Serbia oust Norway, advances to Euro 2020 playoff finals

Sergej Milinković-Savić scored twice to lift Serbia into European Championship playoff finals with a 2-1 extra-time win over rway on Thursday.

Serbia kept rway’s feared forward Erling Haaland quiet and found its own unlikely threat in Lazio midfielder who h t previously scored for national team.

Milinković-Savić was on hand to score from close range after a free kick into penalty area in 82nd minute, before rway leveled through Mathias rmann’s angled low shot in 88th.

An exquisite piece of skill won game in 102nd, as Milinković-Savić tricked rway goalkeeper Rune Jarstein with a deft, slow chip from edge of six-yard box.

Serbia will host Scotland in one of four playoff finals on v. 12 that will complete 24-nation Euro 2020 lineup. Scotland beat Israel in a penalty shootout in Glasgow after a 0-0 draw.

eight playoff semifinals played Thursday included four nations that will host games at Euro 2020 tournament.

Hungary and Scotland vanced to stay in contention for getting two home games in group st next June. Ireland and Romania were eliminated.

playoffs involve teams who won ir Nations League groups, or h a high placing, two years ago but did t vance to Euro 2020 directly from tritional qualifying groups last year.

games were originally scheduled in March before UEFA shut down its competitions and postponed Euro 2020 by one year because of coronavirus pandemic.

LEAGUE A

Iceland recaptured feelgood spirit of its run to Euro 2016 quarterfinals in beating visiting Romania 2-1.

Gylfi Sigurdsson scored twice with low, left-foot shots in first half, before Romania closed gap with a penalty midway through second.

Iceland goes to Hungary, which eased to a 3-1 in at Bulgaria, for top-tier playoff final at Puskas Stium in Budapest.

winner will join toughest-looking Euro 2020 group, with defending champion Portugal plus past two World Cup winners, France and Germany. It will be played in Munich and Budapest.

LEAGUE B

Penalty shootouts decided both games, with rrn Ireland winning one and Ireland losing or.

rrn Ireland beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 4-3 in shootout after a 1-1 draw in Sarajevo. Bosnia took le through Re Krunić’s goal in 14th and Niall McGinn leveled in 53rd.

Slovakia and Ireland were goalless in Bratislava, before home team won shootout 4-2.

rrn Ireland will host Slovakia on v. 12. winner enters group based in Bilbao and Dublin with Spain, Poland and Sweden.

LEAGUE C

Two more tense games went to extra time in Oslo and Glasgow.

Serbia, which played at 2018 World Cup, was an outlier in Nations League third tier two years ago and proved too strong for a young rwegian team.

Scotland was pressed back for much of a 0-0 draw against Israel, n struck a post from last attack in extra time.

Scots scored all five penalties in shootout, and goalkeeper David Marshall me one save.

Serbia will host final in Belgre. winner on v. 12 goes into London-Glasgow group with England, Croatia and Czech Republic.

LEAGUE D

Kosovo’s quest to reach European Championship at first attempt ended with a loss at rth Macedonia.

World soccer’s newest national team, joining UEFA and FIFA in 2016, was beaten 2-1 in Skopje with all goals coming in first half.

Kosovo trailed to an own goal, leveled though defender Florent Hergjonaj’s 25-meter chip into an unguarded goal, and was beaten by Darko Velkoski’s 33rd-minute heer.

rth Macedonia next travels to Georgia to see which country will make a Euros debut.

Georgia held off Belarus 1-0 after getting a seventh-minute penalty earned and scored by Tornike Okriashvili.

winner on v. 12 will join a Euro 2020 group with Nerlands, Ukraine and Austria. Games will be played in Amsterdam and Bucharest.

Im credits: AP

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