The fifth round of EURO 2024 qualification concluded on Saturday with three remarkable matches that ended in draws. North Macedonia stunned Italy, Kosovo surprised Switzerland, while Romania and Israel played to an expected draw.
North Macedonia’s victory against Italy was a significant upset, considering their previous win over the European champions in the World Cup play-off, denying Italy a spot in the Qatar World Cup. Italy had an opportunity for revenge, but once again, they were left frustrated by the Macedonians. Cristante had the first chance in the 16th minute but missed the target. Miovski retaliated for Macedonia three minutes later, but his shot also missed the goal frame. Italy had two chances through Tonali, who hit the post, and Cristante, whose shot was saved by Dimitrievski.
Italy managed to take the lead in the 48th minute when Immobile scored. It seemed like Italy would secure three points, but North Macedonia had other plans. Eljif Elmas had a great opportunity to equalize for the home team, but he narrowly missed from the edge of the penalty area. However, Bardhi stepped up for Macedonia, scoring a remarkable free-kick goal in the 81st minute to salvage a point. Luciano Spalletti’s debut on Italy’s bench didn’t go as planned, leaving Italy still in search of their second victory in these qualifiers.
In the same group earlier in the day, Ukraine and England played to a 1-1 draw, while Malta had a free day. Group I witnessed a 0-0 draw between Andorra and Belarus, and in Romania, the home team played to a 1-1 draw with Israel. Alibec gave Romania the lead in the 27th minute, and Gloukh scored the equalizer for Israel in the 53rd minute. In a surprising turn of events, Switzerland was held to a 2-2 draw in Kosovo. Freuler opened the scoring for Switzerland in the 14th minute, but Kosovo equalized through Muriqi in the 65th minute. However, Rrahmani’s own goal gave Switzerland the lead again, only for Kosovo to secure a point with another goal from Muriqi in the fifth minute of stoppage time.