Greece and Switzerland made an impressive start to FIFA World Cup 26™ qualifying, while Italy began a new era in positive fashion and Czechia maintained their advantage in Group L.
Elsewhere, there was frustration for Sweden and Demark, with both held at home, while Kylian Mbappe equalled a Bleus legend as France clinched a vital 2-0 win away to Ukraine.
Read on for a full rundown of the UEFA action on Friday 5 September.
Group B
Slovenia goals: Sandi Lovric (46), Zan Vipotnik (90)
Sweden goals: Anthony Elanga (18), Yasin Ayari (71)
Slovenia struck a dramatic late equaliser to snatch a point against Sweden in this Group B opener.
Anthony Elanga opened the scoring in some style. The Newcastle United man played a slick give-and-go with Yasin Ayari before tricking his way into space and slotting in. Slovenia pulled level soon after the half-time interval, with Sandi Lovric’s strike from outside the area squirming through the hands of Robin Olsen.
The Swedes regained their advantage when Viktor Gyokeres laid the ball off for Ayari to fire home. That looked like it was going to be the winner until Zan Vipotnik got on the end of a Benjamin Sesko flick-on and blasted a shot in off the post.
Switzerland goals: Manuel Akanji (22), Breel Embolo (25, 45), Silvan Widmer (39)
Switzerland kicked off their World Cup qualifying campaign with a comprehensive home win over Kosovo.
Manuel Akanji opened the scoring when he met Ruben Vargas’ corner with a towering header. Breel Embolo soon made it 2-0, hammering a close-range drive beyond Kosovo goalkeeper Arijanet Muric. Defender Silvan Widmer then got in on the act with a neat first-time finish. Switzerland were relentless and Embolo’s impudent backheel made it four before half-time.
Murat Yakin’s team eased off in the second half, with Monday’s match against Slovenia perhaps on their minds.
Group C
Scotland and Denmark fought out an entertaining goalless draw in Copenhagen, leaving Greece as the early Group C pace-setters.
The Danes won convincingly in this same fixture en route to Qatar 2022 and dominated the early stages in Parken, albeit without creating a great deal.
Scotland weathered the storm well though, and came close to an opener early in the second half through a deflected effort from John McGinn. Lyndon Dykes should also have scored for the Scots but hesitated after being played in by strike partner Che Adams and allowed the Danish defence to scramble clear.
The hosts had plenty of attacks of their own, with their best effort coming when Anders Dreyer’s fizzing left-foot shot shaved the outside of the right-hand post on its way into the side-netting.
Greece goals: Konstantinos Karetsas (3), Evangelos Pavlidis (17), Anastasios Bakasetas (21), Dimitrios Kourmpelis (36), Christos Tzolis (63)
Belarus goal: German Barkovsky pen (72)
Greece made an emphatic start to their quest to reach a first World Cup since 2014. Ivan Jovanovic’s team went into the game in outstanding form and were 4-0 up by half-time.
The pick of their goals came from Anastasios Bakasetas, who pirouetted past his marker and found the top corner from outside the box. Christos Tzolis amplified the advantage after the interval after Bakasetas burgled the ball in the Belarussian area, before German Barkovsky got a consolation for Carlos Alos’s men from the spot.
Greece will host Denmark in a top-of-the-table clash on Monday, while Belarus will look to bounce back against Scotland.
Group D
Iceland goals: Victor Palsson (45+2), Isak Johannesson (47, 56), Albert Gudmundsson (67), Kristian Hylnsson (73)
Isak Johannesson struck twice as Iceland made a winning start to their Group D campaign with an emphatic victory in Reykjavic.
Arnar Gunnlaugsson’s side endured a frustrating time of it in the first half, dominating possession but finding their attacking endeavours thwarted throughout. It took a set piece to end Azerbaijan’s resistance, with veteran defender Victor Palsson rising higher than everyone else to bullet home Albert Gudmundsson’s inswinging corner.
If the first half was hard work for the hosts, the second proved anything but. Indeed, Johannesson’s brace – the first a brave diving header, the second a neat finish to cap a flowing move – effectively settled the outcome before the hour-mark.
Further gloss was then added to the scoreline by goals from Gudmundsson, superbly worked once again, and Kristian Hylnsson.
France goals: Michael Olise (10), Kylian Mbappe (82)
Kylian Mbappe equalled Thierry Henry’s France haul as Les Bleus made a successful start to qualifying.
Michael Olise passed the ball into the bottom corner for an early opener, and the lively Mbappe came close to doubling the lead before the break. Ousmane Dembele came on for the second half and, following a glorious Aurelien Tchouameni dink over the top, forced Anatoliy Trubin into a smart block.
Ukraine then came mightily close to equalising twice within 90 seconds. First, Ibrahima Konate did magnificently to twist his neck and head Artem Dovbyk’s effort off the line. Then Illya Zabarnyi’s reaction header, from only two yards out, came back off the post.
But with Serhiy Rebrov’s side pushing for an equaliser, Mbappe put the result to bed with a trademark solo goal. It was the 26-year-old’s 51st goal in 91 games for France, taking him level with Thierry Henry and six behind their all-time leading marksman Olivier Giroud.
Group I
Italy goals: Moise Kean (58), Mateo Retegui (69, 89), Giacomo Raspadori (71), Alessandro Bastoni (90+2)
Gennaro Gattuso enjoyed the perfect start to life as Italy coach as the Azzurri dispatched a resilient Estonia team thanks to a five-star display in the second half. After early setbacks in their qualifying campaign led to the dismissal of Luciano Spalletti, Italy will now go into Monday’s crunch clash with second-placed Israel — over whom they have a game in hand — full of confidence.
Gattuso’s side dominated the first half but they retreated to the half-time dressing room empty-handed after failing to break down the Estonia defence.
But it was a different story after the break, with Moise Kean breaking the deadlock on 58 minutes with a powerful back-post header after an exquisite back-heeled assist from Mateo Retegui. Italy then scored twice in three minutes — first with a long-range strike from Retegui and then a diving header from Giacomo Raspadori — to further stamp their authority. Late headers from Retegui and Alessandro Bastoni sealed a well-deserved victory.
Israel goals: Dor Peretz (15), Manor Solomon (35), Tai Baribo (59), Oscar Gloukh (77)
Israel kept up the pressure on top-of-the-table Norway with a comfortable victory in Moldova.
The away side made a fast start and took the lead when Manor Solomon fired superb pass across goal and Dor Peretz stabbed in at the back post. Solomon then got on the scoresheet himself, his precision low shot wrong-footing Moldova goalkeeper Cristian Avram. The visitors continued to dominate and second-half strikes from Tai Baribo and Oscar Gloukh put the result beyond doubt.
Israel are now just three points behind first-placed Norway in Group I, while Moldova remain bottom of the table.
Group L
Croatia goal: Andrej Kramaric (31)
Croatia maintained their 100 per cent record after Andrej Kramaric’s first-half header secured a close but comfortable victory over the Faroe Islands. Zlatko Dalic’s men remain three points behind leaders Czechia but have two games in hand over their rivals.
The home side almost took a shock lead in the fifth minute after Croatia keeper Dominik Livakovic blocked an excellent chance from Hanus Sorensen. But Croatia quickly piled on the pressure and finally found the breakthrough just after the half-hour mark thanks to an opportunistic diving header from Kramaric after clever work down the right wing.
Czechia goal: Lukas Cerv (3), Vaclav Cerny (90+6)
Czechia strengthened their position atop Group L with a hard-fought win in Podgorica.
An early thunderbolt from Lukas Cerv proved to be the pivotal moment in this evenly contested encounter. Just three minutes were on the clock when the midfielder picked up on a loose ball at the edge of the box and sent a first-time volley rocketing into the top-left corner.
A late clincher from Vaclav Cerny removed all doubt, leaving Montenegro six points behind the table-topping Czechs.
What they said…
“It’s an honor to equal a player like Thierry Henry. Everyone knows what he represents for us French people, and even more so for strikers. He paved the way, he achieved incredible things. I have a lot of respect and admiration for him. To reach this kind of milestone so early is surreal, but I like it and I want to keep going. I don’t want to stop — above all, I want to keep winning matches and winning more titles.”
Kylian Mbappe, France forward via TF1
“In the days leading up to the match, I saw important things, a positive atmosphere. I was convinced we could play well. It’s the spirit of this team that impressed me most. I was excited during the anthem. I still hear my mother’s voice when she called me from the balcony. I dedicate this victory to my poor wife, who has put up with me for 28 years. I want a team that has to push. To become champions, quality alone isn’t enough. What counts is spirit. I strongly believe in this. We must be able to regain what we were masters at: knowing how to suffer, being united”.
Gennaro Gattuso, Italy head coach
“It’s a good start. A very disciplined performance, which we needed it to be. It’s only one point, though. We have to keep our feet on the ground. I know what I’ve got in that squad. We can just go game to game and pick up as many points as we can.”
Steve Clarke, Scotland head coach
“Scotland played well, they defended well. It was probably a fair result in the end. We were in no doubt this would be a tough game. In the final third we didn’t create enough. Scotland were looking for breakaways and set-pieces. We were comfortable at the back, so on reflection [0-0] was probably a fair result.”
Kasper Schmeichel, Denmark goalkeeper
How qualifying works
The first round will follow a familiar format, with 12 groups of four or five teams, and the section winners securing World Cup slots. The continent’s four remaining berths will then be settled in a 16-team UEFA play-off competition involving the 12 group runners-up and four best-ranked UEFA Nations League section winners.
