Kevin De Bruyne celebrated his 100th cap for Belgium by scoring in a 2-0 victory over Montenegro in Brussels, the first of two friendlies before heading to the European Championship. De Bruyne fired a long-range shot into the net just before halftime, capitalizing on a defensive mix-up that left Montenegro’s goalkeeper, Matija Sarkic, stranded. Sarkic had previously made several impressive saves, particularly against Yannick Carrasco, who was denied four times. The win was sealed when Leandro Trossard converted a penalty with the last kick of the game.
Erling Haaland, De Bruyne’s teammate at Manchester City, netted a hat-trick as Norway triumphed 3-0 over Kosovo in a home friendly. Neither Norway nor Kosovo has qualified for Euro 2024.
In Metz, France eased to a 3-0 win over Luxembourg in a friendly. Kylian Mbappé, fresh from his transfer to Real Madrid, scored along with Randal Kolo Muani and Jonathan Clauss. Kolo Muani opened the scoring just before halftime with a header from an Mbappé cross. Clauss doubled the lead with a powerful strike from outside the box, and Mbappé completed the scoring with a low shot. France will play Canada on Sunday in their final warm-up match before Euro 2024.
Christian Eriksen secured a 2-1 victory for Denmark over Sweden with a stunning late goal in a lively pre-Euro 2024 friendly at Parken. Denmark took an early lead through Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, who finished from a corner set up by Eriksen. Sweden equalized quickly with Alexander Isak capitalizing on a blocked shot. Eriksen’s curling strike in the 86th minute clinched the win for Denmark. Sweden’s coach, Jon Dahl Tomasson, was inducted into the Danish football hall of fame before the match.
Mikel Oyarzabal came off the bench to score a second-half hat-trick in Spain’s 5-0 friendly victory over Andorra. Spain, fielding a heavily rotated squad, dominated from the start. Ayoze Pérez opened the scoring in the 24th minute. Oyarzabal, introduced at halftime, added goals in the 53rd, 66th, and 73rd minutes. Ferran Torres completed the rout with a late goal. Spain will face Northern Ireland in their final warm-up before starting their Euro campaign against Croatia in Group B.
