REYKJAVIK (REUTERS) - Winger Leroy Sane scored one goal and made another as Germany made it three wins in a row with a resounding 4-0 victory over Iceland in World Cup qualifying Group J on Wednesday (Sept 8). The Germans took the lead in the fifth minute when Sane played in Serge Gnabry to score, and after a lengthy VAR review for a possible offside, the goal stood. The visitors added a second 20 minutes later when Antonio Rudiger was left unmarked to score with a header from a Joshua Kimmich free kick. Iceland almost pulled one back at the start of the second half when Johann Berg Gudmundsson’s curled effort hit the post and Albert Gudmundsson fired home the rebound, but he was offside in the build-up and the goal was chalked off. A constant threat with his quick dribbling and precise passing, Sane effectively killed the game off when he rifled the ball into the roof of the net after another flowing German attack 11 minutes into the second half. After a shaky start to qualifying including a shock 2-1 loss to North Macedonia in March, the Germans have rediscovered their scoring touch, but were still guilty of a few glaring misses. Kai Havertz wasted a three-on-one opportunity by firing narrowly wide with the goal at his mercy and Timo Werner somehow failed to put Lukas Klostermann’s pass into an empty net. Werner made amends by adding a late fourth that hit the left-hand post and bounced out before spinning back across the line to round off an encouraging team performance. The Germans have taken a maximum nine points from their first three games under new coach Hansi Flick, scoring 12 goals and conceding none. More on this topic Related Story Football: Italy return to winning ways with rout of Lithuania Related Story Football: Poland strike late to end England's perfect record “We only had a few training sessions. Our goal was to win the three games, and we achieved that. We have taken a step forward,” Flick said. “We’re not at 100 per cent yet, but the team is on the right track. The guys are implementing things the way we imagine.” Flick added that there was room for improvement. “(Too often) the last decisive pass was not correct, The timing wasn’t right, these are things we have to do better,” he said. Germany top the group on 15 points, four ahead of Armenia. Romania are third on 10 points with four games left to play, with Iceland fifth on four points. More on this topic Related Story Football: Fornals, Torres goals give Spain victory over Kosovo Related Story Football: Praet scores for Belgium in a narrow win over Belarus
LONDON (REUTERS) - Phil Foden scored twice as England eased to a routine 4-0 win over 10-man Iceland on Wednesday (Nov 18) as both sides wrapped up their Uefa Nations League campaigns in Group A2 with only pride to play for. England took control when West Ham United's Declan Rice glanced in a header from a free kick on 20 minutes and the lead was doubled four minutes later when Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount pounced on a bouncing ball in the box to finish calmly. The second half started badly for Iceland when Birkir Mar Saevarsson, who was playing his 95th game for his country, was sent off for a second yellow card. Manchester City's 20-year-old midfielder Foden made it 3-0 with 10 minutes to go with his first goal for England and added a long-range effort to make it 4-0. England had already failed to qualify for the Nations League finals after a 2-0 loss on Sunday to one of the tournament's favourites Belgium, while Iceland had already been relegated to League B. England are still haunted by their defeat to Iceland in the 2016 European Championship, but dominated possession and chances throughout on Wednesday without really going through the gears. Rice's opening goal come from a free kick for a foul on the edge of the box, while Mount allowed the ball to run across his body inside a packed box before slotting a cool finish in the corner. The game failed to fire in the second half even after the red card on 54 minutes, but eventually picked up pace after a flurry of substitutions. One of the replacements, Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho, combined with Arsenal's Bukayo Saka to feed Foden's debut goal and his second was matched either side by a barrage of shots that were either blocked or fizzed wide. Iceland, whose manager Erik Hamren was already stepping down following Wednesday's game, had a couple of chances on the break in the first half but missed probably their best opportunity after the second-half sending off when captain Kari Arnason headed just wide.
LISBON/REYKJAVIK (REUTERS) - Goals from Bernardo Silva and a brace from Diogo Jota gave Portugal a comfortable 3-0 win over Sweden in the Nations League on Wednesday (Oct 14) as the hosts made light of the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo due to a positive Covid-19 test. Silva opened the scoring in the 21st minute as Portugal won the ball back in the middle of the field and quickly countered, with Jota firing a precise pass to Silva in the penalty area for a perfect first-time finish. Jota got on the scoresheet just before halftime, lashing home Joao Cancelo's cross from deep on the right to make it 2-0, and he added a superb third with a solo run and thumping shot in the 71st minute. With 10 points from four games, Portugal top Group 2 in League A on goal difference ahead of France, who beat Croatia 2-1 in Zagreb. The Swedes are bottom of the group after slumping to four straight defeats. Meanwhile, stand-in captain Romelu Lukaku scored twice as Belgium got back to winning ways with a 2-1 away triumph over Iceland in the Nations League on Wednesday. Lukaku opened the scoring inside 10 minutes and added a penalty after Birkir Saevarsson had levelled for Iceland to give Belgium the three points. They moved to the top of the League A Group 2 standings following England's defeat at home to Denmark that dropped Gareth Southgate's side down to third. Iceland, who had lost all their previous games in the competition, equalised within eight minutes of Lukaku's opener and full back Saevarsson had other chances in a sprightly performance. The hosts were without coach Erik Hamren and his entire backroom team on the bench after an unnamed staff member contracted Covid-19 and they had to go into isolation. More on this topic Related Story Football: Mbappe strike gives France 2-1 win over Croatia in Nations League Related Story Football: Eriksen penalty earns Denmark win over England in Nations League Belgium, however, proved too powerful and moved to nine points from their four games in the group, two above Denmark and England. Belgium's 13-match unbeaten run ended on Sunday when they lost to England at Wembley and they travelled to Iceland with an injury-depleted squad, missing captain Eden Hazard and his deputy Kevin De Bruyne.