Scotland still has all the trump cards in the fight for second place in World Cup qualifying Group F. The Scots struggled for a 1–0 win against the Faroe Islands in Torshon which was decided late and thus placed third Israel four points away after eight games out of ten. Coach Willi Rattensteiner’s team celebrated a 2–1 home win against Moldova. The fourth-placed Austrian has no chance of finishing second after 0:1 in Denmark.
In Group I, England topped the table despite a 1–1 draw at home against Hungary, but their lead over Poland, which won the chase duel with Albania in Tirana 1–0 after the game was interrupted, shrank. up to three points. Clashes broke out between Hungarian fans and police in the stands at London’s Wembley Stadium. In Portugal’s 5–0 win over Luxembourg, Cristiano Ronaldo shone as the triple goalscorer.
The Scots had a harder time in the torsion than the FB troupe, but thanks to a goal by striker Lyndon Dykes (86th). This means they need only one win in two matches in Moldova and against World Cup participants Denmark to cross the finish line in second place. Israel will visit Klagenfurt on 12 November and end with the Faroe Islands.
The Israelis can once again rely on top striker Eran Jahavi, who opened the winning streak in the 28th minute. For the 34-year-old PSV Eindhoven, it was the eighth goal in the current qualifying. Former Salzburg striker Munas Dabber (49th) made it all clear after the break at Beer Sheva. Despite being outnumbered after the 85th minute, Moldovan achieved cosmetic results thanks to Ion Nicolescu.
The British start at Wembley Stadium was false. Luke Shaw hit Loik Nego in the penalty area and Roland Sallai beat Jordan Pickford from the penalty spot (24th). The “Three Lions” immediately reported back, with John Stones (37th) tied. He has always scored in the last 27 World Cup qualifying home games. Coach Gareth Southgate’s team did not see a more partial success than this. They lost points for the second time after a 1-1 draw in Poland.
There were unpleasant scenes in the stands during clashes between Hungarian fans and the police. Photos show how dozens of emergency services clashed with guest fans in the stands during the early stages of the game. The BBC reported that the police lathi-charged the spectators. A police statement said officers entered the stands to arrest a spectator for a racist incident shortly after the game began. This was followed by unrest in which other spectators were involved. But order was quickly restored.
Previously, individual Hungarian fans booed when English kickers took a knee before kick-off as a sign against racism and Hungarians pointed to the “respect” label on their jerseys. Hungarian fans racially insulted English players, throwing objects, throwing fireworks and blocking stairs in England’s 4–0 victory in Budapest in September. The Hungarian national team was punished by the World Federation with home games in qualifying without spectators at the World Cup.
Play was interrupted by a minute in Tirana as Albanian fans threw bottles on the field shortly after Karol vidarski’s goal (77th) was decided for the game. There were no more goals after that, which is why the Poles found themselves in pole position in the fight for second place.
In Pool A, the leaders of Serbia registered a 3–1 win against Azerbaijan in Belgrade. Followers Portugal are one point behind after a win over Luxembourg in Faro, but played one game less. Ronaldo scored with penalties in minutes 8 and 13 and scored the final point in the 87th minute. The 36-year-old thus extended his international world record to 115 goals (in 182 games). In between, Bruno Fernandes (18th) and Joao Palinha (69th) signed on the shooting list.
Sweden climbed to the top of Group B with a 2-0 win against Greece in Solna and are now two points behind Spain. In Pool C, Switzerland tied with the leaders of Italy with a 4–0 win on points in Lithuania. In Group D, Ukraine drew 1–1 in their sixth draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina and were able to base slightly on leader France, who were three points away.