Italy beat Ukraine in key Euro 2024 qualifier; Spain win big and Romania fans’ chants stop game

LONDON: European champions Italy took a big step Tuesday toward being able to defend their title. Spain and Belgium won easily on their path to Euro 2024. Sweden look like it’s failing to qualify for the first time in 28 years.

Romania and Kosovo managed to finish a game that risked being abandoned. Political pro-Serbia chants by home fans in Bucharest forced a 45-minute delay in the first half and players were taken back to their locker rooms.

After Romania risked forfeiting the game as a 3-0 loss, late goals earned a 2-0 win though the national federation now faces punishment in a UEFA disciplinary case.

The highest-stakes game of the evening saw Italy secure a vital 2-1 win over Ukraine in what shapes as a tight race to finish second in the group led by England.

Two first-half goals by Inter Milan midfielder Davide Frattesi in his home stadium at San Siro gave new coach Luciano Spalletti a first win after a tension-filled draw at North Macedonia on Saturday.

Italy’s improved and more energetic performance survived Ukraine forward Andriy Yarmolenko cutting the lead before halftime.

Italy and Ukraine are tied on seven points — with North Macedonia, which beat Malta 2-0 but has the toughest schedule — trailing six behind England, who Spalletti’s team must face at Wembley Stadium next month.

A possible scenario is a decisive final-round game between Ukraine and Italy on Nov. 20: a place at Euro 2024 for one, and for the other uncertainty next March in the playoffs that stopped Italy going to the past two World Cups.

SETTLED SPAIN

On the field, the Spanish men’s team has found a calm serenity in stark contrast to the scandalous furor surrounding its now-former federation president Luis Rubiales.

A 6-0 rout of