Norway, Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, Scotland claim World Cup qualifying victories; Erling Haaland, Memphis Depay and Antoine Griezmann star
Tuesday 7 September 2021 23:59, UK
Erling Haaland and Memphis Depay scored hat-tricks as Norway and the Netherlands cruised to handsome World Cup qualifying victories on Tuesday.
Haaland starred as Norway thrashed minnows Gibraltar, netting three times in Olso, with Kristian Thorstvedt and Alexander Sørloth completing the 5-1 rout.
In Amsterdam, Memphis stole the show as his treble inspired the Netherlands to a 6-1 demolition of Turkey. Davy Klaassen set the ball rolling with the opener in the first minute, and Guus Til and Donyell Malen also found the net, with Leicester's Caglar Soyuncu sent off for Turkey before half-time.
Elsewhere in Group G, Montenegro and Latvia drew 0-0.
Antoine Griezmann scored twice as defending champions France took another step towards Qatar 2022 with a 2-0 victory over Finland in Lyon.
The 2018 World Cup winners coped without injured Kylian Mbappe as Griezmann combined with Karim Benzema for both of France's goals - his 39th and 40th international strikes as he drew level with Michel Platini in the all-time scoring charts for his nation.
The victory moves France up to 12 points at the top of Group D, seven clear of second-placed Ukraine, who have played a game fewer, and nine clear of Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kazakhstan, who draw 2-2 on Tuesday.
Portugal overcame the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo to seize control of Group A with a 3-0 victory in Azerbaijan.
Bernardo Silva's exquisite volley set Portugal on their way before goals from Andre Silva and Diogo Jota secured a comfortable victory for Fernando Santos' side.
Elsewhere in Group A, Serbia were prevented from moving level on points with Portugal when a bizarre late own goal handed the Republic of Ireland a 1-1 draw in Dublin.
Serbia looked on course to take all three points when Sergej Milinkovic-Savic headed them into a first-half lead but Milinkovic-Savic went from hero to villain when his panicked clearance cannoned in off Nikola Milenkov and handed Ireland a point.
European Championship semi-finalists Denmark extended their perfect start to World Cup qualification with a 5-0 victory over Israel.
Yussuf Poulsen, Simon Kjaer, Andreas Skov Olsen, Thomas Delaney and Andreas Cornelius all found the target as Denmark made it six wins from six qualifiers.
Elsewhere in Group F, Scotland moved into play-off contention with a 1-0 victory in Austria, sealed by Lyndon Dykes' first-half penalty, while the Faroe Islands earned a rare victory with a 2-1 against Moldova.
Croatia beat Slovenia 3-0 with goals from Mark Livaja, Mario Pasalic and Nikola Vlasic, while Fedor Smolov and Zelimkhan Bakaev eased Russia to a 2-0 win over visiting Malta. Elsewhere in Group H, Slovakia beat Cyprus 2-0.
