Hungary qualifies for Euro 2024 with own-goal in stoppage time in match marred by violence
MADRID (AP) — Hungary qualified for its third straight European Championship after an own-goal in stoppage time in a game marred by violent clashes outside an empty stadium in Bulgaria on Thursday.
Slovakia also secured its spot at Euro 2024 in Germany, while Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 128th goal for already qualified Portugal.
Bulgarian fans threw makeshift bombs, stones and plastic bottles at the police, who responded with a water cannon after trash cans were set on fire in the capital of Sofia.
More than 20 fans and five policemen were injured, emergency service medics said. Four of the fans were admitted to hospitals with serious injuries. Some 40 people were detained and police seized a large amount of pyrotechnics, signal pistols, boxes, metal pipes and other items prohibited in mass gatherings.
Thousands of Bulgarian supporters were protesting the management of the Bulgarian soccer federation, which they blame for the national team's poor results. Fans were made more upset with the decision to play the match against Hungary in an empty stadium.
The Bulgarian national team hasn't qualified for a major tournament in nearly two decades. It was coming off humiliating losses to Albania in a friendly and to Lithuania in qualifying, prompting fans to call for a nationwide protest and demand for the resignation of officials.
Bulgaria looked set to earn its first qualifying victory until defender Alex Petkov headed the ball in his own net seven minutes into stoppage time in the 2-2 draw. The point gave Hungary what it needed to secure its spot at Euro 2024.
Martin Ádám put Hungary ahead in the 10th minute before the hosts rallied with goals by Spas Delev in the 24th and Kiril Despodov off a penalty kick in the 79th.
Both teams finished the match with 10 men after Bulgaria’s Valentin Antov was sent off with a second yellow card in the 37th and Hungary’s Milos Kerkez saw his second yellow in the 57th.
The result left Hungary two points ahead of Serbia after seven matches in Group G. Third-place Montenegro had eight points ahead of its home game against Lithuania later Thursday. Serbia will also secure its spot in next year's tournament if Montenegro fails to beat already-eliminated Lithuania.
Last-place Bulgaria stayed with two points.
Led by Italian coach Marco Rossi, Hungary had already missed a chance to qualify in the previous match at Lithuania, when it drew 2-2 after going two goals down. Hungary's unbeaten streak reached 11 matches including friendlies. It hasn't lost since a 2-0 defeat against Italy in the Nations League in September 2022.
SLOVAKIA IN
Slovakia secured second place in Group J with a convincing 4-2 win against Iceland at home with a pair of goals by Lukas Haraslin.
A draw would have been enough for Slovakia, which will also be playing in its third straight European Championship.
Portugal leads the group with 27 points after nine wins. Third-place Luxembourg defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 4-1 and will be in the playoffs. Gerson Rodrigues scored twice for Luxembourg.
RONALDO SCORES
Ronaldo scored his fifth goal in his last three matches with Portugal in a 2-0 win at Liechtenstein. He is the joint leading scorer in qualifying with 10 goals, along with Belgium's Romelu Lukaku.
João Cancelo also scored for Portugal, which has outscored opponents 34-2. France is the only nation with a perfect record in qualifying so far.
TOP SPOT
Already sure of its spot at Euro 2024, Spain defeated Cyprus 3-1 to remain in first place in Group A.
Teenager Lamine Yamal, Mikel Oyarzabal and Joselu each scored first-half goals to give Spain a two-point lead over second-place Scotland, which drew 2-2 at Georgia.
“We are right where we want to be,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said. “There are always things to improve, but we are on the right track.”
Scotland also had already qualified. It picked up the draw at Georgia with a goal from substitute Lawrence Shankland three minutes into second-half stoppage time.
Scott McTominay scored the other Scotland goal in the 49th. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia put the hosts on the board in the 15th and 57th minutes.
Georgia stayed in fourth place, two points behind Norway, which defeated the Faroe Islands 2-0 in a friendly. Erling Haaland was a second-half substitute and didn't score.
AUSTRIA LEADS
Austria opened a two-point lead over Belgium in Group F by beating last-place Estonia 2-0. Konrad Laimer and Philipp Lienhart scored first-half goals for the Austrians, who have played a game more than Belgium.
Both Belgium and Austria had already qualified for Euro 2024.
Third-place Sweden lost 3-0 at fourth-place Azerbaijan, which played a man down from the 57th minute because of a straight red card to Bahlul Mustafazade. Captain Emin Makhmudov scored a goal in each half for the hosts.
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