Türkiye beat Croatia 1-0 to top Group D in Euro 2024 qualifiers
Türkiye's Barış Alper Yılmaz celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against Croatia in their UEFA Euro 2024 Group D qualification football match at the OPUS Arena Stadium in Osijek, Croatia, Oct. 12, 2023. (Reuters Photo)


Türkiye on Thursday surprised as they claimed a 1-0 win over Croatia in the Euro 2023 qualifiers, inching closer to securing a spot in next year's tournament in Germany.

Led for the first time by new coach Vincenzo Montella, Türkiye moved to the top of Group D with 13 points from six games, three ahead of Croatia, who have played a game fewer.

The win came thanks to a goal on the half-hour by Barış Alper Yılmaz.

Yılmaz raced onto a through ball from Salih Özcan before calmly lobbing Dominik Livakovic, who had come far out of his box and was left stranded.

In the other Group D match, Latvia won 2-0 against third-place Armenia at home.

Türkiye will play against Latvia on Sunday.

The top two from each group will qualify automatically for Euro 2024 in Germany.

In other groups, Spain kept Scotland from becoming the first team to secure a place at the tournament by beating the visitors 2-0 for its 25th consecutive home win in qualifiers.

Scotland only needed a draw to clinch a spot at their second straight Euros and were still level at 0-0 after more than 70 minutes. But two late goals for Spain in Seville ended Scotland's perfect qualifying record, keeping first place in Group A up for grabs.

Scotland still lead the group with 15 points, three more than Spain and five more than Norway, which won 4-0 at Cyprus with two goals by Erling Haaland.

Scotland will qualify if Norway fail to win at home to Spain on Sunday.

Israel were supposed to host Switzerland in Group I, but their match was postponed until November because of the conflict with Palestine.

Israel's game at Kosovo scheduled for Sunday was also postponed. Israel are now due to play three qualifiers in the one-week international break next month designed for just two games.

Romania missed a chance to take the Group I lead after a 0-0 draw at Belarus, while Kosovo kept alive their chances with a 3-0 win at Andorra.

Albania stayed in front in Group E by beating the Czech Republic 3-0, while Poland moved to second place with a 2-0 win at the Faeroe Islands.

With fixtures to come against Moldova and Faroe Islands, Albania stand on the brink of their greatest achievement in international football.