Italy fulfill their duty in Spalletti’s farewell ++ Croatia defeat Czech Republic

In Luciano Spalletti’s last game in charge, Italy beat Moldova 2:0 in the World Cup qualifiers. Belgium and Croatia also celebrate home victories.

His departure had been a foregone conclusion since the 3-0 defeat against Norway. In Reggio Emilia, Spalletti and his team avoided total chaos against the blatant outsiders. Giacomo Raspadori scored the redeeming 1-0 in the 40th minute after Moldova had almost taken the lead in the opening phase. The supposed 1-0, which was initially recognized by Swiss referee Urs Schnyder, was ultimately annulled for offside.

Italy, who increased their lead to 2-0 after the break through Andrea Cambiaso, still have a lot of work to do on their way to the 2026 finals, while Norway remain nine points ahead after a 1-0 away win against Estonia thanks to a goal from Erling Haaland. Under the yet-to-be-appointed new national team coach, the “Squadra Azzurra” will have to put together a perfect autumn of qualification and hope for a slip-up from the Norwegians, who have played two more games to still finish top of the group.

De Bruyne saves Belgium

Belgium also got off to a false start last week at the start of the World Cup qualifiers. National coach Rudi Garcia’s team made up for the 1:1 draw in North Macedonia with great difficulty. In the clash between the two most highly rated teams in Group J against Wales, the “Diables Rouges” won 4:3 in Brussels. Kevin de Bruyne scored the winner in the 88th minute after a goal by Lukaku had been disallowed minutes earlier.

De Bruyne’s late goal prevented a lot of trouble for the Belgian national team, which had already been heavily criticized at home after the draw in North Macedonia. Against Wales, they squandered a 3-0 lead they had built up in the first 30 minutes. Harry Wilson with a penalty shortly before the break and Sorba Thomas and Brennan Johnson brought Wales back to 3-3 by the 70th minute.

Croatia’s resounding victory

Croatia secured an important home win in Group L against the Czech Republic, probably their toughest rivals for a direct place at the World Cup. With double goalscorer Andrej Kramaric (33), Luka Modric (39), Ivan Perisic (36) and Ante Budimir (33), it was the old guard who secured the 5:1 victory in Osijek with their goals.

Telegrams and table. Group I:

Italy – Moldova 2:0 (1:0)

Reggio Emilia. – SR Schnyder (SUI). – Goals: 40. Raspadori 1:0. 50. Cambiaso 2:0.

Estonia – Norway 0:1 (0:0)

Tallinn. – SR Jovanovic (SRB). – Goal: 62. Haaland 0:1.

Group J:

Kazakhstan – North Macedonia 0:1 (0:1)

Astana. – Glova (SVK). – Goal: 33rd Trajkovski 0:1.

Belgium – Wales 4:3 (3:1)

Brussels. – SR Peljto (BIH). – Goals: 15. Lukaku (penalty) 1:0. 19. Tielemans 2:0. 27. Doku 3:0. 45. Wilson (penalty) 3:1. 51. Thomas 3:2. 70. Johnson 3:3. 88. De Bruyne 4:3.

1. North Macedonia 4/8 (6:2). 2. Wales 4/7 (10-6). 3. Belgium 2/4 (5/4). 4. Kazakhstan 3/3 (3:4). 5. Liechtenstein 3/0 (0:8).

Group L:

Croatia – Czech Republic 5:1 (1:0)

Osijek – refereed by Manzano (ESP). – Goals: 42. Kramaric 1:0. 58. Soucek 1:1. 62. Modric (penalty) 2:1. 68. Perisic 3:1. 72. Budimir (penalty) 4:1. 75. Kramaric 5:1.

Faroe Islands – Gibraltar 2:1 (0:1)

Torshavn. – SR Yigal (ISR). – Goals: 23 Scanlon 0:1. 71 Frederiksberg 1:1. 86 Johannesen 2:1.

1. Czech Republic 4/9 (9:6). 2. Croatia 2/6 (12:1). 3. Montenegro 3/6 (4:3). 4. Faroe Islands 3/3 (3:4). 5. Gibraltar 4/0 (2:16).