September 05, (THEWILL) – The World Cup qualifiers continued across Europe on Saturday night as some countries took bolder steps towards booking their tickets for Qatar 2022 while others lost ground. Yet, some draws meant that points were shared in the fixtures that took place in Ireland and in Ukraine.
Here is a round up of the matches that held in the qualifying series in the UEFA region:
Republic of Ireland 1-1 Azerbaijan
In the first draw in Ireland, the Irish could only snatch a humbling 1-1 draw with Azerbaijan at the Aviva Stadium. The Boys in Green fell behind on the stroke of half-time, when Emin Makhmudov crashed a stunning strike into the top corner from 25 yards.
The Irish appeared destined to be heading towards a humiliating loss on home turf, but Shane Duffy rescued a point on 87 minutes, heading home to save face for Stephen Kenny and his players on a difficult night in Dublin. It puts their qualification in serious doubt.
Serbia 4-1 Luxembourg
Serbia ran out 4-1 winners over Luxembourg in Group A’s second game of the day, leaping back to the top of the group. A brace from Aleksandar Mitrovic gave Serbia a commanding lead, but Olivier Thill brought the visitors within one. Unfortunately, Maxime Chanot scored an own goal and a Nikola Milenkovic header gave Serbia all the points.
Scotland 1-0 Moldova
Scotland improved their hopes of qualifying with a lone goal victory over Moldova in Group F’s Saturday fixture at Hampden Park. Lyndon Dykes grabbed the all-important goal on 14 minutes, and the hosts held out to lift themselves to third in the group.
Israel 5-2 Austria
The Scots were able to leapfrog Austria because the Austrians slipped to a 5-2 trashing to Israel at the Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa. Efforts from Manor Solomon, Munas Dabbur and Eran Zahavi sent Israel roaring into a three-goal lead by a little over the half hour mark.
However, Christoph Baumgartner and Marko Arnautovic set the hosts’ nerves jangling with notions of a stirring comeback only for Shon Weissman and Zahavi to secure the win and consolidate Israel’s second position in the Group.
Faroe Islands 0-1 Denmark
The Danes were able to keep their five points atop the Group F table especially as Israel was banging in the goals against Austria. Fortunately, an 85th minute header from Jonas Wind gave them all they needed to claim a 1-0 victory over hosts.
Ukraine 1-1 France
In the second draw, France struggled to their second successive draw in a 1-1 tie with Ukraine, having to come from behind after Mykola Shaparenko opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time. The French hero was Anthony Martial. He pulled Les Bleus level with a scrappy goal five minutes after the break.
However, France failed to get the job done on another underwhelming evening for the world champions in the qualifying series.
Latvia 0-2 Norway
Not for the first nor the last time, Norway had Erling Haaland to thank for their 2-0 victory over Latvia. The Borussia Dortmund finisher tucked away a penalty in the 20th minute of the game to ease the pressure on the visitors. Mohamed Elyounoussi put the result beyond doubt midway through the second half, sending Norway top of Group G.
Netherlands 4-0 Montenegro
In-form Barcelona forward Memphis Depay bagged a brace in the 4-0 pummelling of Montenegro by the Dutch in another Group G fixture on Saturday. Goals also came in from Georginio Wijnaldum and Cody Gakpo, whose 76th minute netter put the finishing touches on the scoreline.
Cyprus 0-2 Russia
Russia reached the summit of Group H with a comfortable 2-0 win against Cyprus. Aleksandr Yerokhin broke the deadlock on six minutes, and Rifat Zhemaletdinov doubled the lead 10 minutes after the break for the visitors. Cyrus held off more attacks but could not make an impact on the Russian defense.
Slovakia 0-1 Croatia
Croatia snatched a vital 1-0 win away at Slovakia to keep their hopes of topping Group H alive. Marcelo Brozovic’s late strike helped them beat Slovakia as the midfielder found the net from distance following a set piece. Croatia now sit joint-top of the group, sharing the podium with Russia.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
