European Qualifiers: What to look out for

Four teams are occupied at the UEFA Nations League finals, but there is plenty of intrigue for the sides involved in Matchday 3 and 4 of the European Qualifiers for UEFA EURO 2024.

UEFA.com identifies the main talking points around the next two rounds of fixtures.

Will Haaland bring Scotland back down to earth?

A 3-0 win against Cyprus was decent, but a 2-0 defeat of Spain was out of this world for Steve Clarke's Scotland, who come into Matchday 3 with a three-point lead at the top of Group C. "We've got two massive games in June," said captain Andy Robertson. "If we come out of those games with the points we think we need, it will put us in a fantastic position."

The first of those matches takes them to Norway, where coach Ståle Solbakken "felt robbed" after their campaign began with a defeat in Spain and a draw in Georgia, and goalscoring giant Erling Haaland absent through injury. Norway have won just three of their 17 games against Scotland, but the Scots have yet to face Haaland. His international stats: 23 Norway appearances, 21 goals.

Austria and Belgium vying for top spot

Austria won both of their opening qualifiers in March, but the pressure on Ralf Rangnick's side will go up, up, up in June as they aim to qualify for a third EURO in succession. "We got the two wins that we really wanted to get," said the coach, who was short of multiple key players for the first two games and may need to have his best men available for a visit to Belgium and then a home encounter with Sweden.

Under new coach Domenico Tedesco, the Red Devils followed up a 3-0 win in Sweden (including a Romelu Lukaku hat-trick) with a 3-2 friendly win in Germany. "We have started playing in a much more attacking way," Lukaku said. "Change is not bad, as long as the results follow."

Will Cristiano Ronaldo make it to 200?

Posting on Twitter after Portugal's 6-0 win against Luxembourg, Cristiano Ronaldo's commitment to the national team seemed as strong as ever. "Two games, two wins! Mission accomplished. Happy to have contributed to our team's very positive start. Let's go!"

Having featured in both of Portugal's games to date, the 38-year-old seems to be very much in the plans of new boss Roberto Martínez, the coach underlining the importance of experience as he lauded Ronaldo, Rui Patrício and Bernardo Silva. CR7 scored four in the March qualifiers as he reached 198 international appearances; should he play against both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland, he will end June with 200 (and quite possibly a few more goals).

European Qualifiers in June

All kick-offs 20:45 CET unless stated

Friday 16 June 2023

Group B: Gibraltar 0-3 France, Greece 2-1 Republic of Ireland
Group C: Malta 0-4 England, North Macedonia 2-3 Ukraine
Group D: Latvia 2-3 Türkiye, Wales 2-4 Armenia
Group H: Denmark 1-0 Northern Ireland, Finland 2-0 Slovenia, San Marino 0-3 Kazakhstan
Group I: Andorra 1-2 Switzerland, Belarus 1-2 Israel, Kosovo 0-0 Romania

Saturday 17 June 2023

Group A: Norway vs Scotland (18:00), Cyprus vs Georgia
Group E: Albania vs Moldova, Faroe Islands vs Czechia
Group F: Azerbaijan vs Estonia (18:00), Belgium vs Austria
Group G: Lithuania vs Bulgaria (15:00), Montenegro vs Hungary (18:00)
Group J: Luxembourg vs Liechtenstein (15:00), Iceland vs Slovakia, Portugal vs Bosnia and Herzegovina

Monday 19 June 2023

Group B: France vs Greece, Republic of Ireland vs Gibraltar
Group C: England vs North Macedonia, Ukraine vs Malta (18:00)
Group D: Armenia vs Latvia (18:00), Türkiye vs Wales
Group H: Finland vs San Marino (18:00), Northern Ireland vs Kazakhstan, Slovenia vs Denmark
Group I: Belarus vs Kosovo, Israel vs Andorra, Switzerland vs Romania

Tuesday 20 June 2023

Group A: Norway vs Cyprus, Scotland vs Georgia
Group E: Faroe Islands vs Albania, Moldova vs Poland
Group F: Austria vs Sweden, Estonia vs Belgium
Group G: Bulgaria vs Serbia, Hungary vs Lithuania
Group J: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Luxembourg, Iceland vs Portugal, Liechtenstein vs Slovakia