Sweden v Switzerland, France v Azerbaijan: World Cup qualifying clockwatch – live | World Cup 2026 qualifiers
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Key events
Huge chance for Northern Ireland! Bradley runs clear on the break. The ball eventually falls to Jamie Reid but he can only prod over.
GOAL! Iceland 1-1 Ukraine (Ellertsson 34)
Iceland level it against Ukraine through Genoa’s Mikael Egill Ellertsson. All square at 1-1 in Reykjavik.
Conor Bradley is then on the end of some rough treatment from Slovakia’s Leo Sauer. Northern Ireland whip the free-kick into the box but Dubravka punches it clear.
Northern Ireland’s Justin Devenny has a shot saved at his near post by Martin Dubravka. It’s looking promising for Michael O’Neill’s team.
France are yet to make the breakthrough against Azerbaijan. They’ve had 72% possession, 10 shots and four corners so far.
Northern Ireland, Slovakia and Germany all locked on 6pts in Group A as it stands.
GOAL! Germany 2-0 Luxembourg (Kimmich 21pen)
It goes from bad to worse for Luxembourg. Dirk Carlsen is sent off for handball and Joshua Kimmich scores the resulting penalty. Ouch.
GOAL! Northern Ireland 1-0 Slovakia (Hrosovsky 18og)
A huge goal for Northern Ireland! After combination play with Conor Bradley down the right, Ethan Galbraith gets to the byline and his cut-back is turned into his own net by Patrik Hrosovsky.
GOAL! Iceland 0-1 Ukraine (Malinovskyi 14)
Ukraine have the lead in Reykjavik, Ruslan Malinovskyi on the scoresheet. That sends them above their opponents in Group D as it stands.
GOAL! Germany 1-0 Luxembourg (Raum 12)
Germany have the ball in the net again and this time it counts! David Raum’s stunning free-kick is his first goal for his country. The left-footer beat Luxembourg’s wall and his shot dipped so much that it found the bottom corner.
Germany 0-0 Luxembourg: Serge Gnabry’s opener is ruled out for handball. It could be a long night for the visitors.
Kick-off
We are under way, from Reykjavik to Pristina and everywhere in between.
The teams are out across the continent and the national anthems are playing. Time to grab a cup of tea – only a couple of minutes before kick-off.
Nwaneri inspires England U21s to win in Moldova
Divin Mubama scored his first two goals for England Under-21s but Ethan Nwaneri was the architect of a 4-0 win over Moldova which took them top of their European Championship qualifying group with a second successive victory.
The Arsenal attacking midfielder Nwaneri was given licence to roam in the No 10 position and provided assists for the opening two goals scored by the Chelsea winger Jamie Gittens and the Stoke striker Mubama in Chisinau. He also laid on the through-ball which saw the debutant Josh King brought down for a 74th-minute penalty, which was converted by Mubama. Rico Lewis added a fourth in the closing stages. PA Media
A positive result in Belgium tonight would mean the world to North Macedonia, who lead Group J on 11pts after five games. Belgium are in second on 10pts after four played, with Wales also on 10pts. Ezgjan Alioski, formerly of Leeds, earned North Macedonia a 1-1 draw against Belgium in Skopje in June.
Team news
Belgium: Courtois, Castagne, Debast, Theate, De Cuyper, Vanaken, Raskin, De Bruyne, Saelemaekers, Trossard, Doku.
Subs: Vandevoordt, Sels, Mechele, Witsel, Fofana, Lukébakio, Meunier, Seys, Vanhoutte, Onana, Openda, Batshuayi.
North Macedonia: Dimitrievski, Stojchevski, Zajkov, Askovski, Alioski, Atanasov, Bardhi, Musliu, Elmas, Miovski, Kostadinov.
Subs: Iliev, Aleksovski, Serafimov, Trajkovski, Churlinov, Despotovski, Velkovski, Rastoder, Alimi, Babunski, Ristovski, Stankovski.
Nigeria keep World Cup hopes alive as Benin on verge of history
Nigeria live to fight another day after an unconvincing 2-1 win against Lesotho in Polokwane in Group C. A William Troost-Ekong penalty and then Akor Adams’s strike were enough for a victory that takes them to within one point of second-place South Africa and three of group leaders Benin, who they face in their final qualifier next week.
South Africa have dropped the ball after a 0-0 draw against Zimbabwe that saw both teams reduced to 10 men. Benin’s 1-0 win against Rwanda, courtesy of an Aiyegun Tosin goal, means they will qualify for their first ever World Cup if they beat Nigeria in Uyo on Tuesday.
In Group H, Tunisia hammered São Tomé and Príncipe 6-0 in Rades – they have already qualified as group winners. Tunisia that is – not São Tomé, who are without a point and on -22 goal difference.
Northern Ireland can give themselves a fighting chance of making it to North America next summer if they beat Slovakia in Belfast tonight.
Slovakia have won both of their qualifiers so far – including at home to Germany in September – and lead the group on 6pts. Northern Ireland – winners against Luxembourg but losers to Germany – are in second on 3pts. Germany (3pts) have some catching up to do, with Luxembourg (0pts) bringing up the rear.
Team news
Northern Ireland: Peacock-Farrell, Ballard, McNair, Hume, Bradley, Galbraith, Shea Charles, McCann, Devenny, Reid, Price.
Subs: Southwood, McDonnell, Magennis, Spencer, McConville, Hazard, Smyth, Donley, Dion Charles, Marshall, Saville, Toal.
Slovakia: Dubravka, Gyomber, Satka, Skriniar, Obert, Bero, Hrosovsky, Duda, Schranz, Strelec, Sauer.
Subs: Mraz, Duris, Rigo, Haraslin, Kozlovsky, Rodak, Tupta, Benes, Bozenik, Mesik, Pekarik, Takac.
Germany: Baumann, Kimmich, Tah, Schlotterbeck, Raum, Goretzka, Pavlovic, Gnabry, Wirtz, Adeyemi, Woltemade.
Subs: Nubel, Dahmen, Anton, Koch, Baku, Beier, Amiri, Nmecha, Stiller, Brown, Burkardt, Andrich.
Luxembourg: Moris, Jans, Mahmutovic, Korac, Carlson, Olesen, Martins Pereira, Moreira, Barreiro, Bohnert, Dardari.
Subs: Pereira Cardoso, Fox, Curci, Avdusinovic, Muratovic, Veiga,
O Thill, Selimovic, Dzogovic, S Thill, Martins.
France could take another step towards qualification tonight against Azerbaijan at the Parc des Princes. The 2022 finalists are top of Group D on six points, with Iceland on 3, and Ukraine and Azerbaijan each on 1. Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta is poised to make his senior France debut off the bench.
Team news
France: Maignan, Gusto, Saliba, Upamecano, T Hernandez, K Thuram, Rabiot, Coman, Olise, Ekitiké, Mbappé.
Subs: Samba, Chevalier, Digne, Koundé, Camavinga, Koné, Akliouche,
Mateta, Konaté, Nkunku, Thauvin, L Hernandez.
Azerbaijan: Mahammadaliyev, Aliyev, Badalov, Mustafazade, Krivotsyuk, Cafarquliyev, T Bayramov, Xaybulayev, Mahmudov, Akhmedzade, Emreli.
Subs: A Bayramov, Jafarov, Mammadov, Khachayev, Nuriyev, Dadashov,
A Huseynov, Dashdamirov, C Huseynov, Akhundzade, Qurbanly.
Iceland v Ukraine is the other game in this group.
The most intriguing match out there may well be in Stockholm as Sweden attempt to salvage their World Cup qualifying campaign.
After missing out on pre-season with Newcastle, Alexander Isak was only fit enough to play 18 minutes of Sweden’s second qualifier against Kosovo in September – a 2-0 defeat. The Liverpool striker sat out their opening 2-2 draw with Slovenia.
Switzerland hold a five-point lead over today’s opponents having won their first two games. Isak starts up front with Viktor Gyökeres tonight.
Team news
Sweden: Johansson, Lagerbielke, Hien, Gudmundsson, Bernhardsson, Bergvall, Karlstrom, Ayari, Sema, Gyökeres, Isak.
Subs: Nordfeldt, Hugo Larsson, Bardghji, Starfelt, Saletros, Elanga, Nygren, Svensson, Holm, Lindelöf, Ekdal, Tornqvist.
Switzerland: Kobel, Widmer, Elvedi, Akanji, Rodriguez, Freuler, Xhaka, Rieder, Ndoye, Embolo, Vargas.
Subs: Zeqiri, Schmidt, Sierro, Keller, Mvogo, Sow, Muheim, Manzambi, Jaquez, Itten, Bajrami, Amenda.
Kosovo v Slovenia is the other game in this group.
Here are the World Cup qualifiers going on this evening around Europe (all 7.45pm BST kick-offs):
Group A
Germany v Luxembourg
Northern Ireland v Slovakia
Group B
Kosovo v Slovenia
Sweden v Switzerland
Group D
France v Azerbaijan
Iceland v Ukraine
Group J
Belgium v North Macedonia
Kazakhstan 4-0 Liechtenstein
There’s already been one result from European World Cup qualifying today, with Kazakhstan beating Liechtenstein 4-0 at home. That leaves them four points off a playoff place in Group J. Liechtenstein are without a point.
Fifa investigate Equatorial Guinea for not traveling to World Cup qualifier
Fifa have opened a disciplinary case against Equatorial Guinea after the team did not travel to a World Cup qualifying game, the latest incident in an increasingly chaotic campaign.
Fifa said its disciplinary committee will investigate why the Equatorial Guinea men’s team did not go to Malawi for a game scheduled for yesterday. Both teams were still in contention to advance to the playoffs by finishing second in the group behind winners Tunisia.
Equatorial Guinea already forfeited their first two games last November as 3-0 losses after Fifa ruled that veteran captain Emilio Nsue was not eligible to represent the country. Nsue, who has 46 caps, had scored the goals in 1-0 wins against Namibia and Liberia.
A post on the team’s official Instagram account said the players voted in favour of not travelling to the game because their health was put at risk by being asked to fly overnight and land in Malawi on the morning of the game in Lilongwe.Their national federation suspended the coach Juan Michá over the incident and said on its own Instagram account that the players and coach had shown disrespect to the people of Equatorial Guinea.
The Malawi football federation said in a statement simply that the game was cancelled “due to unforeseen travel complications affecting the visiting team.”
Fifa typically would punish a team that does not fulfil its World Cup qualifying fixtures with a default loss. Federations whose teams do not play a scheduled game also can be ordered to pay costs and compensation to opposing teams and Fifa.
Nsue was finally cleared by Fifa this year to resume playing for Equatorial Guinea despite the Spain-born player previously being technically ineligible for his entire international career with the west African country, which started in 2013. Nsue, now 36, had played for Spain’s under-21 team, including at a European Championship.
Equatorial Guinea should complete their qualifying group in a game Monday at home to Liberia. Associated Press
Barney Ronay’s latest column has dropped. It’s on Gary Neville, England flags and Nigel Farage – here’s a snippet:
I am still proud of Neville for speaking up. It is good that a sportsperson is addressing this, an actual issue in his home town, and doing so with genuine feeling, unafraid of the violent reaction that will follow. This is his parish. He is an angry middle-aged white man, and has spent a lot of time around flags. For all his easily gotcha-contradictions Neville feels it, is well intentioned and is worth a million Farages.
Thanks Michael, and hello everybody. I’ll be talking you through tonight’s World Cup qualifiers in Europe – France, Germany, Belgium and Northern Ireland are all in action later.
But first, what an afternoon for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Four goals, one red card (including a booking for kicking a corner flag in celebration) and a 4-3 win for Gabon. They will be without the suspended Aubameyang when they play Burundi in their final qualifier on Tuesday – a World Cup spot is still within their grasp.
I leave you with Friday’s edition of Football Daily, courtesy of Rob Smyth.
That’s me done on the blog. I’ll leave you in the capable hands of Billy Munday. Cheers!
Ivory Coast and Senegal close in on World Cup qualification
An avalanche of goals for the Ivory Coast and Senegal on Friday put both on the brink of World Cup qualification, which they can secure with home success in their last group matches next week to advance to next year’s finals in North America.
African champions Ivory Coast beat the Seychelles 7-0 away to stay one point ahead of Gabon in the Group F standings and they will qualify if they win their final game at home to Kenya on Tuesday.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored all four goals for Gabon, before being sent off, as they came from behind to beat the Gambia 4-3 in a thrill-a-minute affair in Nairobi that kept alive their hopes.
Senegal maintained their two-point advantage in Group B over the Democratic Republic of Congo as both teams won away from home in their penultimate fixtures.
Senegal beat South Sudan 5-0 in Juba while the Congolese recorded a 1-0 triumph in Togo. Senegal will qualify for a third successive World Cup if they beat neighbours Mauritania at home in Dakar on Tuesday.
Ismaïla Sarr gave Senegal a 29th-minute lead as Iliman Ndiaye delivered a cross to the back post from the right flank and the Everton winger was also the provider for Sadio Mané to score early in the second half. Sarr then scored his second goal while Nicolas Jackson and Cherif Ndiaye also found the net.
Cedric Bakambu broke away after an interception in the seventh minute to win the game for DR Congo in Lome, moving them to 19 points, two behind Senegal. The Congolese complete their campaign at home against Sudan on Tuesday and, should they fail to overhaul Senegal, will be aiming to finish as one of the best four runners-up from the nine qualifying groups to go into an African playoff in November.
That offers a chance to compete at an intercontinental playoff in March for a place at the finals in Canada, Mexico, and the US.
Another England midfielder not in Tuchel’s squad this week is James Maddison, albeit for different reasons. The Spurs creator ruptured an anterior cruciate knee ligament in pre-season. Maddison has created a YouTube channel – of course he has – but this mini-documentary (released just a few minutes ago) on his first three weeks of recovery looks like a really good insight into what an elite footballer goes through in these situations. Yes, some of these conversations are performative with the cameras rolling, but you can see that the physical and mental challenges are very real.
Jude Bellingham was dropped by Thomas Tuchel, but has been keeping busy as a Laureus Ambassador. On World Mental Health Day, he has admitted he used to check his phone to read what people were saying about him on social media, but now largely ignores it.
As a young player at Birmingham (City), I used to put my name into Twitter and read everything. But even if the comments were positive, I quickly decided: Why should I let the opinion of people who don’t know me validate how I think about myself?”
“I believed I was a good player before reading it on Twitter – so what was the point in reading other people saying it? Of course, if I came across negative comments, it would have the opposite effect. So, again, I asked myself: Why am I putting that on my own mental health? There’s enough negativity and pressure in professional sport that you don’t need to seek it out. Now, when I do read negative comments, it doesn’t affect me – but I’d still rather not see them.” Reuters
Leicester City Women name Passmoor as manager permanent basis
Tom Garry
Leicester City Women have appointed their interim coach Rick Passmoor as their new manager on a contract until the summer of 2028.
The former Leeds United and Notts County manager, who was most recently the assistant coach at West Ham United, was brought in initially on a short-term basis in August after Leicester sacked the Frenchwoman Amandine Miquel just 11 days before the start of the WSL campaign.
The East Midlands side were widely tipped for relegation but have enjoyed a more positive start to the campaign that was forecasted, picking up four points from their opening five Women’s Super League games of the season, including beating Liverpool with 10 players, to sit 10th, four points above the drop zone, and Passmoor has been rewarded with the job.
England Under-21s kick-off at 5pm BST against Moldova, and they the line-up is very, very strong. I’m surprised to see Fulham’s Josh King only on the bench.
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Brooke Norton-Cuffy is given a start by Lee Carsley. Here’s Ed Aarons’ interview with the Genoa defender from earlier this week.
Happy birthday to Tony Adams, who turns 59 today. Here’s an interview I did with the England and Arsenal legend last year.
Elliot Anderson was excellent for England in defensive midfield alongside Declan Rice, but it’s fair to say there was widespread bemusement at Tuchel omitting Adam Wharton from his squad for this week’s matches.
The Crystal Palace midfielder is an unassuming, modest lad and had this to say on his omission. I’m surprised to hear that he is not more upset about being left out. He certainly deserves to be in the squad, and gives something completely different to Tuchel.
[Tuchel] just gave me a message saying I’m playing well, I’m close and I deserve to be there but he’s going to stick with the same team. That’s football, I’m not too fussed about that. I can take the time off, go see my grandparents, and it’s not the end of the world as there’s another camp next month. It’s nice to hear [what Tuchel said] but I think my focus is on Palace and if that goes well then England is just a bonus. Nothing is expected. England have some top players and he’s got a lot of players to choose from. No matter who he picks, someone is not going to get in and there will be a fuss about it.
“I can’t sit here and cry about it, this is football and I’m happy playing for Palace and getting minutes and trying to do as well as I can and improve and if I get picked, I get picked. If not I’ll carry on playing for Palace and enjoying it – there’s nothing else I can do really.”
Speaking of the rise of quirky set pieces (and in case you didn’t see this) Hearts and Hibs both had bizarre kick-off routines in the Edinburgh derby last weekend.
Will Unwin spoke to the original throw-in specialist and analyses how Premier League teams are reaping the rewards from long set-pieces.
Sound the Football Weekly klaxon! Ewan Murray joins live from a jazz bar to break down Pavlidis’s airshot, Ryan Christie’s equaliser, and why Scotland never seem to have enough good goalkeepers.
Here’s our report on Ross Wilson’s move to Newcastle United as the club’s new sporting director. Wilson oversaw 43 signings at Forest, which is some going. There were a lot of question marks over their transfer strategy at the time, but ultimately they survived in 2023-24 and qualified for Europe last season. Despite their dire curent form, Forest have a really strong squad and should be nowhere near the relegation places come the end of the season. Should. Wilson can claim a lot of credit for that.
