European Qualifiers: England qualify with Italy win, Hungary miss their cue

England became the eighth team to qualify for UEFA EURO 2024 after a 3-1 win against Italy moved them on to 16 points in Group C, but there was frustration for Hungary as they failed to book their passage.

UEFA.com rounds up the Matchday 8 action on the road to the finals in Germany.

Tuesday's results

Group C: England 3-1 Italy, Malta 1-3 Ukraine
Group G: Lithuania 2-2 Hungary, Serbia 3-1 Montenegro
Group H: Finland 1-2 Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland 0-1 Slovenia, San Marino 1-2 Denmark

England 3-1 Italy

Harry Kane's double, either side of Marcus Rashford's crisp finish, ensured Gareth Southgate's team avoided the defeat that would have delayed their qualification hopes. Italy had threatened to be a thorn in the hosts' side at Wembley once again when Gianluca Scamacca powered in from close range with 15 minutes gone. Kane pulled the Three Lions level from the spot, after Jude Bellingham had been brought down, with Rashford and the England skipper adding classy finishes after half-time.

Key stat: Kane's two goals took him to 24 for England at Wembley, surpassing Sir Bobby Charlton's national record of 23.

Serbia 3-1 Montenegro

Aleksandar Mitrović scored twice as Serbia strengthened their chances of making it to their first EURO with a hard-fought win in Belgrade. The centre-forward produced a fine individual goal to give the hosts an early advantage but Stevan Jovetić's rising equaliser before the break was just as impressive. Serbia appeared to lack ideas until a sublime touch by substitute Sergej Milinković-Savić teed up Dušan Tadić who assisted Mitrović for his second of the night. Provider Tadić then clinched victory with a goal of his own four minutes later.

Key stat: Serbia have now won all four of their meetings with Montenegro courtesy of Mitrović’s double, which takes him on to 57 international goals.

Finland 1-2 Kazakhstan

Finland took a deserved first-half lead in Helsinki through Robert Taylor's free-kick, but Kazakhstan drew level in the 77th-minute when Bakhtiyar Zaynutdinov fired in from the penalty spot and the versatile attacker was there again 12 minutes later to get a head to a corner and give his side the three points that keep them within touching distance of Slovenia and Denmark at the top of Group H – and still dreaming of a first EURO.

Key stat: Zaynutdinov is now Kazakhstan's all-time top scorer with 14 international goals.

Elsewhere

• Hungary would have qualified with a win, but ended up rescuing a draw away against Lithuania, having gone into the break 2-0 down. Dominik Szoboszlai pulled one back from the penalty spot before Barnabás Varga equalised late on.
• Slovenia and Denmark remain locked together at the top of Group H, now with 19 points apiece. Slovenia won 1-0 in Northern Ireland while the Danes scrambled a 2-1 victory in San Marino, Yussuf Poulsen hitting the winner after their hosts unexpectedly restored parity.

Monday's results

Group B: Gibraltar 0-4 Republic of Ireland, Greece 0-1 Netherlands
Group F: Azerbaijan 0-1 Austria, Belgium a-a Sweden
Group J: Bosnia and Herzegovina 0-5 Portugal, Iceland 4-0 Liechtenstein, Luxembourg 0-1 Slovakia

Belgium vs Sweden was abandoned at half-time due to security reasons.

Azerbaijan 0-1 Austria

Austria are through to a third successive EURO after Marcel Sabitzer's penalty at the start of the second half proved the difference in a competitive fixture in Baku. The Bayern midfielder coolly slotted in moments after his introduction and, though the hosts matched their visitors for much of the evening and struck the woodwork late on, Ralf Rangnick's side held on. Austria finished with ten men as Guido Burgstaller received a second yellow card in added time.

Key stat: Sabitzer has taken 11 penalties at senior level for club and country, converting them all.

Greece 0-1 Netherlands

Virgil van Dijk's composed penalty in the third minute of second-half added time sent the Netherlands above their opponents into second in their group. An inspired showing by home goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos looked to have secured a draw, stopping Wout Weghorst's 28th-minute spot kick and tipping away shots from Steven Bergwijn either side of half-time. Petros Mantalos and the restored Fotis Ioannidis went close for the 2004 champions, who are level on points with Oranje with one match less to play.

Key stat: The Netherlands have won six and drawn one of their last eight European Qualifiers away from home (L1).

Bosnia and Herzegovina 0-5 Portugal

Portugal retained their status as one of only two teams in the European Qualifiers with a 100% record as they eased to a comprehensive victory. Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty put them in front after just five minutes and he soon had his second, with Bruno Fernandes and João Cancelo on target too. João Félix added a fifth before the break. Portugal have won eight out of eight in the European Qualifiers, scoring 32 and conceding just twice.

Key stat: Ronaldo's double in Zenica was the 23rd of his international career. He has hit ten hat-tricks, including two four-goal salvos. The remaining 49 of his 127 goals have come in single file.

Elsewhere

• Slovakia remain on course to finish second behind Portugal in Group J and earn a third straight EURO finals appearance after Dávid Ďuriš earned a late win in Luxembourg.
• Republic of Ireland recorded their biggest win in two years as they scored four without reply in Gibraltar.

Sunday's results

Group A: Georgia 4-0 Cyprus, Norway 0-1 Spain
Group D: Türkiye 4-0 Latvia, Wales 2-1 Croatia
Group E: Czechia 1-0 Faroe Islands, Poland 1-1 Moldova
Group I*: Switzerland 3-3 Belarus, Romania 4-0 Andorra

*The match between Kosovo and Israel has been postponed.

Norway 0-1 Spain

Gavi's precise winner in Oslo sent Spain to EURO 2024 with two matches to spare and ended Norway's hopes of finishing in the top two. After bossing possession during the first half, La Roja added accuracy to their slickness when the Barcelona midfielder struck during renewed Spanish pressure four minutes after half-time, the goal proving sufficient to take the three-time champions to an eighth consecutive EURO tournament. The result meant Scotland also qualified.

Key stat: Spain have only failed to score in one of their last 43 European Qualifiers – their 2-0 defeat in Scotland in March.

Türkiye 4-0 Latvia

Türkiye left it late before sealing qualification for EURO 2024 with a flurry of goals against a plucky Latvia team. Yunus Akgün's stunning volley just before the hour set the hosts on their way, and after Latvia's Jānis Ikaunieks had a header cleared off the line and rattled the crossbar with another, Cenk Tosun came off the bench to score a double on his 50th appearance. Cenk's goals arrived either side of a neat Kerem Aktürkoğlu finish, with all three strikes coming in the space of nine minutes.

Key stat: Türkiye have lost only two of their last 25 EURO qualifying matches (W17 D6).

Wales 2-1 Croatia

Wales boosted their EURO 2024 qualifying hopes with a hard-earned victory in Cardiff. Harry Wilson broke the deadlock in the 47th minute when he latched onto David Brooks' through ball and neatly flicked past the advancing Dominik Livaković. Wilson then doubled the lead on the hour as he glanced home Daniel James' cross. Substitute Mario Pašalić headed in Luka Modrić's corner to halve the deficit 15 minutes from time, but Wales held out for all three points.

Key stat: Croatia have suffered back-to-back European Championship qualifying defeats for the first time.

Elsewhere

• Albania could have clinched qualification on Sunday if results had gone their way in Group E, but that prospect was scuppered when Czechia edged the Faroe Islands 1-0 in Plzeň. Tomáš Souček's 76th-minute penalty moved the hosts within two points of Albania.
• Granit Xhaka made his 118th Switzerland appearance in a thrilling 3-3 draw against Belarus, moving him level with long-time record holder Heinz Hermann as his nation's most-capped player. His team led 1-0, then trailed 3-1 before mustering two late goals that ensured Belarus cannot finish in the top two of Group I.
• Poland's qualification hopes took a dent in Group E as they could only draw 1-1 with Moldova. Missing the injured Robert Lewandowski, they needed Karol Świderski's second-half leveller to avoid defeat at home.