EURO qualifiers: Defeats for Čvančara and Ranos

Both Tomáš Čvančara (Czechia) und Grant-Leon Ranos (Armenia) suffered losses with their national teams.

Czechia have received a setback in the fight for a place in EURO 2024, as they were beaten 3-0 in a top-of-Group E clash in Albania. Tomáš Čvančara, who was brought on in the 64th minute when Albania were 2-0 up, could not turn the game around. Jasir Asani in the 9th minute and Taulant Seferi in the 51st and 73rd netted the goals for the hosts, who lead Group E with 13 points, ahead of Poland (nine points from six games) and Czechia (eight points from five games). With a win on Sunday against Faroe Islands, Čvančara’s team could return to second place in the group standings (18:00 CEST).

A chance to take part in the EUROs is slipping away for Armenia. Janis Ikaunieks in the 39th minute and Daniels Balodis in the 68th sealed their 2-0 defeat in Latvia. Grant-Leon Ranos came on as a substitute in the 59th minute, but couldn’t affect the game in the final phases. Ahead of the last qualifying games against Wales and Croatia in the middle of November, Armenia sit in third place in Group D with seven points. Turkey (13) and Croatia (10 with a game in hand) currently occupy the first two places. Ranos’ side go to North Macedonia for a friendly match on Tuesday at 15:00 CEST.