Saka's first-ever hat-trick dismantles North Macedonia, Lahoz gifts Mbappe a redemption

What a Monday night for Bukayo Saka and the Three Lions this has been! England humiliated North Macedonia, dismantling them 7-0 in front of packed Old Trafford, mostly thanks to Saka's brilliant hat-trick, the first one in his career so far.

Gareth Southgate's squad continued its perfect EURO 2024 Qualifiers campaign against the minnows that succumbed to despair after a dreadful second half.

The visitors were defending decently in the opening for almost half an hour, but once the water went in, it kept pouring and never stopped. Just like Arsenal's wonder boy who did some incredible solo runs, almost carbon copies to seal his first-ever hat-trick in his entire career! The most stunning was that second goal of his, when defender-transformed-into-midfielder Trent Alexander-Arnold launched an impressive long pass, and Saka dashed into the final third before firing a jaw-dropping screamer to make it 4-0.

Kane broke the deadlock on the verge of the 30-minute mark and added another one from the spot, Rashford joined too, just like Philips, for the final outcome - a monstrous 7-0 victory.

Unlike England, France struggled and sweated a lot against die-hard Greece, not willing to surrender. If it wasn't for flamboyant Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz - in his last-ever game - the visitors would probably survive with a massive point in their bags.

But Lahoz made not one but two extremely controversial decisions that affected the match more than anything else. Firstly, he allowed Kylian Mbappe to retake a penalty after the Greek keeper saved his first attempt. Allegedly, one of the defenders rushed too soon into the box, so Mbappe had another chance and this time, he was on target for 1-0.

Some 15 minutes later, the same Greek player was sent off after making a professional foul on Mbappe as the last man in the defence. However, the replay showed it was a highly debatable call. Still, with ten men, the 2004 European Champions stood no chance against Les Bleus, so it ended 1-0 for the favourites.

EURO 2024 - QUALIFIERS

Tuesday

21.45: (2.20) Austria (3.35) Sweden (3.35)

21.45: (1.50) Scotland (4.00) Georgia (7.25)

21.45: (1.20) Hungary (6.75) Lithuania (14.0)

21.45: (11.0) Estonia (6.00) Belgium (1.25)

21.45: (6.50) Bulgaria (4.10) Serbia (1.53)

21.45: (13.0) Moldova (5.70) Poland (1.25)

21.45: (1.62) B&H (3.80) Luxembourg (5.80)

21.45: (1.15) Norway (7.75) Cyprus (19.0)

21.45: (10.0) Iceland (5.50) Portugal (1.30)

21.45: (5.50) Faroe I. (3.50) Albania (1.70)

21.45: (35.0) Liechtenstein (14.0) Slovakia (1.05)

***odds are subject to change***