Reigning champions Italy secured their ticket for Euro 2024 on Monday after holding on for a nervy goalless draw against Ukraine in their final qualifier, while the Czech Republic and Slovenia also clinched places at next year's finals.
Italy only needed the draw in a game played in Leverkusen, Germany, in order to qualify but a defeat against their direct rivals in Group C would have left their fate to be decided in playoffs next March.
That was a scenario they desperately wanted to avoid following the trauma of failing to qualify for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups after losing in playoffs, either side of winning the last European Championship in 2021.
Read on supersport.com