Trai Hume’s first Northern Ireland goal helped them to a 2-0 win over Slovakia to keep their World Cup qualifying campaign on track. Patrik Hrosovsky’s 18th-minute own goal rewarded Northern Ireland for a strong start but, after wasting two outstanding chances to double their lead either side of the break, they endured some nervy moments before Hume lifted the ball over the stranded Martin Dubravka with 10 minutes to go.
“The keeper has come to clear it, and I just had to guide it towards the goal and thankfully I did,” Hume told BBC Northern Ireland. “It was a great night, good performance and the most important thing is the three points. I think we deserved it.”
The victory was reward for a strong performance, particularly in the first half, but the man at heart of it, captain Conor Bradley, picked up a cheap late yellow card that rules him out of Monday’s visit of Germany.
Bradley had looked like a man on a mission from the start as Northern Ireland played with energy and desire and it was the Liverpool man who sparked the move for the opening goal. He picked out Ethan Galbraith in space inside the box, and the Swansea midfielder pulled back a low cross which the hapless Hrosovsky turned into his own net.
The second came on 80 minutes when Burnley keeper Dubravka, unconvincing in commanding his area for much of the night, punched the ball weakly and it landed for Hume to lift it back over him and into an unguarded net.
Michael O’Neill had refused to call this a must-win, but the reality was they needed all three points to keep pace in European Group A, in which Northern Ireland, Slovakia and Germany now all have six points from three games.
Joshua Kimmich netted twice to power Germany to a 4-0 home win over Luxembourg after the visitors went down to 10 men in the first half. The opening two goals came from dead-ball situations. David Raum curled in a free kick after 12 minutes and Kimmich converted a penalty nine minutes later after Luxembourg’s Dirk Carlson was sent off for handball in the area.
Joshua Kimmich scores from the spot in Germany’s 4-0 victory. Photograph: Michael Probst/AP
Serge Gnabry scored the third three minutes after the break and Kimmich got his double two minutes later. The win puts the Germans top of Group A on goal difference.
North Macedonia put on a defensive masterclass to hold Belgium to a 0-0 draw away and keep a one-point lead in Group J, which also includes Wales.
The visitors kept out everything Belgium could throw at them in a near 90-minute siege. Belgium attacked almost from the start, with Jérémy Doku continually trying to open up the defence from the left flank and Kevin De Bruyne probing from the edge of the area. But their efforts were thwarted by a committed defence and when it was breached, goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski came up with some key saves.
North Macedonia lead Group J with 12 points from six games, one ahead of Belgium and two ahead of Wales. Belgium and Wales, who face each other on Monday, both have a game in hand over North Macedonia.
Kylian Mbappé was the saviour as France closed in on qualification with a lacklustre 3-0 home win over Azerbaijan in Group D. The Real Madrid star opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time and set up Adrien Rabiot for the second, with substitute Florian Thauvin adding the third to put Les Bleus on nine points from three games and give Didier Deschamps’ side a chance to secure qualification on Monday when they travel to Iceland.
Kylian Mbappé celebrates opening the scoring for France against Azerbaijan. Photograph: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images
“We got the result we wanted but not the performance – especially in the first half,” said Deschamps. “Our ball circulation was too slow, it was all a bit too flat. I can’t stop players from thinking the goal will come eventually, but we didn’t do enough to unsettle them.”
Ukraine scored twice in the last five minutes through Ivan Kaliuzhnyi and Oleh Ocheretko to beat Iceland 5-3 in an extraordinary game in Reykjavik. Iceland had fought back from 3-1 down to level things before Ukraine’s late strikes. The win moves Ukraine into second place in Group D. Azerbaijan, who next play Ukraine, remain bottom of the table with one point.
Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka scored from the spot as his side beat Sweden 2-0 in their Group B clash, leaving the Swedes’ hopes of qualifying for next year’s finals hanging by a thread after another dismal display.
Switzerland top the group with a perfect nine points from their opening three games, with Kosovo second on four points and Slovenia third on two after they played out a scoreless draw in Pristina. The Swedes, who started with their superstar strikers Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres up front, are bottom with a point.
Isak struck the foot of the post for the hosts in the 26th minute before teeing up Lucas Bergvall for their best chance of the game, but the 19-year-old somehow managed to get the ball caught under his feet with the goal at his mercy. That miss proved costly when the Swiss took the lead in the 65th minute after Alexander Bernhardsson sent Djibril Sow sprawling in the box with a push in the back. Xhaka blasted the resulting penalty straight down the middle.
A frustrating night for the Swedes was finished off when Swiss substitute Johan Manzabi’s tame effort was deflected past keeper Viktor Johansson in second-half stoppage time, condemning them to a second defeat in three games that leaves their qualifying chances in tatters.
