly, the Faroe Islands pulled off a late 2-1 win against Gibraltar, courtesy of a decisive strike by Patrik Johannesen.
