PARIS Sep 12 (Online): Wout Weghorst scored a second-half winner as the Netherlands beat Ireland 2-1 in Dublin to boost their Euro 2024 qualifying hopes on Sunday, while Poland lost for the third time in qualifying against Albania.<\/p>\n
Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side had to come back from behind against a spirited Ireland but did enough to stay in the second qualifying spot in Group B behind France.<\/p>\n
They are level on points with third-placed Greece who have played an extra match and thrashed Gibraltar 5-0.<\/p>\n
The Netherlands were stunned inside the first five minutes when Adam Idah scored a penalty awarded for handball against Virgil van Dijk.<\/p>\n
But Ireland’s momentum was halted in the 19th minute when a mistake from Matt Doherty led to Denzel Dumfries being brought down by home goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu.<\/p>\n
Cody Gakpo stepped up to put away the spot-kick and score for the second time in the international break.<\/p>\n
Bazunu made a good save to keep out an effort from Donyell Malen before half-time but the Netherlands did take the lead in the 56th minute when Weghorst fired home from Dumfries’ header across goal.<\/p>\n
Ireland could not summon a late push for an equaliser and remain fourth in the table, six points behind the Dutch with only three matches left.<\/p>\n
In Tirana, Poland’s bid to qualify for a fifth straight European Championship suffered another blow with a 2-0 loss.<\/p>\n
Albania moved to the top of Group E, two points above the Czech Republic and surprise package Moldova, with Poland two points further behind in fourth.<\/p>\n
Jasir Asani, who plays his club football for Gwangju in South Korea, sent Albania on their way to a massive victory with a magnificent left-footed strike from outside the right-hand side of the area.<\/p>\n
Mirlind Daku secured the three points by adding a second goal just after the hour mark.<\/p>\n
The other game in the group saw Moldova continue their remarkable bid to qualify with a 1-0 win over the Faroe Islands in their first qualifier since shocking Poland in June.<\/p>\n
Denmark, semi-finalists at Euro 2020, took a big step towards qualification from Group H as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s 86th-minute strike grabbed a 1-0 away win over Finland.<\/p>\n
The Danes jumped a point above their beaten opponents into the top two, level with Slovenia who saw off San Marino 4-0.<\/p>\n
“The goal was a relief and this was a very important win for us. Finland are a good team and they did not make it easy for us,” said Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand.<\/p>\n
The top four teams in the group are separated by just a single point after Kazakhstan kept their bid to reach a maiden major tournament alive with a 1-0 success against Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a first-half hat-trick as Serbia beat Lithuania 3-1 to stay on course for next year’s finals in Germany.<\/p>\n
Serbia sits second in Group G, two points ahead of Montenegro who kept pace thanks to Stevan Jovetic’s 96th-minute winner in a 2-1 victory over Bulgaria.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PARIS Sep 12 (Online): Wout Weghorst scored a second-half winner as the Netherlands beat Ireland 2-1 in Dublin to boost their Euro 2024 qualifying hopes on Sunday, while Poland lost for the third time in qualifying against Albania. Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side had to come […]<\/p>\n
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