By Sergio Silva
Nov 20, 2023, 9:45 PM EST
The Italian National Team took a weight off their shoulders by getting their direct ticket to the Euro 2024 Germany Championship after drawing a goalless draw against Ukraine on the last day of the group stage, a result that allowed the Italians to finish second in their group, tied with their rival from this Monday but with a better goal difference.
The current champions of the Euro Cup that took place in 2020, came from a resounding failure by being left out of Qatar 2022 for the second consecutive World Cup that they did not qualify for, but with this tie they fell behind England in Group C with 20 points. Both Italians and Ukrainians finished with 14 points each, but with the Azzurra with +7 goal difference.
“We are very happy. “We are where we deserve after all the difficulties”assured the Italian captain, Gianluigi Donnarumma. “Thanks to the new coach and the staff we are back. Now it is fair that we go to bring something back, even win it because we arrive as champions”finished off the AC Milan goalkeeper.
The Italian captain had a couple of decisive performances in the match that took place at the BayArena in Leverkusen due to the impossibility of Ukraine playing its home matches in its country due to the war it has been experiencing for more than a year with Russia. Among his performances stands out was a save from a shot by Mykhailo Mudryk that could have been the advantage for Ukraine.
The result against Ukraine, although it allowed the Italian National Team to secure its qualification for the Euro Cup that will take place next year in Germany, meant the first time for the Italian team that it was left without being able to score at least one goal in a match corresponding to the European qualifiers in the last 13 years.
For its part, the Ukrainian team was very close to sealing their ticket and just three goals in the general classification left them out of the dispute with the Italians. Likewise, Ukraine still has the option of competing in a playoff that will be held next year.
“Of course everyone was disappointed by this result, but not by the level shown. I think we played a good game against the current European champion. Let’s take some positive things from these results and move forward. We have a great team and a bright future”assured the Ukrainian Oleksandr Zinchenko after the draw that tasted like defeat.
In another result of Group C, the England National Team tied 1-1 with Macedonia. The English had already secured their ticket to Euro 2024 as well as first place in their group while the Macedonians were trying to add another victory although they were already destined to finish in third place just above Malta, which closed the tie with eight defeats in equal numbers. number of matches.
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