-
Stuart Kavanagh
-
UEFA World Cup Qualifiers Results
Euro Nations Begin Booking Their Tickets To Qatar
Nations are beginning to join Germany and Denmark as definite attendees of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar next year. The final round of group stage fixtures has been and is being played out across the continent. As the results come rolling in, some more big names have confirmed their qualification. Let's take a look at the results and the qualifiers as things stand.
Belgium booked their ticket to Qatar with a 3-1 victory over Estonia at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels. Despite being robbed of their number 9, Romelu Lukaku, the Belgians still glittered with stars as Christian Benteke, Yannick Carrasco, and Thorgan Hazard all found the back of the net much to the home crowd delight. It put the Belgians in the top spot with an unassailable five-point lead over Wales with one set of fixtures to play.
If Belgium can have all their stars fit and ready to play when the tournament comes around in Qatar, Roberto Martinez and his players have a genuine chance to lift the trophy.
Defending champions France booked their spot in an emphatic fashion. The current holders of the Jules Rimet trophy run rampant against a hapless Kazakhstan. They secured the three points with a huge 8-0 victory. The first-half hattrick from Kylian Mbappe assured the result less than 30 minutes in. Karim Benzema and Antoine Griezmann got in on the act too, before Adrien Rabiot scored his first-ever goal for his country. Mbappe added a fourth to complete the route, giving Les Bleus an unbeatable four-point lead at the top of Group D over Finland.
Elsewhere Group G is tentatively poised after an incredible collapse from Oranje. The Dutch were two goals up with ten minutes to play but crumbled at the death to a fast-finishing Montenegro side. Ilija Vukotic and Nikola Vujnovic scored in the final ten minutes which robbed the Dutch of the opportunity to book their place in Qatar after the 0-0 draw between Norway and Latvia left the door of qualification wide open for them. Elsewhere in the group, Turkey roared back into contention with a 6-0 win over a Gibraltar side still looking for their first World Cup qualification point.
Heading into the final matchday Netherlands leads the way on 20 points. Turkey and Norway follow them on eighteen points. It is sure to be a grandstand finish in Group G with Norway facing the Netherlands and Turkey facing Montenegro and all three teams capable of auto-qualification.
Stay locked at The Pyrrhic during this international break and we will keep you updated with who has qualified and who has missed out on a spot at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Want more sports from ThePyrrhic.com? Check out these great articles:
Show your love for thepyrrhic.com with this sweet branded t-shirt