World Cup Qualifying Round-umUp: Lukaku, Diogo Jota Scores As Halaand Fires Blank

  The latest round of World Cup qualifiers saw some surprising results as teams step up their game as they hunt down and place in Qatar next year. The Netherlands bounced back from defeat against Turkey to secure a comfortable 2-0 win over Latvia in Amsterdam. Steven Berghuis gave the Dutch a first half lead with a stunning curling shot before Luuk de Jong wrapped up the victory with 20 minutes to play. It was the perfect response from Frank de Boer’s side following a shock 4-2 defeat against Turkey in their opening Group G qualifier in Istanbul. Liverpool ’s Georginio Wijnaldum started the game before being replaced late on while Manchester United ’s Donny van de Beek featured for ten minutes as a substitute. Elsewhere in the group Turkey made it two wins from two with another surprising result, hammering a Norway side containing both Erling Haaland and on-loan Arsenal playmaker Martin Odegaard 3-0. A brace from Ozan Tufan either side of a header from Leicester ’s Caglar Soyuncu secured the points in Malaga, which was nominally Norway’s home match but moved due to Covid restrictions. The other game in the group saw Montenegro beat Gibraltar 4-1. Stephen Kenny’s side now face a mountain to climb after the two group favourites Serbia and Portugal shared the points in Belgrade. Liverpool’s Diego Jota scored a first half brace to put the European Champions in control but they were clawed back in the second half when Fulham ’s Aleksandar Mitrovic halved the deficit, before Filip Kostic salvaged a draw for the Serbians who were also reduced to ten men before full time. Romelu Lukaku helped Belgium to a 1-1 draw against Czech Republic, equalising after Lukas Provod had given the home side the lead. Both teams are now on four points in Group E, just one ahead of Belarus who beat Estonia 4-2. Wales, who are also in the group, face the Czechs in Cardiff next, Group H saw Russia beat Slovenia thanks to two Artem Dzyuba goals, World Cup finalists Croatia beat Cyprus by a single goal to nil, while Slovakia and Malta played out a 2-2 draw.