MATCHDAY: Haaland back for Norway, Ronaldo's Portugal plays in Euro qualifiers
A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Saturday:
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING
GROUP A
Erling Haaland is set to play against Scotland in his first game for Norway since September and the pressure is on for Manchester City's record-breaking striker to salvage his country's troubled qualifying campaign. Scotland stunned Spain 2-0 in its last game in March and is the surprise group leader. Norway has one point from two games and last won a competitive match in June 2022. The bottom two teams meet when Georgia plays Cyprus.
GROUP E
The Czech Republic leads the group ahead of what in theory should be a routine trip to the Faroe Islands. However, the Czechs dropped points in a draw with struggling Moldova in their last game and the Faroe Islands showed a potential to upset bigger teams in a win over Turkey last year. The Czech Republic did beat the Faroe Islands 5-0 when they last met, though. Albania hosts Moldova.
GROUP F
Belgium is without Kevin de Bruyne as it hosts Austria aiming for a win to dislodge the Austrians from first place in the group. Since Belgium's disappointing group-stage exit at the World Cup last year, the team has rebounded by beating Sweden 3-0 in its qualifying opener in March and then Germany 3-2 in a friendly. De Bruyne is unavailable due to a hamstring problem that limited him to 36 minutes in the Champions League final for Manchester City. Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco has six uncapped players in his squad, three of them midfielders, including 20-year-old Aster Vranckx of AC Milan. Azerbaijan and Estonia meet in the other game, each seeking their first point.
GROUP G
Serbia leads this all-Eastern European group but isn't in action on Saturday. Instead, Hungary is looking to build on a winning start in March as it visits Montenegro. Dominik Szoboszlai captains the Hungarian team, the 22-year-old midfielder fresh off winning the German Cup with Leipzig, though he had to pay a fine for celebrating that victory with a lit flare. Either of those two teams could join Serbia on six points with a win. The two group outsiders meet when Lithuania hosts Bulgaria.
GROUP J
Another milestone is in sight for Cristiano Ronaldo, who could play his 200th game for Portugal against Iceland on Tuesday. Before that, however, is game No. 199 against Bosnia-Herzegovina, a team with eyes on one of the two qualifying spots. Back in action in Europe after missing out on the Saudi Arabian title with Al-Nassr, Ronaldo could also add to his record 122 international goals. He scored two apiece against Liechtenstein and Luxembourg in March as Portugal won both games to lead the group. Also, Slovakia visits Iceland and Luxembourg hosts Liechtenstein.
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