Euro 2024 qualifying: Italy faces showdown with Ukraine; Albania and Slovenia well set to advance
The HinduThe final rounds of European Championship qualifiers sees defending champion Italy needing a strong finish to clinch a spot at the tournament, while Albania and Slovenia can secure surprising group victories. Romania is another unlikely team controlling its own Euro 2024 destiny, although Israel still has an outside chance to secure direct advancement from that group. Italy faces a high-stakes game against Ukraine on Monday, likely for second place behind England in Group C. Ukraine will host Italy in Germany — at the stadium of Bundesliga leader Bayer Leverkusen — because it cannot play international games at home for security reasons during the military invasion by Russia. A new program of four games in 10 days started Sunday with a 1-0 loss at Kosovo, making third-place Israel’s “home” game Wednesday against Switzerland key.