Spain Can Qualify for Euro 2024 by Beating Norway

 Norway's Erling Haaland attends a training session the day before their Euro 2024 qualifying match against Spain, at the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. (AP)
Norway's Erling Haaland attends a training session the day before their Euro 2024 qualifying match against Spain, at the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. (AP)
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Spain Can Qualify for Euro 2024 by Beating Norway

 Norway's Erling Haaland attends a training session the day before their Euro 2024 qualifying match against Spain, at the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. (AP)
Norway's Erling Haaland attends a training session the day before their Euro 2024 qualifying match against Spain, at the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. (AP)

A look at what’s happening in European football on Sunday:

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING

GROUP A

Spain visits Erling Haaland's Norway seeking a win that will clinch qualification for the three-time European champions. A victory in Oslo will put Spain into the finals of Euro 2024 with two games remaining. Norway has to beat Spain to keep alive its chances of finishing in the top two.

Scotland is not in action, but the surprise group leader will qualify if Norway fails to beat Spain. Spain beat Norway 3-0 at home in March, when the visitors were missing Haaland because of injury. Also, Georgia hosts Cyprus.

GROUP D

Group leader Türkiye hosts Latvia and could qualify for next year's tournament in Germany if results go its way Sunday. Türkiye advances if it beats Latvia and Wales fails to defeat Croatia. A draw for Türkiye and a Welsh defeat will also see the Turks qualify.

GROUP E

First-place Albania is not in action but has the most to gain from results in the group. Albania is the only team that can secure its qualification if host Poland and Moldova draw, and if the Czech Republic fails to beat Faroe Islands at home. Albania leads the group with 13 points from six games. Poland has nine points, one more than the Czechs and Moldova.

GROUP I

Israel's scheduled game against Kosovo was postponed, leaving group leader Switzerland versus fifth-place Belarus and second-place Romania facing bottom team Andorra. No team can advance on Sunday.



Government: Soccer-related Arrests Have Risen in England

Soccer Football - Euro 2020 - Group D - General view of Wembley Stadium ahead of the England v Croatia match - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - June 12, 2021 REUTERS/Carl Recine/File Photo
Soccer Football - Euro 2020 - Group D - General view of Wembley Stadium ahead of the England v Croatia match - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - June 12, 2021 REUTERS/Carl Recine/File Photo
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Government: Soccer-related Arrests Have Risen in England

Soccer Football - Euro 2020 - Group D - General view of Wembley Stadium ahead of the England v Croatia match - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - June 12, 2021 REUTERS/Carl Recine/File Photo
Soccer Football - Euro 2020 - Group D - General view of Wembley Stadium ahead of the England v Croatia match - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - June 12, 2021 REUTERS/Carl Recine/File Photo

Soccer-related arrests are the on rise in England and Wales, the UK government said on Thursday. The highest number of cases were recorded at West Ham matches for the third year in a row, The Associated Press reported.
There were 2,584 football-related arrests in the 2023-24 season — a 14% increase on the previous year, figures released by the Home Office showed.
The government said the rise was driven by arrests relating to the possession of class A drugs and this year's European Championship in Germany.
The rate of arrests over the season was 5.5 per 100,000 fans attending matches in the top six levels of men’s English soccer, the Welsh league and the top two levels of women's soccer. Statistics also covered matches involving the England and Wales national teams, the Champions League final staged at Wembley Stadium, and age group matches.
“It is important that these figures are put into context. Last season around 47 million people attended men’s domestic and international matches, the highest number we have on record, and the vast majority of football fans are law-abiding citizens who want to support their team," said chief constable Mark Roberts, who is the lead for soccer policing in the UK. “However, there are a small number of fans who commit offences, and we will continue to work closely with (prosecutors) and our other partners to ensure that those responsible are held accountable."
According to the figures, there were no arrests at women's matches, despite their growing popularity and increased attendances.
Figures showed 281 arrests related to Euro 2024.
The club with the highest number of arrests was West Ham, with 103. Manchester City and Manchester United were joint second with 88. Arsenal was fourth (85) and Chelsea sixth (67).
West Ham also had the highest number of banning orders (93), with Man United second (89). Second-tier Millwall was third with 82 banning orders.
A banning order can last from three to 10 years and can be issued by courts for reasons such as a conviction for a soccer-related offense.
There were 825 new banning orders, the highest number since 2010-11.
The most common type of arrest was for public disorder, which made up 43% of cases, with violent disorder making up 19%. Possession of class A drugs accounted for 13%.
The throwing of missiles was the most commonly reported incident, at 416 matches, with pyrotechnics reported at 394 matches.
There were reports of hate crime incidents in 341 matches, which related to issues including race (226) and sexual orientation (113).
There were 423 incidents of online hate crime.