The Italians won the salutary point, the Ukrainians were forced to play in the play-off.
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Italy can defend their European title next summer after a goalless draw against Ukraine booked their place in the continental competition in Germany.
The formula was simple: a draw was enough for the Italians to ensure their automatic qualification to next year’s continental tournament in Germany. Ukraine, on the other hand, needed all three points to avoid the play-offs.
Despite this, the first half was more about Italy’s superiority in the meeting held at a neutral venue in Leverkusen due to the Russian-Ukrainian war. It is true that the goalkeeper of the Italians, Gianluigi Donnarumma, also had something to defend, but the biggest opportunity came in front of Federico Chiesa, but he shot over the attacker.
The Ukrainians attacked almost everything in the second half, but Donnarumma stood the ground, and perhaps he showed the greatest save on Mihajlo Mudryk’s close-range attempt.
The Chelsea striker then fell through Bryan Cristante’s leg in the 16-yard box after a ball transfer in the minutes of added time, but the referee did not award a penalty…
Thus, thanks to the goalkeepers, the match ended 0-0.
Both teams finished Group C with 14 points, but Italy finished second thanks to a 2–1 penalty shootout victory. Ukraine can win its participation in the European Championship in the spring, in the alternate qualifiers.
In the other match, England played 1-1 in North Macedonia, so the Three Lions qualified undefeated with 20 points.
Tags: defending champion qualified years European Championship
