Riding on the brilliance of Jorginho, Italy defeated a spirited Greece side 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, on Sunday, in one of the Euro 2020 qualifiers. Following the win, the four-time World Cup winners topped their qualification group and sealed their berth for next year’s quadrennial tournament.
The Chelsea midfielder broke the deadlock from the penalty spot after Greece held Italy for 62 minutes. Greek defender Andreas Bouchalakis was penalized for a hand-ball inside his box and Jorginho did not fail to give the Azurri the lead.
🇮🇹 Italy ➡️ #EURO2020 ✅
Bravo, @azzurri! 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/vhdbmwrfoX
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@UEFAEURO) October 12, 2019
If the first half saw enthusiastic Greece defenders resisting the home team, the second half saw them leaking space to a rejuvenated Italian attack. As a result, with only 12 minutes to go in the regulation time, Federico Bernardeschi put the final nail in Greece’s coffin as his low effort went into the back of the net.
On the other hand, Spain were held by Norway after a stoppage-time penalty from Joshua King denied them a win in Oslo on Saturday. A victory would have given Rober Moreno’s Spanish side a confirmed berth in next year’s continental event.
Spain started the game strongly and had a great chance to take an early lead in the fifth minute of the game. The first half went goalless as both the sides missed a string of opportunities to see the face of the goal.
The breakthrough came in the 47th minute when Saul Niguez smashed an assist from Sergio Busquets from outside. Spain came close to double their lead midway through the second half, while the home team missed a chance as well to equalize.
In another Euro 2020 qualification tie, Sweden humbled Malta 4-0 where Sebastian Larsson scored two penalties in the 58th and 71st minute. Bosnia and Herzegovina, in a surprising result, thrashed Finland 4-1 and have gifted themselves a genuine chance for a spot in next year’s tournament.