European Championship qualifiers: Angry Lukaku wins the ÖFB group

Lukaku opened the scoring in Brussels in the 17th minute, and after further goals in the 26th and 30th minutes, he had a stunning hat-trick to his name. However, at this stage, the number of Azerbaijani players was only down to ten players after Edi Israfilov received a red-yellow card (24). In the 37th minute, the 30-year-old Roma striker turned his hat-trick into a hat-trick. Leandro Trossard scored the final score in the 90th minute.

The last time a Belgian striker scored four goals in a club shirt was almost 30 years ago. Back then, Josip Weber scored five goals in a friendly match against Zambia in June 1994. With 14 goals, Lukaku is clearly the most successful player in the qualifiers, which are now drawing to a close. His performance with the national team increased with his team’s goals from 80 to 83.

As expected, Belgium secured victory in the group by one point over Austria, which is in second place, and also qualified for next year’s European Championship finals. Third place went by a wide margin to Sweden, which made up for its 3-0 defeat to Azerbaijan on Thursday with a 2-0 win at home over Estonia.

Exclusion makes work easier for Belgium

Lukaku left his mark on the game in Brussels from the start. The striker headed the ball between two defenders just in front of the penalty spot after Jeremy Doku’s cross and ensured a perfect start. In the 24th minute, he committed a foul on Lukaku that led to Israfilov, who had seen a yellow card for the first time only minutes earlier, receiving a traffic light card. This made things easier for the big favorite. After Timothy Castagne’s header was set up, a free-standing Lukaku finished off with ease.

With a score of 3-0, the Roma star shone once again with his head. The fourth goal came after a quick substitution. Lukaku took possession after Uriel Mangala’s tackle and finished coolly with his second touch. After the break, the Belgians took control of the match without the substituted match-winner and took control of the match at will. Leandro Trossard provided the final point after a documentary pass (90th place).

Austria in the second draw pot

While there was no good news for the Austrians from Brussels, they arrived from Glasgow late in the evening. Thanks to a late equalizer from Norwegian Mohamed Elyounoussi in a 3-3 draw with Scotland, ÖFB qualified better than the Scots. In the group runner-up settlement, the Austrians lead with 19 points compared to 17 points for Scotland, and they will be withdrawn from the second pot in the European Championship group draw on December 2nd. If Scotland had won by two goals over Norway, ÖFB would have dropped to the third tie-in pot.

The Scots, like Spain, who secured first place in Group A with a 3-1 win, had already qualified for the European Championship. In a turbulent match at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Aaron Dunham stunned the hosts in the third minute, but John McGinn canceled out the goal from a penalty kick ten minutes later. Norway, which was forced to replace its injured star Erling Haaland, took the lead again through Jurgen Strand Larsen (minute 20). Own goals by Leo Ostegaard (33′) and Stuart Armstrong (54′) turned the match on its head. But Elyounoussi still denies Scotland’s victory.

Serbia is “alone” in the European Championship for the first time

Before that, Serbia also qualified for Euro 2024. President Dragan Stojkovic’s side drew 2-2 at home with bottom of Group G Bulgaria on Sunday and finished in second place, three points behind Montenegro. The Serbs could have endured the defeat, especially since third-placed Montenegro lost 3-1 to Hungary, the leaders of the group, despite leading 1-0. The Hungarians won the group unbeaten.

Former Sturm Graz player Kiril Despodo surprised the Serbs with a 2-1 win in the 69th minute, but Srdan Babic saved the home team from defeat in Leskovac. This is the first time that Serbia participates in the European Championship as an independent country. Salzburg defender Strahinja Pavlovic, who was on the bench, was also happy about this. The Bulgarians remained without a win, but thanks to a fourth draw they were at least able to write again.

Szoboszlai leads Hungary to victory

The winner of the Hungary match was Dominik Szoboszlai. The former Salzburg player made up the difference alone with a brace (66, 68) at the Puskas Arena in Budapest. Slobodan Rubisic (36) had already scored for the visitors before the end of the first half. In stoppage time, Zsolt Nagy (92) also entered the scoresheet.

Qualified teams

Group A: Spain, Scotland

Group Two: France, Netherlands

Group C: England

Fourth group: Türkiye

Group Five: Albania

Sixth group: AustriaBelgium

Group Seven: Hungary, Serbia

Group Eight: Denmark

The first group: Romania, Switzerland

Group 10: Portugal, Slovakia

Germany already qualifies as a regulator.