Frankfurt, October 9 (BNA) Italy, the defending champion, will face England in its qualifying group for the Euro 2024 finals, in a repeat of last year’s championship final, following a draw on Sunday at the Frankfurt Football Festival.
The Italians, who beat England 3-2 on penalties at Wembley Stadium in London in 2021 to lift the cup, will also play North Macedonia, which prevented Roberto Mancini’s team from reaching the World Cup, and Malta in Group C, according to Reuters.
“I was sure we would eventually get England or France, but that’s okay,” Mancini said. “It’s a viable combination. There won’t be any simple games, but they all still have to be played.”
The second set looks equally difficult with the Netherlands, former world champions and France, who tied alongside the 2004 European champions Greece, Ireland and Gibraltar.
A total of 53 national associations are already included in the draw with Germany as host.
Russia was not included after its invasion of Ukraine and all Russian teams were suspended by UEFA.
Belarus, which supported the Russian war in Ukraine, was included.
They will play Switzerland, Romania, Kosovo, Israel and Andorra in Group A.
Norway, the Premier League’s top scorer this season, Erling Haaland, will play three-times defending champion Spain in Group A, along with Scotland, Georgia and Cyprus.
“We are avoiding France, England and Serbia from the second level,” Norway coach Stal Solbakken said. “We should be satisfied with that, but we could have been more fortunate as well.”
The qualifying group matches will take place from March to November 2023 and the qualifiers will take place in March 2024.
The top two teams from each group advance directly with the remaining three places to be decided in the playoffs in March 2024.
The 24-team finals will be held in 10 stadiums across Germany.
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