France held 2-2 by Iceland, face crunch match against Ukraine
France’s perfect record in their World Cup qualifying campaign ended as they were held to a 2-2 draw away to Iceland who got a late equaliser in an entertaining Group D clash on Monday, Reuters reported.
Jean-Philippe Mateta scored his first goal for Les Bleus to put them 2-1 ahead on his second cap after Christopher Nkunku had equalised for the visitors following Victor Palsson’s opener but Kristian Hlynsson salvaged a point for Iceland.
France remain top with 10 points from four games, three ahead of Ukraine, who beat Azerbaijan 2-1 on Monday, according to Reuters.
De Bruyne’s penalty double fires Belgium to vital win over Wales
Kevin De Bruyne scored a pair of penalties as Belgium boosted their bid to qualify for the World Cup with a crucial 4-2 win against Wales on Oct 13, Reuters reported.
Rudi Garcia’s side trailed to Joe Rodon’s early opener at the Cardiff City Stadium.
But De Bruyne levelled from the penalty spot and Thomas Meunier fired Belgium ahead before half-time, according to Reuters.
Morocco to host African World Cup playoffs
Morocco will host Africa’s four-team World Cup playoffs next month which offer the possibility of an additional place at next year’s finals in North America, the Confederation of African Football has confirmed, Reuters reported.
All winners of the nine African qualifying groups advance to the finals in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. next June, but there is also a route for a potential extra place for one of the four best runners-up.
They will play a mini tournament in Morocco in November to determine a single team that will go on to compete in an inter-continental playoff in March for a place in the 48-team field at the 2026 World Cup, according to Reuters.
Netherlands ease to victory over Finland to edge closer to World Cup qualification
Memphis Depay extended his Netherlands scoring record as they cruised to an easy 4-0 win over Finland in their World Cup qualifier on Sunday to move a step closer to booking a berth at next year’s finals, Reuters reported.
The victory kept them comfortably in the lead in Group G with 16 points from six games, six more than Poland, who play later on Sunday at Lithuania.
Donyell Malen got the scoring going at the Johan Cruyff Arena with an eighth-minute strike, followed by a header from Virgil van Dijk nine minutes later, according to Reuters.
