{"id":299491,"date":"2023-11-15T16:24:43","date_gmt":"2023-11-15T16:24:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?p=299491"},"modified":"2023-11-15T16:24:43","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T16:24:43","slug":"euros-england-must-win-for-top-seeding-and-its-win-or-bust-for-wales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/soccer\/euros-england-must-win-for-top-seeding-and-its-win-or-bust-for-wales\/","title":{"rendered":"Euros: England MUST win for top seeding and it&apos;s win or bust for Wales"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>England MUST beat Malta and North Macedonia to ensure a top seeding of or Euro 2024, it&#8217;s win or bust for Wales and Italy&#8217;s hopes are hanging by a thread&#8230; breaking down the crunch fixtures in the final round of qualifiers<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The final batch of Europan group qualifying games gets underway this evening\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>England are aiming for a top seeding to streamline their tournament next year<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>City had their pants pulled down by a development team &#8211; It&#8217;s All Kicking Off<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>International football is back in town with lots to play for as we head into the final group qualifier games for the 2024 European Championships.<\/p>\n<p>Twenty-four dreaming squads will take the plunge in Germany next summer and the identities of 15 of them are yet to be decided.<\/p>\n<p>England and Scotland have both already qualified but will want to finish at the top of their groups to try and ensure the best possible seeding for the final tournament.<\/p>\n<p>Wales&#8217; fate hangs in the balance as they grapple with Croatia for second place in Group D, knowing they are not guaranteed a play-off place after their Nations League\u00a0debacle.<\/p>\n<p>Italy and the Netherlands are also at risk of not qualifying automatically &#8211; Italy are currently third in England&#8217;s group and three points off Ukraine, while the Netherlands are in a dogfight with Greece for second in Group B.<\/p>\n<p>Twenty teams from across ten groups will get an automatic ticket to the final tournament, but only three of 12 can advance via the play-offs, which depends on their Nations League ranking.<\/p>\n<p>Mail Sport rounds up the major talking points you need to look out for this international break.<\/p>\n<h2>Wales in jeopardy but also in driving seat<\/h2>\n<p>Wales currently sit second in Group D on ten points after six games. So do Croatia. Armenia aren&#8217;t far behind on seven.<\/p>\n<p>With group leaders Turkey already through with their feet dry, only one of them can advance to the European Championships automatically.<\/p>\n<p>This is especially significant for Wales who, having finished bottom of their Nations League group, have no chance of making the play-offs. It&#8217;s win or bust for Rob Page&#8217;s men.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/14\/12\/77781619-12747559-image-a-6_1699966471009.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Wales secured a vital 2-1 win over Croatia to go second in the group but must stay in the top two to go to the Euros<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/14\/12\/77781685-12747559-image-a-7_1699966538326.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Harry Wilson bagged a double to put the 2018 World Cup finalists to the sword in October\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Their final two games see them travel to Armenia and host Turkey, two difficult match-ups.<\/p>\n<p>The saving grace is that Wales are above Croatia due to their head-to-head record, having drawn against them and beaten them &#8211; the latter thanks to a Harry Wilson double.<\/p>\n<p>It means that as long as they keep pace with Croatia over these last two games, they will be going to Germany.<\/p>\n<p>Croatia already have a play-off spot thanks to their Nations League Group win.<\/p>\n<h2>England and Scotland fight for top seeding<\/h2>\n<p>England and Scotland don&#8217;t need to worry too much &#8211; they are already through, after all. The Three Lions&#8217; 3-1 win over Italy sealed them qualification and showed how the tables have turned since the Euro 2020 final, where they looked uninspired.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But that&#8217;s not the full picture. These final games are not dead rubbers.<\/p>\n<p>Alongside hosts Germany, five seeding spots are up for grabs for the best qualifiers.<\/p>\n<p>Going into the final batch of fixtures, Portugal, Slovenia, Denmark, France, and Belgium all have more points than England.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/14\/14\/77784677-12747559-image-a-8_1699972697619.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>England qualified for the Euros with a 2-1 win over Italy, but still have work to do to earn a favourable seeding<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/14\/14\/77784713-12747559-image-a-9_1699972764638.jpg\" height=\"408\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Scott McTominay&#8217;s goal haul has helped Scotland to the Euros already, but can they clinch the best seeding possible?<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s why Gareth Southgate&#8217;s men must beat Malta and North Macedonia &#8211; to give themselves the best chance possible of getting in that top six and avoiding being drawn with a behemoth when it comes to the draw for Germany.<\/p>\n<p>Victories against them should be enough to gain a top seeding spot &#8211; Denmark and Slovenia are in the same group, while they have a better goal difference than Romania and Turkey, who are also in the running.<\/p>\n<p>After a 2-0 defeat to Spain in their last qualifier, Scotland&#8217;s hopes of qualifying as a top seeded team are slim, but that shouldn&#8217;t take away from their tremendous achievement.<\/p>\n<p>Steve Clarke&#8217;s side won their first five games in the group, navigating a tricky away assignment at Norway to win 2-1 and bagging a 2-0 win over Spain at home.<\/p>\n<h3>THE NINE TEAMS ALREADY QUALIFIED FOR EURO 2024\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>Nine teams have already qualified for next summer&#8217;s Euros.<\/p>\n<p>Germany, as hosts, are of course given an automatic place.<\/p>\n<p>They will be joined by:<\/p>\n<p>Spain<\/p>\n<p>Scotland\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>France<\/p>\n<p>England<\/p>\n<p>Turkey\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Belgium<\/p>\n<p>Austria<\/p>\n<p>Portugal\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Italy&#8217;s battle for automatic qualification with Ukraine<\/h2>\n<p>After failing to reach the last two World Cup, the victors of the last Euros won&#8217;t be feeling so supreme if they miss out on a golden ticket to Germany.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Their world-record 37-game unbeaten run under Roberto Mancini is a fary cry from their lukewarm form of today, as they sit third in Group C.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Gli Azzurri are three points off second-placed Ukraine with a game in hand, with matches against North Macedonia and the invaded nation left to play.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Luciano Spalletti&#8217;s men earned a critical 2-1 win over Ukraine in September as Davide Frattesi stepped up to the plate with a double to clinch the three points.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/14\/14\/77784749-12747559-image-a-10_1699972879880.jpg\" height=\"424\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Italy&#8217;s hopes of getting to Germany automatically from the groups are hanging by a thread<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/14\/14\/77784793-12747559-image-a-11_1699972937743.jpg\" height=\"397\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Ukraine have put on a spirited show and can seal qualification with a win over Italy at home<\/p>\n<p>The equation for them is simple. Regardless of how their match against North Macedonia plays out, if they beat Ukraine, they go through.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If they lose, they will have to face the play-offs, earned due to their Nations League Group win.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A draw would be sufficient if they beat North Macedonia and go level on points with Ukraine.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span>Failure to qualify for a major tournament would be a significant failure so early in Spalletti&#8217;s reign, especially after he left the comforts of Serie A-winning Napoli. However, he inherited a struggling side from Mancini and will be aware that this is a rebuilding project.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Netherlands must tie up loose ends as Greece hope for a miracle\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p>The Netherlands and Greece are tied on points but the Netherlands have a game in hand and are ahead of their opponents in the head-to-head metric.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>All sensible predictions point to Oranje getting the three points they need given their final clashes against Ireland and Gibraltar, who are yet to ever get a point in Euros qualifying.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/14\/14\/77784981-12747559-image-a-12_1699973070429.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The Netherlands would have to slip up seriously to throw away automatic qualification\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/14\/14\/77785183-12747559-image-a-13_1699973227492.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Greece have lost both games to the Netherlands and are staring down a play-off campaign<\/p>\n<p>Greece&#8217;s only opportunity to pick up points is against France and then they&#8217;re asking for the Netherlands to slip up, so the likelihood is that the 2004 champions will have to negotiate a tricky play-offs campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They&#8217;ll get that chance because they topped their Nations League group, but the fact that they&#8217;re in League C means they&#8217;ll be given a tough assignment and making Germany 2024 could be\u00a0 a tall order.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Still, they&#8217;ve got pedigree of surprising in this competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Heated footraces for qualification\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p>A couple of the lower-profile groups present some intriguing storylines.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Group E is wide open, with Albania, Czech Republic, Poland, and Moldova all separated by four points.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/14\/16\/77788459-12747559-image-a-14_1699978282592.jpg\" height=\"405\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Poland face a tussle to qualify automatically and failure to do so would be embarrassing<\/p>\n<p>Poland are at real risk of missing out as they have just one match left to play, but they should be extended an olive brance in the play-offs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>All the same, failing to qualify automatically would be ignominious for the group favourites, but could a team like Moldova benefit and qualify for their first-ever tournament as a result? They have crunch ties against Albania and Czech Republic to win their place.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Kazakhstan are looking to qualify for their first international tournament but sit four points behind Slovenia and Denmark. A match against San Marino should give them three points. Pulling off a shock against Slovenia in their final game could see them make history.<\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off\u00a0is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12747559\/England-beat-Malta-North-Macedonia-ensure-seeding-Euro-2024-win-bust-Wales-Italys-hopes-hanging-thread-breaking-crunch-fixtures-final-round-qualifiers.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>England MUST beat Malta and North Macedonia to ensure a top seeding of or Euro 2024, it&#8217;s win or bust <span class=\"more-text\">&hellip;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299490,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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