Euro 2024 qualifiers: Belgium, France and Portugal book their spots
Qualifying games for Euro 2024 continued on Friday, with the first three teams besides host nation Germany qualifying for next summer's tournament.
Here are the biggest takeaways from Friday's slate of games.
Mbappé stars as France finishes the job
This match between two longtime continental powerhouses was all France right from the start. Les Bleus jumped out to an early lead when Kylian Mbappé — who else? — scored just six minutes into the contest. Arguably the planet's best player, Mbappé doubled the visitors advantage shortly after halftime in Amsterdam.
Quilindschy Hartman pulled one back late for the hosts, but it wasn't enough. France could've added another to make it 3-1 after, but Mbappé's effort clattered off the crossbar:
France is now a perfect 6-0 in qualifying, and its most impressive victory yet sent Didier Deschamps' side to Euro 2024 with two qualifying matches to spare. More to the point: it cements Les Bleus status as the title favorites next summer.
Belgium punches its ticket
With the Belgians and Austrians well ahead of the rest of the pack in Group F, there was little doubt that both would make the main event. But Belgium can still celebrate being among the first group of nations — following the host Germans — to book a spot at next summer's tournament.
Austria did make Belgium work for its 3-2 victory, which saw Everton midfielder Amadou Onana sent off in the second half. It won't be long before they seal the deal themselves.
Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo also headed to the main event
It was closer than they expected, with Slovakia scoring twice late to make things interesting after Portugal ran out to a 3-0 leads on two strikes by Ronaldo and one from Gonçalo Ramos.
Either way, the Portuguese will gladly take it. And the 38-year-old Ronaldo — who became the first men's player to scored 125 international goals in Friday's game — certainly will.
Dutch loss leaves Oranje in trouble
Even on points with Greece heading into Friday's encounter with Mbappé et al, The Netherlands needed a win to stay in second place in Group B. Instead, they ended the day on the outside looking in because of the Greeks' triumph in Ireland.
The twin results set up a delicious match between the Netherlands and Greece less than three days from now, when the two sides meet just outside of Athens, though the Dutch do still have an extra game in hand.
Republic of Ireland officially out
It was inevitable the way the Boys in Green had played throughout qualifying, but that doesn't make the fact that Ireland — which lost 2-0 to Greece in Dublin Friday — won't play at Euro 2024 any easier to swallow for long suffering Irish fans.
It's the second straight miss for Ireland, which qualified for consecutive Euros for the first time in 2012 and 2016. Ireland's participation isn't guaranteed in 2028 either, despite being one of the co-hosts (along with England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales): under UEFA rules, just two of those countries will receive automatic berths. For the sake of the tournament, here's hoping the Irish are able to reverse their recent trend and find a way in.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
