Precious
This weekend European World Cup Qualifiers gave Romelu Lukaku its 100th appearance with 67th international goals and Robert Lewandowski took his Poland tally to 72 while Germany Spain, France celebrate Sunday, September, 5 2021. Netherlands swept Montenegro aside while France trounced Ukraine.6-0.
READ ALSO: EUROPEAN WCQ: What to look out for today+The Big Match of the day (SEE FIXTURES)
Yann Sommer saved a Jorginho penalty as Italy drew 0-0 in Switzerland, but the stalemate was enough to secure the European champions a continental record: it was their 36th consecutive game unbeaten. They have not lost since a 1-0 UEFA Nations League defeat to Portugal on 10 September 2018.
All Sunday’s matches
Group B: Kosovo 1-1 Greece, Spain 4-0 Georgia
Group C: Bulgaria 1-0 Lithuania, Switzerland 0-0 Italy
Group E: Belarus 2-3 Wales, Belgium 3-0 Czech Republic
Group I: Albania 1-0 Hungary, England 4-0 Andorra, San Marino 1-7 Poland
Group J: Iceland 2-2 North Macedonia, Germany 6-0 Armenia, Romania 2-0 Liechtenstein.
READ ALSO: UEFA Champions League group stage Squad confirmed; see for Chelsea, Man United (SEE FULL LIST)
Germany and Spain win big
Germany trailed Armenia at the top of Group J before kick-off but that was soon forgotten as Serge Gnabry scored twice in the first 15 minutes, Marco Reus, Timo Werner, Jonas Hofman and Karim Adeyemi also on target. Spain bounced back from their first World Cup qualifying defeat in 28 years with a comprehensive win over Georgia, José Gayà, Carlos Soler, Ferran Torres and Pablo Sarabia the scorers.
Milestones for Lukaku and Italy
Romelu Lukaku marked his 100th appearance for Belgium with his 67th international goal as the Red Devils secured a comprehensive 3-0 win at home against the Czech Republic. The Chelsea striker is only the sixth player to win 100 caps for the Red Devils. Italy failed to win for a second game in succession, but their record-breaking 36th game unbeaten was some consolation as they failed to break down fellow UEFA EURO 2020 finals notables Switzerland.
READ ALSO: SUPER EAGLES: Iheanacho, Iwobi receive cash prizes for superlative performance against Liberia in FIFA WCQ
Best of the rest
Bukayo Saka marked his 20th birthday with a goal as England cruised to a 4-0 win at home against Andorra, while Gareth Bale scored a hat-trick in Kazan, including a last-gasp winner, as Wales came from behind to beat Belarus. Robert Lewandowski scored twice in Poland’s 7-1 win in San Marino but was upstaged a little by team-mate Adam Buksa, who scored three on the night.
All Saturday’s results:
Group A: Republic of Ireland 1-1 Azerbaijan, Serbia 4-1 Luxembourg
Group D: Finland 1-0 Kazakhstan, Ukraine 1-1 France
Group F: Faroe Islands 0-1 Denmark, Israel 5-2 Austria, Scotland 1-0 Moldova
Group G: Latvia 0-2 Norway, Gibraltar 0-3 Turkey, Netherlands 4-0 Montenegro
Group H: Cyprus 0-2 Russia, Slovenia 1-0 Malta, Slovakia 0-1 Croatia
READ ALSO: Read what Portugal did to Manchester Forward, Ronaldo after defeat of Ireland
