European Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup highlights: Spain, Portugal and Norway stay perfect
Spain, Portugal and Norway continued their perfect records in their European Qualifiers campaigns with wins on Saturday night as they edged closer to sealing a place at the 2026 World Cup.
Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappé played a leading role as France opened up a five-point lead in their group on Friday, a feat Switzerland matched after a notable success in Sweden.
On Thursday, Scotland came from a goal down to overcome Greece and stay level on points with Group C leaders Denmark while there were important victories for the likes of Austria, Netherlands and the Faroe Islands.
We wrap up the best of the action from Matchday 7.
Qualifying lowdown
Saturday’s results
Group E: Spain 2-0 Georgia, Bulgaria 1-6 Türkiye
Group F: Hungary 2-0 Armenia, Portugal 1-0 Republic of Ireland
Group I: Norway 5-0 Israel, Estonia 1-3 Italy
Group K: Serbia 0-1 Albania, Latvia 2-2 Andorra
Spain 2-0 Georgia
Yeremy Pino’s close-range finish and Mikel Oyarzabal’s fierce free-kick extended Spain’s perfect Group E record in a dominant showing. Pino swept home with aplomb midway in the first half after collecting Robin Le Normand’s unselfish touch.
Georgia were soon indebted to former Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who pushed a low Ferran Torres penalty clear of danger.
Luis de la Fuente’s men kept up their search for a second, with Pedro Porro and Oyarzabal hitting the woodwork in quick succession, before the latter powered his effort from the edge of the box high into the net shortly after the hour mark.
Portugal 1-0 Republic of Ireland
Rúben Neves was the hero as Portugal left it late to break down a stubborn Republic of Ireland in Lisbon. It looked like Caoimhin Kelleher’s save from a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty had earned his side a point before Neves popped up in the 91st minute.
The hosts went close in the first half when Ronaldo’s effort smashed off the post, only for Bernardo Silva to send the rebound wide. Portugal were awarded a spot kick with 15 minutes remaining, only for Kelleher to deny Ronaldo.
Just when it seemed the visitors had done enough Neves rose to meet Francisco Trincão’s cross and head the ball home.
Best of the rest
- Erling Haaland recovered from missing an early penalty to score his sixth hat-trick for Norway and extend his lead as top scorer in these qualifiers with 12 goals from six games as his side stayed perfect in Group I with victory over Israel.
- Italy remain six points behind Norway having played one game fewer after a comfortable win in Estonia. Moise Kean found the bottom corner early for his fourth goal of qualifying while Mateo Retegui and Pio Esposito also found the net.
- Arda Güler shone in Türkiye’s big win in Bulgaria, scoring a fine opener before creating two assists as his nation made it two wins from three games (L1).
Friday’s results
Group A: Northern Ireland 2-0 Slovakia, Germany 4-0 Luxembourg
Group B: Kosovo 0-0 Slovenia, Sweden 0-2 Switzerland
Group D: Iceland 3-5 Ukraine, France 3-0 Azerbaijan
Group J: Kazakhstan 4-0 Liechtenstein, Belgium 0-0 North Macedonia
Germany 4-0 Luxembourg
Captain Joshua Kimmich struck once in each half to help Die Mannschaft to a dominant win in Sinsheim.
The hosts were rewarded for their attacking start with 12 minutes gone via David Raum’s stunning free-kick. Kimmich converted a cool penalty shortly afterwards following Dirk Carlson’s dismissal, with the lively Serge Gnabry squeezing a fierce effort inside the post just after half-time.
Julian Nagelsmann’s men kept up the intensity and Kimmich swept in from close range for his second of the evening. Germany almost added a fifth on the hour mark, but Florian Wirtz’s dipping set piece smacked the upright.
France 3-0 Azerbaijan
Kylian Mbappé’s brilliance undid a stubborn Azerbaijan performance as France maintained their perfect record in Group D.
Aykhan Abbasov’s defensive strategy looked to have successfully frustrated France as half-time loomed, but then Mbappé danced beyond two challenges, entered the box after a quick exchange with Hugo Ekitiké and rolled the ball into the bottom-right corner.
Chances flowed more readily for the hosts after the break and, after Ekitiké had struck woodwork early on, Adrien Rabiot headed in from Mbappé’s floated cross in the 69th minute and Florian Thauvin – making his first France appearance since 2019 – added an acrobatic third just one minute after his late introduction for Mbappé.
Belgium 0-0 North Macedonia
This top-of-the-table meeting in Group J finished as a goalless draw in Ghent.
The home side commanded 69 per cent of the possession and had 25 shots on goal, but a resolute defensive display by the Red Lynxes ensured they would stay at the top of the group.
Jeremy Doku was outstanding for the Red Devils, creating five chances on goal with his brilliant dribbling and speed, but it was simply not to be for Belgium as North Macedonia kept a vital clean sheet and stayed a point clear at the Group J summit.
Best of the rest
- Switzerland are now five points clear in Group B after beating winless Sweden. Granit Xhaka’s penalty set them on their way before a late clincher from 19-year-old substitute Johan Manzambi.
- Ukraine came through an eight-goal thriller in Iceland. Ruslan Malinovskyi scored twice to give the visitors a 3-1 interval lead but Albert Gudmundsson responded in kind to make it 3-3 with 15 minutes left. Ivan Kaliuzhnyi and Oleh Ocheretko settled the contest in the final five minutes.
- Trai Hume’s delicate lob wrapped up a 2-0 win for Northern Ireland against Slovakia. That result means both sides are level with Germany on six points in an intriguingly-poised Group A.
Thursday’s results
Group C: Belarus 0-6 Denmark, Scotland 3-1 Greece
Group G: Finland 2-1 Lithuania, Malta 0-4 Netherlands
Group H: Austria 10-0 San Marino, Cyprus 2-2 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Group L: Czechia 0-0 Croatia, Faroe Islands 4-0 Montenegro
Scotland 3-1 Greece
Scotland completed a stunning comeback in Glasgow to boost their chances of a first World Cup finals berth since 1998. Greece had won 3-0 on their last visit to Hampden Park and started in similarly dominant form, standout chances falling to Vangelis Pavlidis and Giorgos Masouras before Kostas Tsimikas swept in a 62nd-minute opener from a loose ball.
Greek joy was short-lived, though, Ryan Christie finishing from close range just two minutes later and Lewis Ferguson smashing in a loose ball in the 80th minute. Konstantinos Karetsas’ curler would have had Ivan Jovanović’s men level late on, but Angus Gunn saved brilliantly before Lyndon Dykes’ added-time finish sealed victory.
Czechia 0-0 Croatia
A draw suited the Group L leaders Croatia more, but Ivan Hašek’s hosts were at least much better than they were in their 5-1 defeat to the same opponents in Osijek.
A first-half Lukáš Provod free-kick, which was saved by Dominik Livaković, was their best opening, while Ivan Perišić missed the target with Croatia’s best chance. The result leaves these nations level on points at the group summit but Croatia have a game in hand.
Best of the rest
- Austria maintained their perfect record in Group H with a rampant display against San Marino. Their 10-0 victory was their biggest in international football while Marko Arnautović, who struck four, became the country’s all-time record goalscorer with 45.
- Denmark were equally dominant in the first half as they seized control of Group C. Rasmus Højlund scored two of their four goals before the interval as they went into half-time 4-0 up against Belarus. Anders Dreyer added a second-half double.
- Netherlands are three points clear of Poland and Finland, who have played one game more than the other two, after their victory in Malta. Cody Gakpo converted two penalties with Tijjani Reijnders and Memphis Depay completing the scoring.
- Faroe Islands scored four times in a competitive game for the first time and recorded their biggest competitive victory with a stunning 4-0 success against Montenegro, Hanus Sørensen leading the way with a goal in each half.
Sunday’s fixtures
Group C: Scotland vs Belarus (18:00), Denmark vs Greece
Group G: Netherlands vs Finland (18:00), Lithuania vs Poland
Group H: San Marino vs Cyprus (15:00), Romania vs Austria
Group L: Faroe Islands vs Czechia (18:00), Croatia vs Gibraltar
All kick-offs 20:45 CET unless stated
