With the international break underway, matchday 2 of the European World Cup qualifiers was played out to a conclusion yesterday. Here are all the results from 2nd September:
Georgia 0-1 Kosovo
Sweden 2-1 Spain
Group C
Italy 1-1 Bulgaria
Lithuania 1-4 Northern Ireland
Group E
Estonia 2-5 Belgium
Czech Republic 1-0 Belarus
Group I
Hungary 0-4 England
Andorra 2-0 San Marino
Poland 4-1 Albania
Group J
Liechtenstein 0-2 Germany
North Macedonia 0-0 Armenia
Iceland 0-2 Romania
England had a remarkable night, managing to defeat Hungary 4-0 in front of their own fans. Harry Kane, Harry Maguire, Raheem Sterling and Declan Rice were on the scoresheet as they comfortably positioned themselves at the top of Group I with 12 points.
Spain, on the other hand, suffered a shock defeat to Switzerland with Viktor Claesson’s second half shot proving to be enough to see them through. The victory against La Roja puts them at the top of the group, with a game in hand.
Germany made short work of Liechtenstein, with Timo Werner and Leroy Sane netting for Hansi Flick in his first official game in charge of the German national team. Despite the victory, Germany are behind Armenia in their group, with a difference of one point between them.
Italy were held to a 1-1 draw against Bulgaria, with the scoreline remaining unchanged for the majority of the game. Federico Chiesa scored an outstanding solo goal, but it was neutralised by Atanas Iliev and neither team could deliver another goal to take all the points.
Lastly, Belgium cruised to victory against Estonia with Romelu Lukaku netting a double to put them five goals ahead. Mattias Kait gave the hosts an early lead, but the remainder of the match was the complete opposite of the story that the initial minutes showed us.
