Euro 2024 qualifiers: England given Italy rematch, Ireland face daunting group

09.10.2022 - 15:15 theguardian.com

The draw for the Euro 2024 qualifiers has thrown up a repeat of the 2020 final, with Italy facing England in Group C. There were gasps at the Festhalle in Frankfurt as the former Germany striker Karl-Heinz Riedle pulled England’s name out of the second pot of seeds.

On paper, it is England’s toughest qualifying group in more than two decades, with Ukraine and North Macedonia also contesting the two available places at the finals in Germany.

Malta complete the five-team group. In part England have been penalised for their shocking performances in the most recent Nations League, which saw them relegated to League B and meant they were absent from the top pot of seeds for the first time since the 2010 World Cup.

The double-header against the defending champions represents their first time they have been drawn against one of the giants of European football in qualifying since facing Germany ahead of the 2002 World Cup.

Football 2024 qualifiers Steve Clarke Russia France Ukraine Germany Netherlands Spain Italy Scotland Norway Macedonia Poland Ireland Greece Malta

KEITH JACKSON: The play-off certainly feels like a very comforting safety net now that we have Spain and Erling Haaland to deal with. But second spot in Group Aaarg can still be a realistic target for Steve Clarke and the boys. DAVID McCARTHY: Tough, but possible. Spain should skoosh it but Norway, apart from the obvious, are no great shakes and there are potential banana skins in Georgia and Cyprus. But second place is there to be taken. ANDY NEWPORT: That play-off spot is looking pretty handy now. Spain may be in a transitional phase but they still have bags of quality and I’d rather not think about what Haaland is going to do to our defence. MICHAEL GANNON: It’s a pretty stinky section to be honest after pulling the best player on the planet out of pot three. But anything is possible under Steve Clarke so we have to keep the faith.

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