Key events
I’m a bit late to this, but worth flagging this miss from Beto earlier this week. Guinea-Bissau were trailing Ethiopia 1-0 in their World Cup qualifier but created a golden opening in the 89th minute, only for the Everton striker to fluff his lines at the back post.
This explainer from Andy Martin is a very nice run down of where we are globally with World Cup qualification. Twenty of the 48 places at the tournament have now been filled, including co-hosts Canada, Mexico and the USA.
Perhaps we should start with Scotland. Ewan Murray was our reporter at Hampden and was brutally honest about how fortunate the home side were to take a crucial victory over Greece.
If Scotland make it to the promised land of next summer’s World Cup, they will glance back at this as a crucial evening. There must also be laughter to accompany reflection.
No sane observer could claim Steve Clarke’s team deserved to prevail here. Lewis Ferguson and Lyndon Dykes sealed the win. Dick Turpin sprang to mind. Someone, somewhere appears to be smiling on Scotland’s bid to play in a World Cup for the first time since 1998. The Scots, who had just 31% possession, are now in an excellent position in Group C. A playoff spot could be secured on Sunday evening, when Belarus visit Glasgow. Greece, who next travel to Denmark, need snookers.
“Football is a 90-minute game and you have to make sure you come out of it with a positive result,” said Clarke. “Maybe 3-1 flatters us but we did enough to win the game. It is a big win for us. Results are the only thing that qualify you for a tournament.”
This is how Group C looks after that result. Had they lost, a play-off place could be slipping out of reach. But now, automatic qualification to the World Cup remains a very real possibility.
Preamble
You could hear the collective sigh emanating from the Football Association HQ last night as Thomas Tuchel decided that the best way to dissect England’s excellent 3-0 win over Wales at Wembley on Thursday night was to criticise the home fans that had parted with their hard-earned money and alternative evening plans to attend an international friendly.
The stadium was silent. We didn’t get any energy back from the stands. We did everything to win. What more can you give in 20 minutes? We didn’t let them escape. If you hear just Wales fans for half an hour, it’s sad because the team deserved more support today.
I stand by this statement. We cannot do more than being 3-0 in a derby. I would have wished for a bit more support in phases where it gets difficult. In the second half to get behind us, there was a bit too much support for Wales. It could have helped us to regain energy, but it is what it is and that is it.”
Hmmm. How odd, picking a fight when there was almost none to be had. Anyway, we’ll have lots of reaction from Wembley, including the actual football, as well as the eight other World Cup qualifiers around Europe (including Scotland’s crucial victory over Greece at Hampden) and preview the eight further qualifiers coming this evening.
Let’s get to it.
