Harry Kane on Tuesday scored twice as England thrashed Latvia 5-0 to secure qualification for the FIFA World Cup, while Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal were forced to wait to clinch their spot at the finals after being held by Hungary.
Elsewhere, pro-Palestinian demonstrations prefaced Italy’s vital win over Israel, and Spain took another step toward qualification with a big victory against Bulgaria.
Thomas Tuchel’s England brushed aside Latvia in Riga to make it six wins from six in European qualifiers’ Group K and guarantee top spot before their final two fixtures next month — they have 18 points and an unassailable seven-point lead over second-placed Albania.
Photo: Reuters
Anthony Gordon opened the scoring before Kane produced a lethal finish and then netted a penalty to make it 3-0 at halftime — the Bayern Munich striker has 21 goals in 13 games this season for club and country.
Maksims Tonisevs scored an own-goal, and Eberechi Eze added the fifth, with England now able to look forward to December’s draw for next year’s finals.
“It comes rarely that you qualify for a World Cup, so the mood is very, very good,” Tuchel said.
All 12 group winners in Europe qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up going on to playoffs.
Serbia are a point behind Albania after fighting back to win 3-1 in Andorra.
Guillaume Lopez gave Andorra the lead with a stunning strike from inside the center circle which sailed over Serbia goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.
Christian Garcia’s own-goal brought Serbia level before Dusan Vlahovic headed them in front, and Aleksandar Mitrovic netted a penalty.
Portugal were on the brink of punching their ticket as they led Hungary 2-1 in stoppage-time in Lisbon, knowing a win would confirm first place in Group F.
Attila Szalai headed Hungary in front only for Ronaldo to turn in Nelson Semedo’s driven cross to equalize midway through the first half.
Ronaldo then converted a Nuno Mendes cross to give Portugal the lead in first-half stoppage-time, taking the 40-year-old Al-Nassr superstar to an all-time international record of 143 goals in 225 appearances for his country.
He now holds the record for the most goals in World Cup qualifying with 41, two more than retired Guatemala international Carlos Ruiz on 39.
However, Hungary snatched a draw when Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai finished from close range in stoppage-time.
That means Hungary remain five points behind Portugal with two games left and so could still top Group F, while Ireland theoretically could too after Evan Ferguson’s header secured a 1-0 victory against Armenia, who had Tigran Barseghyan sent off.
Italy’s meeting with Israel in Udine was prefaced by clashes between some pro-Palestinian demonstrators and police as thousands more peacefully marched through the northern Italian city in anger at the hosting of a match they felt should not have been played.
There have been calls for FIFA to exclude Israel from international competition in response to the country’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip which followed a cross-border assault carried out by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. There was a huge security presence around the Bluenergy Stadium hosting the Group I fixture, won 3-0 by Italy.
The Azzurri are desperate to qualify for the World Cup having failed to make it to the previous two editions.
Mateo Retegui converted a penalty in first-half stoppage-time and scored again with a stunning hit on 74 minutes.
Gianluca Mancini headed in a late third to ensure that Italy will finish at least second in the group and are now just three points behind leaders Norway with two games left.
The teams are to meet next month, but Norway’s superior goal-difference means they remain primed to finish first. Estonia and Moldova drew 1-1 in the same group.
European champions Spain have four wins from four in Group E after defeating Bulgaria 4-0 in Valladolid.
Mikel Merino scored two headers and now has six goals in four games in qualifying. Atanas Chernev scored an own-goal before Mikel Oyarzabal converted a late penalty.
“We don’t have much further to go to get to the World Cup, but it’s not done yet... I hope we keep winning,” Merino told Spanish television.
Spain are three points clear of Turkey, who beat Georgia 4-1 at home with Merih Demiral bagging a brace. Kenan Yildiz and Yunus Akgun also scored.
BOUNCE BACK: Curry scored 46 points in the Warriors’ victory over the Spurs, after ‘everybody stepped up’ following Tuesday’s blowout loss to Oklahoma City Nikola Jokic scoring 50 or more points had never been enough for the Denver Nuggets to win — until now. Jokic on Wednesday night tied the highest-scoring performance in the NBA this season with 55 points, as the Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Clippers 130-116 for their sixth straight victory. The Nuggets were 0-4 in his previous 50-point outbursts. “It’s a good feeling,” the three-time NBA Most Valuable Player said. He equaled Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 55 in a double-overtime game at the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 23. Jokic has been on a roll during Denver’s winning streak. He is the
The tri-nation Twenty20 international series featuring hosts Pakistan, as well as Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, is to be played entirely in Rawalpindi from Tuesday next week, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said yesterday, after this week’s suicide bombing in the capital, Islamabad. The change came after at least eight Sri Lankan players asked to leave over security fears following Tuesday’s bombing that killed 12 people and wounded 27. Their country’s cricket board issued a stern directive to the team to stay put or face consequences. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said the decision to stay was taken after “close consultations” with hosts Pakistan who
France’s Kevin Aymoz snatched the men’s title at Skate America on Saturday, winning his first grand prix title with a battling free skate, while short program leader Kazuki Tomono faltered. It was an emotional triumph for Aymoz, who made his grand prix level debut in 2017, with seven prior podium finishes, but no gold. He had struggled with a painful foot injury since a disappointing 10th-place finish at Skate Canada last month. “It was so difficult,” the 28-year-old said. “After Skate Canada I wanted to give up so much and today I’m here and it’s so beautiful to be with my friends competing
Australian restaurant chain Grill’d has made a cheeky apology for putting a “curse” on Oscar Piastri’s Formula One title hopes with their offer of a free burger for every time the McLaren driver gets on the podium. The Melbourne native has not finished in the top three since the promotion relaunched five races ago, losing the championship lead to teammate Lando Norris and now 24 points behind. Online conspiracy theorists have been quick to put two and two together. The chain’s Piastri 81 Burger debuted ahead of the Australian Grand Prix in March, with his endorsement, and was relaunched in September after he
RSS