Group F: Scotland in playoff – Denmark still in command
20 points after 9 games means second place for the Scots and thus a ticket to the playoffs. The British got the required 3 points with 2:0 in Chisinau. Two decisive goals were scored by Nathan Peterson (38′) and Che Adams (65′), Moldova missed a penalty just before the end of the game. This means that Scotland has the opportunity to participate in the World Cup in two playoff games for the first time since 1998.
The conflict between Austria and Israel later in the evening turned to a side note, with Scotland’s victory: after Austria, the Scots were no longer holding Israel either. Nevertheless, both teams were not impressed with the starting position and fought an uphill battle: first, a deflected free kick (32nd) landed in goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann’s goal, before Marko Arnatovic (51st) equalized with a penalty. . This lasted only a short time: Dor Peretz (58th) advanced from a tight angle for the new lead, but ex-Lucerne player Louis Schaub started the change with a double strike (62nd/72nd).
9 wins from 9 matches: This is Denmark’s impressive streak in the World Cup qualifiers, which continued with their home win over the Faroe Islands. With the first two goals (18th/63rd), the hosts’ goalscorers benefited from early work from committed striker Yusuf Poulsen. But there was still a drop of bitterness in the game in Copenhagen: in the 89th minute, Clemint Olsen led the Dane in the first goal in qualifying. Atalanta’s Joaquim Mahele made up for the fault a short time later, with a 3–1 final score of praise.
Group I: England have a strong first half – Poland also wins clearly
After only 45 minutes, Wembley fans were awarded a handful of goals that should have been in the home match against Albania. Harry Maguire (9th), who was criminally left alone after a free kick, started. The hosts’ second goal, scored by Harry Kane (18th), also dropped with a header. Soon after, he received an assist when he called for teammate Jordan Henderson (27th). For the fourth goal, Kane (33rd) was worried again: from a tight angle he beat goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha, who had to watch moments later to see how the Tottenham striker crowned his show with a hat-trick before the break. His third hit was particularly good: Kane hit with a side pull. A one point win in San Marino is enough for England to qualify for the World Cup.
11 seconds was only played in the Pyrenees at the short stage when Andorra striker Kuku saw a red card. Due to an elbow injury against Kamil Glick, he had to leave the field before the ball could even touch it. In addition to the referee, world footballer Robert Lewandowski (5th) punished this thoughtless action with an opening goal for the favourite. While Poland followed soon after, Andorra surprisingly scored the first in the 45th minute: a free kick from Mark Welles got none but made it into goal to make it 1:2 after a treacherous bounce. . The reaction of the guests was not long in coming, Arkadiusz Milik restored a 2-goal lead before the break. Thanks to the away win, Poland are at least second in the group.
