Spain to face Peru in final World Cup warm-up in Mexico
Spain will face Peru in their final World Cup warm-up match in the Mexican city of Puebla, the Royal Spanish Football Federation said on Thursday, Reuters reported.
The June 8 friendly will be the European champions' last outing before they open their World Cup campaign against Group H opponents Cape Verde in Atlanta.
Spain will play two friendlies this month, against Serbia and Egypt, following the cancellation of the "Finalissima" against Argentina in Qatar due to the Iran war, according to Reuters.
Italy beat Northern Ireland 2-0 to close in on World Cup spot
Italy moved within one win of ending their 12-year World Cup absence with a 2-0 qualification playoff semi-final victory over Northern Ireland on Thursday thanks to second-half goals from Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean, Reuters reported.
The breakthrough arrived in the 56th minute when Tonali pounced on a cleared cross, letting the ball bounce once before firing into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
Kean effectively ended the contest in the 80th minute, latching onto a Tonali pass and ghosting past his marker before dispatching a low strike into the net, according to Reuters.
Mbappe inspires 10-man France to Brazil win
France started their preparations for the World Cup in convincing fashion as Kylian Mbappe inspired them to a 2-1 friendly win over Brazil despite being reduced to 10 men early in the second half on Thursday, Reuters reported.
Captain Mbappe, showing no sign of the knee problems that had troubled him in recent weeks, opened the scoring in the first half, while Hugo Ekitike found the net after Dayot Upamecano was sent off 10 minutes into the second half.
Gleison Bremer pulled one goal back for Brazil, according to Reuters.
Czechs book World Cup playoff final spot after penalty shootout win against Ireland
The Czech Republic clinched their place in a World Cup qualification playoff final after edging past Ireland on penalties on Thursday in a ‌thrilling encounter that finished 2-2 after extra time, Reuters reported.
Jan Kliment scored the winning penalty to send the Czechs through to Tuesday's final where they will play Denmark for a place at the tournament in June-July in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
"We didn’t start well but we handled it as a team and we’re moving on — that’s what matters most," said Czech goalkeeper Matej Kovar, who saved two penalties in the 4-3 shootout win, according to Reuters.
