Germany, First to Qualify for Round of 16 in the European Cup

Germany, the host nation of the 2024 European Football Championship, became the first team to qualify for the round of 16 with a decisive 2-0 victory over Hungary. Switzerland also moved closer to qualification in Group A by drawing 1-1 with Scotland. Meanwhile, Croatia’s chances of advancing are in jeopardy after a 2-2 draw with Albania in the second round of the group stage.

In Stuttgart, Germany confirmed their strong start with their second victory, following a dominant 5-1 win over Scotland in the opening match. This result secured them the top spot in Group A with six points, two ahead of Switzerland, who drew 1-1 with Scotland in Cologne.

Germany’s victory was secured thanks to goals from Jamal Musiala (22′) and captain Ilkay Gundogan (67′). Hungary, on the other hand, suffered their second defeat following a 1-3 loss to Switzerland.

Die Mannschaft, the four-time World Cup champions and three-time European champions, avenged their previous defeat to Hungary, who had beaten them 1-0 in Leipzig during the European Nations League in September 2022, following a 1-1 draw in Budapest in June of the same year.

Germany also ended a streak of three matches without a win against Hungary, which included a 2-2 draw in the group stage of Euro 2021 at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

Germany’s coach Julian Nagelsmann expressed his satisfaction with the qualification, stating that Die Mannschaft aims to “win all the matches” without worrying about future opponents.

“We want to finish the tournament in first place. This is important. We want to win all the matches and then we will look at who we will play against,” Nagelsmann added.

In the same group, veteran striker Xherdan Shaqiri put Switzerland on the verge of the round of 16 by scoring the equalizer against Scotland. The Scots had initially taken the lead through an own goal by defender Fabian Schär (13′), but Shaqiri leveled the score 13 minutes later.

Switzerland needed a win to catch up with Germany, but they settled for a point, securing second place in Group A with four points. Scotland earned their first point and rose to third place, leaving Hungary at the bottom of the standings without any points.

The third and final round of matches will be held next Sunday, with Switzerland facing Germany in Frankfurt, and Scotland playing against Hungary in Stuttgart.

Switzerland now needs just a point in their final match to secure the second direct qualification spot. Even with a loss, they might still qualify, as they have a better goal difference than Scotland, should Scotland win against Hungary. Switzerland also has a chance to progress as one of the best third-placed teams.

Group B

Albania secured an important point to keep their hopes of reaching the last 16 alive, after a dramatic late equalizer which led to a 2-2 draw against Croatia, complicating Croatia’s qualification hopes.

Croatia seemed poised for a hard-fought victory after turning the game around in two minutes with goals from Andrej Kramaric (74′) and a Gjasula own goal (76′). Initially trailing to a goal by Kazem Laci (11′), Croatia’s Klaus Gjasula redeemed himself with a late equalizer (90+5′).

Both teams secured their first point, with Albania ahead on goal difference. They now await the outcome of the crucial clash between Spain and defending champions Italy on Thursday.

Croatia’s hopes of advancing past the group stage for the third consecutive World Cup and the fifth straight major tournament are diminishing. They face a tough encounter with Italy next Monday, while Albania will meet Spain on the same day.

In the first round, Croatia suffered a 0-3 defeat to Spain, while Albania narrowly lost 1-2 to Italy.