In Tirana, Poland's bid to qualify for a fifth straight European Championship suffered another blow with a 2-0 loss. Albania 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.

Jasir 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. Mirlind Daku secured the three points by adding a second goal just after the hour mark.

The 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.

September 10, 2023

Hojbjerg downs Finland

Denmark, semi-finalists at Euro 2020, took a big step towards qualification from Group H as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's 86th-minute strike grabbed a 1-0 away win over Finland. The Danes jumped a point above their beaten opponents into the top two, level with Slovenia who saw off San Marino 4-0.

"The 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," said Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand. The 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.

Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a first-half hat-trick as Serbia beat Lithuania 3-1 to stay on course for next year's finals in Germany. Serbia sit second in Group G, two points ahead of Montenegro who kept pace thanks to Stevan Jovetic's 96th-minute winner in a 2-1 victory over Bulgaria.

Mirlind Daku

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