PARIS
\nWout Weghorst scored a second-half winner as the Netherlands beat Ireland 2-1 in Dublin to boost their Euro 2024 qualifying hopes on Sunday, while Poland lost for the third time in qualifying against Albania.
\nRonald Koeman\u2019s Dutch side had to come back from behind against a spirited Ireland but did enough to stay in the second qualifying spot in Group B behind France.
\nThey are level on points with third-placed Greece who have played an extra match and thrashed Gibraltar 5-0.
\nThe Netherlands were stunned inside the first five minutes when Adam Idah scored a penalty awarded for handball against Virgil van Dijk.
\nBut Ireland\u2019s momentum was halted in the 19th minute when a mistake from Matt Doherty led to Denzel Dumfries being brought down by home goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu.
\nCody Gakpo stepped up to put away the spot-kick and score for the second time in the international break.
\nBazunu made a good save to keep out an effort from Donyell Malen before half-time but the Netherlands did take the lead in the 56th minute when Weghorst fired home from Dumfries\u2019 header across goal.
\nIreland could not summon a late push for an equaliser and remain fourth in the table, six points behind the Dutch with only three matches left.
\nIn Tirana, Poland\u2019s bid to qualify for a fifth straight European Championship suffered another blow with a 2-0 loss.
\nAlbania moved to the top of Group E, two points above the Czech Republic and surprise package Moldova, with Poland two points further behind in fourth.
\nJasir Asani, who plays his club football for Gwangju in South Korea, sent Albania on their way to a massive victory with a magnificent left-footed strike from outside the right-hand side of the area.
\nMirlind Daku secured the three points by adding a second goal just after the hour mark.
\nThe other game in the group saw Moldova continue their remarkable bid to qualify with a 1-0 win over the Faroe Islands in their first qualifier since shocking Poland in June.
\nDenmark, semi-finalists at Euro 2020, took a big step towards qualification from Group H as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg\u2019s 86th-minute strike grabbed a 1-0 away win over Finland.
\nThe Danes jumped a point above their beaten opponents into the top two, level with Slovenia who saw off San Marino 4-0.
\n\u201cThe goal was a relief and this was a very important win for us. Finland are a good team and they did not make it easy for us,\u201d said Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand.
\nThe top four teams in the group are separated by just a single point after Kazakhstan kept their bid to reach a maiden major tournament alive with a 1-0 success against Northern Ireland.
\nAleksandar Mitrovic scored a first-half hat-trick as Serbia beat Lithuania 3-1 to stay on course for next year\u2019s finals in Germany.
\nSerbia sit second in Group G, two points ahead of Montenegro who kept pace thanks to Stevan Jovetic\u2019s 96th-minute winner in a 2-1 victory over Bulgaria.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PARIS Wout Weghorst scored a second-half winner as the Netherlands beat Ireland 2-1 in Dublin to boost their Euro 2024 qualifying hopes on Sunday, while Poland lost for the third time in qualifying against Albania. Ronald Koeman\u2019s Dutch side had to come back from behind against a spirited Ireland but did enough to stay in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-355624","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n