The international break threw up another round of exciting fixtures, in the run up to the Qatar 2022 World Cup. As various national teams fight for a place in next year’s footballing showpiece in the Middle East.
Oladipupo Mojeed brings you a review of some of the important and intriguing matches.
Chile 0-1 Brazil
Brazil extended their World Cup qualifying victories to seven games after a barely deserved win over Chile.
The Brazilians were ill-prepared for the match, as they had issues with some players joining up with the squad a few days before the fixture. This showed in their performance as they were second best in every department for most of the first half.
Everton had to come up with a couple of saves to stop them from conceding against the rampaging Chileans. Coach Tite tweeked a bit of magic. When he subbed on Gerson and the eventual match-winner Ribeiro at halftime for Bruno Guimares. Vinicius Junior’s contribution also tilted the game in the Selecao’s favour and the decision paid off.
Ribeiro capitalized on a parried Neymar shot to fire home the winner in the 64th minute for the only goal of the match. Brazil now sits top of the table, 6 points clear of Argentina while the upcoming meeting is expected to be another firecracker – a repeat of the 2020 Copa America final.
Venezuela 1-3 Argentina
Argentina also maintained their unbeaten start to their World Cup qualifying campaign after a 3-1 victory over hapless Venezuela.
Lionel Messi struggled to stamp his authority in his first match back for his country after winning Copa America. His performance mattered little as his teammates came up with the goods.
Lautaro Martinez scored the match opener late in the first half. After the Venezuelans were reduced to 10 men for a reckless challenge on Messi by Adrian Martinez.
Argentina was not at their best but the extra man gave them the edge needed to cruise to a victory. Joaquin Correa and Angel Correa found the back of the net later on in the game. Yeferson Soteldo pulled one back for the hosts with a penalty deep into injury time.
Argentina were 3 points off leaders after their victory but the Brazilians extended the lead with their victory over Chile.
Hungary 0-4 England
England cruised to a 4-0 victory over the Hungarians at the Puskas Arena on Thursday night. The win moved them 5 points clear at the top of World cup qualifying group 1.
It was a miserable night on and off the field for Hungary. The country’s Football Federation is likely to face a FIFA investigation over the behaviour of their supporters who were reported to racially racial abuse two England’s players.
England showed they’ve put the Euro 2020 final behind them with a superb second-half display. Raheem Sterling scored the opener in the 55th minute after a frustrating first half, tapping home a cut back from Mason Mount. The scorer turned provider for the second 8 minutes later when Harry Kane headed in his deflected cross.
Harry Maguire found Luke Shaw’s cross from a corner to make it 3 for the night. Declan Rice sealed the victory as his outside shot found the back of the net 3 minutes from the end.
The Hungarian goalkeeper made a series of saves from Kane who wasn’t at his clinical best. This prevented his side from a more humiliating outing.
Sweden 2-1 Spain
Spain suffered their first World Cup qualifying defeat since 1993 as they lost 2-1 to Sweden. This ended a 66 games unbeaten run.
Luis Enrique’s men fell despite their early lead through Carlos Soler. Who fired home 5 minutes into his debut after Jordi Alba cut the opponent’s defense wide open with a through ball.
Spain’s lead was however short-lived as Alexander Isak leveled for the hosts just 12 seconds after play resumed. The striker took advantage of a defensive mixup to slam home.
Twelve minutes into the second half, Victor Claesson controlled Dejan Kulusevski’s pass. Before firing in the winner from 12 yards out. The victory took Sweden to the top of group B, with 9 points from 3 games. While Spain have 7 points from 4 matches.
Liechtenstein 0-2 Germany
Hansi Flick got his reign off to a winning start after a 2-0 victory over Liechtenstein on Thursday. Despite struggling in front of goal.
The Germans dominated for most of the first half but only broke the deadlock late into the half. Despite coming close through Robin Gosens header in the 19th minute which hit the post.
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Timo Werner latched on to a superb pass from Jamal Musiala before slotting home with his right foot 4 minutes from halftime.
Liechtenstein continued to park the bus and showed no intention of chasing for an equalizer. Their notable effort came from Aron Sele who tried the unthinkable, firing a long-range attempt which sailed over the crossbar.
The Germans tried to extend their lead after the break but lacked the penetration to break the hosts down. Marcus Reus came off the bench to end his international break after a long season with Dortmund. The winger provided some incisive passes his side had been missing.
The only goal of the half then finally came from Leroy Sane, who put the game out of reach in the 77th minute after firing a low shot past Benjamin Buechel.
The German’s had a comfortable victory but would be disappointed their dominance didn’t lead to more goals.
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