A day of missed penalties – Italy is still alive, Spain's cruise to WC

It was widely expected that both Spain and Italy would come out on top in their matches — and that’s exactly what happened. Spain cruised past Georgia with goals from Pino and Oyarzabal, while Italy defeated Estonia thanks to strikes from Kean, Retegui, and Esposito.

The Azzurri wasted no time asserting dominance — in the 4th minute, Giacomo Raspadori broke down the left wing and tested the Estonian goalkeeper with a strong shot that was well saved. Just moments later, Moise Kean produced a brilliant solo run through the Estonian defense and calmly slotted the ball into the bottom-left corner to make it 1–0 for Italy. The goal is HERE!

Italy kept pressing, and in the 9th minute Mateo Retegui came close after a slick passing move, but his shot rolled just wide of the post. Midway through the half, Riccardo Calafiori threatened twice with headers — first in the 24th minute from a cross, then again in the 36th from a free kick — but neither effort hit the target.

The Italians had a great chance to double their advantage in the 29th minute when Marten Kuusk fouled an opponent in the box. Retegui stepped up to take the penalty, but his effort was saved by the Estonian keeper.

However, the striker made amends before the break. In the 38th minute, Italy launched a well-worked attack on the edge of the Estonian area — Riccardo Orsolini set up Retegui, who made no mistake this time, finishing coolly to make it 2–0. The goal is HERE!

Estonia tried to respond after the break — in the 51st minute Vlasiy Sinyavskiy made a fine run past his marker but wasted the chance, sending his shot high over the bar.

The Italians quickly regained momentum. In the 56th minute Mateo Retegui tried to punish the Estonian goalkeeper’s mistake with a long-range effort from about 20 meters, but his shot flew over the crossbar. Just a minute later, Italy came close again — after a brilliant combination, Federico Dimarco found himself in a great position following Retegui’s clever backheel pass, yet the Inter defender hit the keeper from close range.

Italy continued to dominate and looked dangerous with every attack. In the 67th minute, Andrea Cambiaso tried his luck after a well-worked move, but his low shot lacked power and was easily saved by the Estonian goalkeeper.

Another blow came in the 74th minute, when Sebastiano Esposito made it 3–0. After a fine run down the left flank, Leonardo Spinazzola delivered a precise cross, which Esposito met perfectly to seal the win for the Azzurri. The goal is HERE!

Estonia managed to score in the 74th minute after Donnarumma made a catastrophic mistake — he dropped the ball, and Sappinen took advantage to find the back of the net. The goal is HERE!

On the other side, Spain started strongly against Georgia and thought they might have had a penalty in the 6th minute when Ferran Torres went down inside the box. However, after a VAR check, referee Manfredas Lukjancukas waved play on.

In the 19th minute, Mikel Oyarzabal squandered a huge chance, firing just over the bar from close range. Five minutes later, Spain finally made their pressure count — Yeremy Pino reacted quickest inside the area after a corner and slotted the ball home from close range to give Spain the lead. The goal is HERE!

Spain had a golden opportunity to double their advantage in the 28th minute when goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili conceded a foul in the box, resulting in a penalty. However, Ferran Torres failed to convert, as Mamardashvili guessed correctly and produced a superb save.

The Georgian keeper continued to shine, denying Pedro Porro with a brilliant stop in the 33rd minute and watching Mikel Merino narrowly head wide just three minutes later. Merino then missed another good chance before halftime, sending his shot over the bar in the 44th minute.

In stoppage time, Oyarzabal found himself one-on-one with Mamardashvili, but the Georgian goalkeeper once again came to his team’s rescue with a reflex save to keep the score at 1–0 going into the break.

Spain continued to dominate after the break, creating several clear chances early in the second half. In the 48th minute, Mikel Oyarzabal weaved through Georgia’s defense and fired from close range, but Giorgi Mamardashvili made another crucial save. Just a minute later, Ferran Torres narrowly missed the target after a precise cross found him in the box.

Spain came close again in the 54th minute when Pedro Porro struck the post from the edge of the area, with Oyarzabal’s follow-up effort blocked on the goal line by a Georgian defender. Persistence finally paid off in the 64th minute, when Oyarzabal curled a stunning free-kick into the top-left corner to double Spain’s lead. The goal is HERE!

WC QUALIFIERS - EUROPE

Thursday

Finland - Lithuania 2-1 (0-1)

/Kallman 48, Markhiev 55 - Sirvys 25/

Austria - San Marino 10-0 (6-0)

/Schmid 7, Arnautovic 8, 47, 83, 84, Gregoritsch 24, Posch 30, 42, Laimer 45, Wurmbrand 76/

Belarus - Denmark 0-6 (0-4)

/Froholdt 14, Hojlund 19, 45, Dorgu 45+6, Dreyer 66, 78/

Cyprus - B&H 2-2 (1-2)

/Laifis 45+1, Pittas 90+6 pen - Katic 10, Michail 36 og/

Czech Republic - Croatia 0-0

Faroe Islands - Montenegro 4-0 (2-0)

/Sorensen 16, 55, Frederiksberg 36, 72 pen/

Malta - Netherlands 0-4 (0-1)

/Gakpo 12 pen, 48 pen, Reijnders 57, Depay 90+3/

Scotland - Greece 3-1 (0-0)

/Christie 64, Ferguson 80, Dykes 90+3 - Tsimikas 62/

Friday

Kazakhstan - Liechtenstein 4-0 (2-0)

/Kenzhebek 26, 59, Zaynutdinov 28, Kasym 81/

Belgium - North Macedonia 0-0

France - Azerbaijan 3-0 (1-0)

/Mbappe 45+2, Rabiot 69, Thauvin 84/

Germany - Luxembourg 4-0 (2-0)

/Raum 12, Kimmich 21 pen, 50, Gnabry 48/

Iceland - Ukraine 3-5 (1-3)

/Ellertsson 35, Gudmundsson 59, 75 - Malinovskyi 14, 45+5, Gutsulyak 45, Kaliuzhnyi 85, Ocheretko 89/

Kosovo - Slovenia 0-0

Northern Ireland - Slovakia 2-0 (1-0)

/Hrosovsky 18 og, Hume 81/

Sweden - Switzerland 0-2 (0-0)

/Xhaka 65 pen, Manzambi 90+4/

Saturday

Latvia - Andorra 2-2 (1-1)

/Zelenkovs 41, Gutkovskis 55 pen - San Nicolas 33, Bryan Olivera 78/

Hungary - Armenia 2-0 (0-0)

/Lukacs 56, Gruber 90+4/

Norway - Israel 5-0 (3-0)

/Khalaili 18 (og), Nachmias 28 (og), Haaland 27, 63, 72/

Bulgaria - Turkey 1-6 (1-1)

/Kirilov 13 - Guller 11, Popov 49 (og), Yildiz 51, 56, Celik 65, Kahveci 90+3/

Estonia - Italy 1-3 (0-2)

/Sappinen 76 - Kean 4, Retegui 38, Esposito 74/

Portugal - R. Ireland 1-0 (0-0)

/Neves 90+1/

Serbia - Albania 0-1 (0-1)

/Manaj 45+1/

Spain - Georgia 2-0 (1-0)

/Pino 24, Oyarzabal 64/