Continuation of this international week this Friday night with a great clash between Italy and England, two teams that are still fighting for the Final Four in the group of death, with Hungary and Germany, which we will talk about later. In search of a first success in this competition, the Three Lions had to win, under penalty of relegation to League B. And despite their absence in Qatar, the Italians wanted to show that they had resources against the English. Quickly, Scamacca dropped a good header, forcing Pope to pull out all the stops. The steady hand, then the crossbar saved the English (5th).
But despite a slight Italian dominance, the show offered in the first half did not live up to expectations, especially from the English. After the break and in a counterattack, Dimarco missed a cross and Barella could not recover (57th). And finally, on a superb deep pass from Bonucci, Raspadori had very good control, turned around and was able to hit directly to the right of Pope’s goal (1-0, 69). At the end of the match, the Squadra Azzurra could even have doubled down, but Dimarco found the post (84th). Something to give hope to the Italians, still in the race for the Final Four.
Germany sank
And if the tie between the Italians and Brits didn’t help anyone, Germany offered a royal road to the Final Four for Hungary. Terribly disappointing throughout the match, the Mannschaft were caught off guard after a good cross from Szoboszlai, who was directly advanced by Szalai (1-0, 18). And despite the numerous changes made by Flick, the Germans could not come back and were closer to conceding a second goal than anything else. Result: Germany (3rd) is eliminated from the group, while England (4th) is relegated to League B. The match between the two teams will only serve as an honor, while Hungary (1st) will play a group final against Italy (2nd), on Monday in front of their public (9:00 p.m.).
In the rest of the Leagues, Bosnia and Herzegovina secured promotion from League A thanks to a narrow victory against Montenegro (2nd). In the same group, Finland (3rd) and Romania (4th) -who will play their survival game against Bosnia on Monday- failed to decide. In League C, Bulgaria pulverized Gibraltar, which will return to League D in the next edition. On the other hand, the Bulgarians remain, but Georgia has already assured its promotion to the next level thanks to a victory against North Macedonia and a goal from Kvaratskhelia.
The results of the day
A-League
- Italy 1-0 England: Raspadori (69th)
- Germany 0-1 Hungary : Szalai (18)
B-League
- Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-0 Montenegro: Demirovic (45th+1)
- Finland 1-1 Romania: Pukki (12th) / Tanase (52nd)
C-League
- Georgia 2-0 North Macedonia: Miovski (CSC, 35th), Kvaratskhelia (64th)
- Bulgaria 5-1 Gibraltar: Antov (23rd), Despodov (36th), Kirilov (52nd), Stefanov (55th), Petkov (81st) / Chipolina (26th)
D-League
- Estonia 2-1 Malta: Sappinen (45th + 6), Anier (86th) / Teuma (51st)