MADRID, Sep 13: Spain’s men restored normal service on the field, beating Cyprus 6-0 in a European Championship qualifying game two days after disgraced soccer federation president Luis Rubiales resigned.
Rubiales still managed to cast a further shadow over Spanish soccer that has been in turmoil because of his conduct at the Women’s World Cup final on Aug. 20 and in the fallout since.
At almost exactly the time Gavi gave Spain an 18th-minute lead Tuesday, a television interview given by Rubiales began broadcasting on a British cable news channel. Excerpts from the interview on TalkTV aired Sunday and were widely reported.
The full interview aired hours after it was reported Rubiales has been summoned by a judge to a Madrid court on Friday as part of a criminal investigation into him kissing star player Jenni Hermoso at the trophy ceremony in Australia.
Spain kept on scoring to keep its fans focused on the soccer action and Mikel Merino doubled the lead in the 33rd.
Four goals in a 13-minute spell from the 70th sealed the comfortable win, scored by substitutes Joselu, Ferran Torres, twice, and Alex Baena.
The six-goal win followed a 7-1 rout at Georgia on Friday to close the gap on Group A leader Scotland to six points.
Spain, which has played one game fewer, hosts Scotland next on Oct. 12. Also in the group Tuesday, Norway stars Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard scored first-half goals in a 2-1 win over Georgia to stay in outside contention for a top-two finish that would earn a place at Euro 2024 in Germany.
Azzurri beat Ukraine
Luciano Spalletti engineered his first win as Italy coach as the Azzurri beat Ukraine 2-1 in a crucial European Championship qualifier thanks to two goals from Davide Frattesi.
The Inter Milan midfielder scored both goals in a dominant first half for Italy before Andriy Yarmolenko got Ukraine back into the match four minutes before the break.
Italy moved into second place in Group C, above Ukraine on head-to-head record – with the return match scheduled for next month. The Azzurri have played a game less than Ukraine and England, which leads the group by six points.
North Macedonia also moved onto seven points after winning 2-0 at Malta, which has zero points.
The win boosted Italy’s chances of qualifying for Euro 2024 and defending its title – after the misery of failing to reach last year’s World Cup.
Romania beat Kosovo after ‘Serbia chants’
Romania beat Kosovo 2-0 in a Euro 2024 qualifier that was suspended on Tuesday for just under an hour after Romanian fans repeatedly shouted pro-Serbia chants.
The game in Bucharest was stopped in the 18th minute after some of the crowd chanted “Serbia Serbia” and a player confronted people in the stands displaying a sign saying “Kosovo is Serbia”, with the referee sending the players back to the changing rooms. During the halt in play, Romania captain Nicolae Stanciu went across to reason with fans standing behind one goal at the National Stadium.
Romania would have forfeited the game as a 3-0 loss if it had been abandoned, damaging its currently good chances of advancing to the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany.
Stanciu scored in the 83rd minute to give Romania the lead after play resumed.
Belgium win 5-0
Romelu Lukaku showed no ill-effects from a lack of playing time this season as he hammered home two goals in as many minutes for Belgium as they beat Estonia 5-0 in their European Championship qualifier in Brussels on Tuesday. Belgium’s win kept them top of Group F, on goal difference from Austria, who won away at Sweden. Both have 13 points from five matches in the tussle to qualify for the finals in Germany next year.
Other results
Switzerland 3-0 Andorra; Israel 1-0 Belarus;Sweden 1-3 Austria; Malta 0-2 North Macedonia.(PTI)
