It was a great night for Northern Ireland and Wales, with both teams’ chances of qualifying for next summer’s World Cup boosted, despite the latter not even playing.
Northern Ireland beat Slovakia 2-0 in Belfast, and the two teams now have six points in Group A alongside Germany.
An own goal by Patrik Hrosowski gave the hosts the lead in the 18th minute and Sunderland defender Trae Hume scored a stunning second goal nine minutes from time to make the points safe.
Germany visits Northern Ireland on Monday in another decisive confrontation.
Northern Ireland coach Michael O’Neill said: “I think the performance was excellent.” “From the first minute, it was the intensity and quality of play and not allowing the opponent to have any chance to breathe and play.
I think they now understand the levels they can reach with this group of players.
He added: “Tonight we showed what we can be at home. We showed it before if you look at the Bulgaria match, but we played a better team tonight.”
A goalless draw in Belgium cheers Wales up
Wales may have lost 3-0 to England in a friendly last night But they would have enjoyed watching Belgium draw 0-0 with North Macedonia.
The draw means Wales are third in Group J, but they will top the tournament if they can beat Belgium in Cardiff on Monday.
Switzerland leads Group B by five points after defeating Sweden 2-0.
The hosts’ attack of Alexander Isak and Viktor Gjukeres failed to shine and the Swiss dominated the match. Captain Grant Xhaka put the team ahead from the penalty spot and they then doubled their lead in stoppage time when Johan Manzabe fired a deflected shot past goalkeeper Viktor Johansson.
Sweden ranks last in the group behind Kosovo and Slovenia, who tied 0-0.
Mbappe, the star of France
Kylian Mbappe was among the scorers in France’s 3-0 win over Azerbaijan To control the group d.
The Real Madrid striker scored a stunning goal but limped off late in the game at the Parc des Princes. Adrien Rabiot and the returning Florian Thauvin also scored two goals for the French team, which has a five-point advantage over Ukraine, which beat Iceland 5-3.
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