5-0, 2-0! European qualifiers have a good start! France starts with a winning streak Italy wins Croatia

The European qualifiers are in full swing, and many giant teams have made their debut on this match day. According to the rules of the 2026 US, Canada and Mexico World Cup European qualifiers, the top spots in 12 groups will directly qualify for promotion, and the second in the group will need to participate in the fierce competition in the play-offs. In this round of competition, traditional strong teams such as France, Italy, and Croatia all won, while Denmark and Scotland competed with each other.

In the focus match of Group D, the French team challenged Ukraine away. In the 10th minute of the game, Barcola assisted Olise to score, leading France. Although Ukraine strengthened its offensive in the second half, Zabarni's header hit the post and almost equalized the score, Mbappe scored a one-stop goal with his personal ability in the 81st minute, eventually helping France secure the victory 2-0.

The Italian team ushered in a strong rebound after changing coach Gattuso. Facing Estonia, which ranks 126th in the world, the Blues took the initiative in the first half but failed to score. Until the 58th minute, Keane Jr. broke the deadlock with a header, and then Retge and Raspadori scored two goals in two minutes, completely ending the suspense. At the end of the game, Retge scored another goal and scored twice. Bastoni scored a header, freeing the final score at 5-0. In the away game against the Faroe Islands, Cramalic scored a header in the 31st minute, scoring the only goal in the game. Although Croatia has the advantage in the whole game, the 1-0 score reflects that the team still has room for improvement in offensive efficiency.

In a key showdown in Group C, Denmark and Scotland competed 0-0. Both sides attacked and defended each other in the whole game, but neither of them created an absolute scoring opportunity and eventually scored one point.

At present, the situation in the standings of each group is gradually becoming clear: France temporarily ranked first in Group D with its first victory; Croatia led Group L in all three games; Italy defeated Estonia, but it still needs to catch up with the group leader Norway; Denmark and Scotland drew with each other, the situation of qualifying in Group C is still full of variables.

It is worth noting that although the Italian team won a big victory in this round, since the Norwegian team in the same group maintained a record of winning, if the Blues wanted to advance directly, they must strive to win in the subsequent games. Once they finish second in the group, they will have to go through the playoffs again - and Italy has missed two consecutive World Cup main matches.

There is also an interesting phenomenon in this European qualifier: traditional strong teams often struggle when facing weaker opponents, and the results of the game are mostly dominated by small scores. Does this mean that the gap in European football is gradually narrowing? How should each team adjust its tactics to deal with opponents of different styles?