EURO 2024 qualifiers to resume Friday, Ronaldo eyes 200th international cap

ANKARA

The UEFA EURO 2024 qualifiers will return to action after nearly a three-month break as the matchday three will kick off on Friday.

Portugal’s longtime forward and captain Cristiano Ronaldo amassed 198 appearances to score 122 goals for his nation since 2003.

Ronaldo will win his 200th international cap if he features against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday and Iceland on matchday four on Tuesday.

The 38-year-old was one of the main pillars of Portugal’s EURO 2016 winning squad.

On Saturday, Portugal will host Bosnia-Herzegovina in a Group J match in Lisbon. The nations last met in 2011 as Portugal hammered the opponent 6-2.

Portugal are leading Group J after two wins. They scored 10 goals and conceded none.

Slovakia are second with four points. Third-place Bosnia-Herzegovina and fourth-place Iceland have three points each before matchday three.

Luxembourg have one point to chase them. Liechtenstein bottomed Group J after losing in Portugal 4-0 and getting thrashed by Iceland 7-0 in Vaduz.

Haaland to return after fantastic season at Man City

Norwegian forward Erling Haaland is set to return to international duty after winning a treble with Manchester City, including the English club’s UEFA Champions League triumph in Istanbul on June 10.

Haaland, 22, was not on the score sheet in the 2023 final but English champions Manchester City beat Italy’s Inter Milan 1-0 to win the Champions League for the first time.

Norway will face Group A leaders Scotland on Saturday in Oslo.

Scotland have six points. Spain are in the second spot with three points. Norway have only one point after two games in the group.

Fourth-place Georgia also collected one point. The Greek Cypriot administration have zero point to be in the last place.

Türkiye eye higher ranks in group

Now third in Group D, Türkiye will visit underdogs Latvia on Friday in Riga, as they want a win to be in higher positions in the standings.

Following this match, Türkiye will face Wales at home on Monday.

Türkiye are in the same group with Croatia, Wales, Armenia, and Latvia.

Croatia are the leaders with four points in two matches. Wales have the same point as Croatia.

This week the Croatian team are competing in the 2023 UEFA Nations League finals to skip June. Their next fixture in the EURO 2024 quals will be against Latvia on Sept. 8.

Türkiye have three points after beating Armenia 2-1 in Yerevan, but the Turkish team took a 2-0 home loss against Croatia in March.

Armenia and Latvia did not collect any points in the qualifiers.

Matchday 3 fixtures

Friday:

• Group B

Gibraltar – France

Greece – Ireland

• Group C

Malta – England

North Macedonia – Ukraine

• Group D

Latvia – Türkiye

Wales – Armenia

• Group H

Denmark – Northern Ireland

Finland – Slovenia

San Marino – Kazakhstan

• Group I

Andorra – Switzerland

Belarus – Israel

Kosovo – Romania

Saturday:

• Group A

Norway – Scotland

Greek Cypriot administration – Georgia

• Group E

Albania – Moldova

Faroe Islands – Czech Republic

• Group F

Azerbaijan – Estonia

Belgium – Austria

• Group G

Lithuania – Bulgaria

Montenegro – Hungary

• Group J

Luxembourg – Liechtenstein

Iceland – Slovakia

Portugal – Bosnia-Herzegovina

• Cristiano Ronaldo
• Erling Haaland
• Portugal
• Turkiye
• UEFA EURO 2024