Posted on March 24, 2021 at 10:40 p.m. – updated on March 25, 2021 at 7:53 a.m.
Writing
The first night of the World Cup qualifiers was marked by Croatia’s misstep. Belgium and Portugal did the job.
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Let’s go for the World Cup qualifiers in the European zone! This Wednesday, twelve meetings were on the program and they did not all conform to logic. Among the sensations of the evening, there was the success of Slovenia against its Croatian neighbor. Turkey also struck a big blow by dominating the Netherlands. Belgium and Portugal struggled but ended up securing the points at stake.
The show Yilmaz
The Turkey – Netherlands duel launched this qualifying round, and in the most beautiful way with a total of six goals scored. At home, the Turks, and more particularly Burak Yilmaz, feasted. LOSC center-forward knocked down the Oranje almost on his own by scoring a hat-trick. Winners 4-2 in the end, Senol Gunes’ men can dream of a World Cup debut in 2002.
Croatia entry drop
The other selection to have defied the predictions on Wednesday is therefore Slovenia. On their land, Ilicic and his teammates offered themselves the scalp of the Croatian vice-world champions. Only one goal was scored in the game and it was the work of Sandi Lovric in the 15th minute.
Opposed to Wales, Belgium felt it had to give up entry points in its qualifiers when it found itself behind after 10 minutes of play. But, the 1st team in the FIFA ranking has found the necessary resources to revive and reverse the score. She won 3-1, notably with the 58th international goal of her striker, Romelu Lukaku.
Minimum service for Portugal
Portugal, who were performing in Turin at the Allianz Stadium, beat Azerbaijan, but it was on the smallest of the gaps in favor of one against their opposing side (1-0). The bare minimum therefore for Cristiano Ronaldo and his band. The five-time Ballon d’Or has also failed to improve its goalscoring record.
In other meetings, note the successful debut of Dragan Stojkovic at the head of Serbia. His men dominated Eire (3-2), including a goal of 40 meters from Mitrovic. In the group of France, Finland and Bosnia could not decide (2-2). Russia went to beat Malta (3-1) and the Czech Republic beat Estonia at home (6-2). Erling Haaland did not score, but Norway held their place against Gibraltar (3-0).
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