That’s about it for tonight. These are the final scores in the Uefa qualifying games:
Group A
- Belarus 1-3 Netherlands
- Bulgaria 0-1 France
Group B
- Andorra 0-2 Portugal
- Switzerland 5-2 Hungary
Group H
- Cyprus 1-2 Greece
I have a permutations headache, but the main news from tonight is that France should now qualify automatically for the World Cup, while the Netherlands need a miracle, and snookers, just to make the play-offs. Thanks for your company, goodnight!
Updated
Full time: Bulgaria 0-1 France
France have held on to beat Bulgaria. That’s a good result in a tricky match, and means they will qualify automatically if they beat Belarus at home on Tuesday.
Full time: Belarus 1-3 Netherlands
Peep peep! That’s not really enough for Holland, who need to thrash Sweden on Tuesday if they are to reach the play-offs.
Full time: Cyprus 1-2 Greece
An excellent win for Greece, and bad news for the home nations.
Full time: Switzerland 5-2 Hungary, Andorra 0-2 Portugal
No surprises in Group B. Switzerland made it nine wins out of nine, Portugal eight wins out of nine. The two meet in Lisbon on Tuesday, with Portugal needing a win to top the group and qualify autpmatically.
GOAL! Belarus 1-3 Netherlands (Depay 90)
Memphis Depay has scored another for Holland, who now only need to beat Sweden by six goals on Tuesday to finish second in the group!
GOAL! Switzerland 5-2 Hungary (Ugrai 89)
Ugrai lobs a header into the net to give Hungary something resembling a consolation.
GOAL! Belarus 1-2 Netherlands (Robben 84 pen)
Arjen Robben keeps theNetherlands’ World Cup hopes alive, but only in the eyes of the mathematicians. They need to beat Sweden 7-0 on Tuesday to finish second in the group.
GOALS! Switzerland 5-1 Hungary (Lichtsteiner 83); Andorra 0-2 Portugal (Andre Silva 86)
Andre Silva seals an important, ugly win for Portugal. They know they will qualify automatically if they beat Switzerland in Lisbon on Tuesday. Switzerland have just scored their fifth against Hungary, a rasping drive from Stephan Lichtsteiner, and have won all nine of their group games.
Updated
79 min It hasn’t been the easiest second half for France, but they are starting to look more comfortable now against a tiring Bulgarian side.
75 min “Sorry to say that Dan Schulwolf’s recommendation is out-of-date: the Oscar Wilde, which had been in continuous operation since the early 1990s, closed earlier this year,” writes Ciaran Morrissey. “They seem to be redoing the entire building there. For anyone who’s already in the neighbourhood, Murphy’s Irish Pub just down the street, on Schiffbauerdamm, is a good alternative.”
Thanks Ciaran!
The latest scores
Group A
- Belarus 1-1 Netherlands
- Bulgaria 0-1 France
Group B
- Andorra 0-1 Portugal
- Switzerland 4-1 Hungary
Group H
- Cyprus 1-2 Greece
71 min “Aren’t I right in thinking that all us Welsh people should be supporting Cyprus tonight?” says Phil Grey. “If they get a result against Greece a draw will be enough against Ireland for Wales to reach the playoffs but if Greece win we’ll probably have to beat Ireland. That’s a significant difference!!”
Yep, a Cyprus equaliser would be very good for all the home nations, though I’m not sure of the exact impact on Wales because the whole thing is so darn complicated.
69 min “I think Messi should adopt some of Ronaldo’s swagger (exactly that which alienates so many from accepting his greatness) in order to pull his national team up by their bootstraps,” says Ian Copestake. “It is certainly the one clear difference in their impact as players. So I’m saying he should adopt a wide-legged stance at free kicks and open a Messi Museum.”
67 min Tick tock tick tock.
64 min France could really do with a second in Sofia, where Bulgaria look increasingly dangerous. A Bulgaria equaliser would put Sweden in control of the group.
62 min “It might be coincidence, but since Kante with his all-action style has been replaced by the decidedly more languid Rabiot, France has let Bulgaria harass them into all sorts of trouble,” says Charles Antaki. “Actually Rabiot has been pretty rubbish all round; languor is one of his less disappointing features.”
In other news, Adrien Rabiot has been linked with a move to Arsenal.
GOAL! Andorra 0-1 Portugal (Ronaldo 63)
The world’s best player scores a vital goal for Portugal. Cristiano Ronaldo came on at half-time and has just scored from close range, his 15th goal of the qualification campaign. He looked offside but it wasn’t given. If it stays like that, Portugal will qualify automatically if they beat Switzerland on Tuesday.
Updated
GOAL! Switzerland 4-1 Hungary (Guzmics 59)
Hungary have got one back against Switzerland. In the same group, Portugal are getting very frustrated by Andorra’s timewasting tactics. It’s still 0-0, and if it stays like that Portugal will be going into the play-offs.
GOAL! Belarus 1-1 Netherlands (Volodko 55)
Belarus have equalised through a cracking low drive from Maksim Volodko, and the Netherlands will not be going to the World Cup. They’re a Total Mess!
Updated
GOAL! Switzerland 4-0 Hungary (Zuber 49)
Zuber’s second goal puts Switzerland 4-0 ahead in Basel. They will qualify tonight if Portugal fail to score against Andorra.
51 min Zanev is booked for a nasty lunge at Tolisso, who screams in pain as he rolls off the pitch.
Updated
49 min Bulgaria improved towards the end of the first half and they have started the second strongly. For all their excellent play in the first half, France are only one goal away from a problem.
Updated
47 min “I’m sorry,” says Dave Wade, “but did Ian Copestake compare Ireland’s all-time leading goalscorer Robbie Keane to Ryan Babel?”
No, I think he compared Liverpool flop Robbie Keane to Ryan Babel.
46 min Peep peep! The five qualifying matches have resumed, which is great news for those who enjoy the unique misery of permutations.
Berlin pub department “Afternoon Rob,” says Dan Schulwolf. “Given that I’m on a train from Boston to lovely Westerly, Rhode Island, and that I’ve spent a decent amount of time in Berlin, I’d be happy to give our mutual acquaintance Simon McMahon a tip or two. While there aren’t many good bars near Potsdamer Platz, Oscar Wildes on Friedrichstraße is a decent option, if a bit touristy. My personal favorite place to watch a game there is The Harp in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, right off Ku’damm.”
Thanks Dan!
“Hi Rob,” says Nick Cherkas. “Big match in Casablanca tonight with Morocco taking on Gabon, hoping to reach the World Cup for the first time since 1998 (remember Mustapha Hadji and one of the goals of the tournament?) African stalwart Hervé Renard is in charge, Mehdi Benatia is captain and Nourdin Amrabat is hoping to be Moroccan all over the world in Russia. All African qualification is goin down to the wire, in fact... Enjoy!”
Who could forget Hadji’s goal – or this music.
Updated
Half time
Peep peep! It’s half time around Europe, and these are the scores:
Group A
- Belarus 0-1 Netherlands
- Bulgaria 0-1 France
Group B
- Andorra 0-0 Portugal
- Switzerland 3-0 Hungary
Group H
- Cyprus 1-2 Greece
Portugal need a goal, the Netherlands need at least five more goals, and France and Greece need to hold on their one-goal leads.
GOAL! Switzerland 3-0 Hungary (Zuber 43)
Switzerland’s perfect qualification campaign continues: eight and a half games, eight and a half wins. It’s almost perverse that they still aren’t guaranteed to reach Russia.
43 min As things stand, Switzerland will qualify for the World Cup and France will be on course to do so.
41 min Bulgaria have been much better in the last 10 minutes. They haven’t created much, apart from that chance for Popov a few minutes ago, but the signs are much better.
37 min Hugo Lloris redeems his own error with a superb save. He fumbled a long-range shot which kicked up a little awkwardly off the pitch. When the loose ball was knocked back into the six-yard box by Delev, Popov twisted his body to head towards goal and Lloris reacted admirably to paw it away.
Updated
33 min N’Golo Kante is going off with what looks like a hamstring injury. Adrien Rabiot replaces him.
32 min It’s still Andorra 0-0 Portugal in their Group B match. Portugal need to win that to have a chance of qualifying automatically, assuming Switzerland don’t lose their 2-0 lead at home to Hungary.
30 min As things stand, the Netherlands need to beat Sweden by seven goals on Wednesday to finish second in the group.
29 min Lacazette, put clear by Mbappe, is denied a goal by a fantastic tackle from Bozhikov.
27 min “Evening, Dazzler,” sniffs Ian Copestake. “The return of Ryan Babel to footballing consciousness after a decade of recovery from all the hope we invested in him (before seeing him as meh), makes me wonder which other non-legend is out there on the fringes awaiting a revival. Robbie Keane? Andrey Arshavin? Christian Poulsen?”
I’ll take Matthias Breitkreutz and Gary Coatsworth.
Updated
26 min Griezmann swishes a half volley across Iliev and just wide of the far post. France are still in control of this match and playing very well.
GOALS! Belarus 0-1 Netherlands (Propper 24); Cyprus 1-2 Greece (Mitroglou 24, Tziolis 26)
Greece, who need to win tonight, have scored twice in three minutes to take the lead in Cyprus. Meanwhile in Borisov, the Netherlands have one of the 472 goals they need to maintain their hopes of qualifying.
GOALS! Switzerland 2-0 Hungary (Xhaka 18, F Frei 20)
Two quickfire goals for Switzerland, who should now make it nine wins out of nine in qualification. Yet in all probability they will still need a point in their final match, away to Portugal on Wednesday, to qualify automatically.
GOAL! Cyprus 1-0 Greece (Sotiriou 18)
It’s there! Pieros Sotiriou has given Cyprus the lead against Greece, which is a significant goal in Group H. Greece need to win this game to move above Bosnia and Herzegovina into second place.
16 min Belarus make a mess of a three-on-three break against a Holland side who look resigned to having next summer off.
15 min Mbappe beats Bodurov with a stepover on the left of the box before hitting a left-footed shot that is beaten away at the near post by Iliev.
14 min Iliev spills Sidibe’s cross dangerously close to Griezmann before claiming it at the second attempt. This has, so far, been a performance of outstanding authority from France.
“I’d just like to agree with Simon,” says Benjamin Park. “Despite all the criticism of England, I bet that Holland would switch places with them in a heartbeat. A boring qualification seems the better alternative to Holland’s situation.”
I miss the days of England scrambling to qualify for major tournaments, usually in the final match against Poland.
Updated
The Barcelona left-back Lucas Digne is causing Bulgaria plenty of problems in attack. Bulgaria have hardly had a kick in the first 11 minutes.
The Netherlands haven’t started well in Borisov. They look like a team who have been demoralised by Sweden’s 8-0 win over Luxembourg.
France look really sharp in Sofia. A win tonight would mean they only need to beat Belarus at home in their last game to top the group.
GOAL! Bulgaria 0-1 France (Matuidi 3)
France take an early lead with a fine goal! Digne crossed low to Griezmann, who cushioned the ball into the path of the advancing Matuidi, and he crashed a rising drive into the far corner from a tight angle.
Updated
It’s a grim night in Sofia, with the rain lashing down. Bulgaria get us going.
“Evening Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “Quite exciting, this World Cup qualification lark. Although not if you’re English, I suppose. Then it’s boring. Though I would take a few boring qualifications any day. Anyway, I’ll be in Berlin - Potsdamer Platz or thereabouts - tomorrow for Slovenia v Scotland. Seeing as MBMers are an international bunch, anyone recommend the best place to watch?”
Somewhere with a lot of sofas would be my suggestion.
Apologies for the lack of updates - I’ve been having a few technical problems. The five matches are about to start, with Bulgaria v France the most eye-catching.
France need to win their last two games - away to Bulgaria tonight and at home to Belarus on Wednesday - to be certain of top spot. It’s such a shame the play-offs will be seeded, or we could be looking at France v Italy. Imagine.
Belarus v Netherlands team news
Belarus (4-2-3-1) Chernik; Rios, Yanushkevich, Politevich, Volodko; Dragun, Maevski; Balanovich, Karnitski, Stasevich; Signevich.
Netherlands (4-2-3-1) Cillessen; Janmaat, Van Dijk, Rekik, Blind; Wijnaldum, Vilhena; Robben, Propper, Babel; Janssen.
Bulgaria v France team news
Bulgaria (4-4-2) Iliev; Popov, Bodurov, Bozhikov, Zanev; Manolev, Slavchev, Kostadinov, Nedelev; Galabinov, Delev.
France (4-3-3) Lloris; Sidibi, Varane, Umtiti, Digne; Tolisso, Kante, Matuidi; Griezmann, Lacazette, Mbappe.
The early games
The 5pm matches have just finished, and these are the results.
Group A
- Sweden 8-0 Luxembourg
Group B
- Faroe Islands 0-0 Latvia
Group H
- Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-4 Belgium
- Gibraltar 0-6 Estonia
Sweden’s slaughter of Luxembourg means they are almost guaranteed to finish in the top two. They are six points ahead of the Netherlands, who they play in their final game on Wednesday, with a much better goal difference: +19 to Holland’s +5. The Dutch need a twist of Spain/Malta proportions just to reach the play-offs.
Updated
Preamble
Hello. It’s refreshing to see so many superpowers struggling to qualify for the World Cup, something that hasn’t really happened since it swelled to 32 teams in 1998. Argentina, Portugal, Italy and the Netherlands are all unsure whether they will be in Russia next summer, with the Netherlands particularly deep in the malodorous stuff.
Tonight’s clockwatch will cover fixtures from Uefa qualification groups A, B and H (insert your own Ben Stokes joke here), with Group A our main focus. Sweden stuffed Luxembourg 8-0 in the early kick-off, so the Netherlands probably need to exceed that in Belarus to keep their hopes alive. It has been a bizarre comedown for a team who finished third at the last World Cup before failing to qualify for Euro 2016 and, in all probability, Russia 2018. Maybe Ryan Babel will be their saviour.
France are in a better position, but there are no guarantees and they have to confront the bogeymen of Bulgaria in Sofia. That match would be tricky enough without the weight of history, as Bulgaria have won all their home games in this group. Although France should realistically finish second at worst, they cannot rest easy because one of the nine second-placed teams will not qualify for the play-offs. You need a degree in Permutation Studies to know what’s going on. I don’t have one, so apologies in advance for any inadvertent fake news.
These are tonight’s matches, all of which kick off at 7.45pm BST.
Group A
- Belarus v Netherlands
- Bulgaria v France
Group B
- Andorra v Portugal
- Switzerland v Hungary
Group H
- Cyprus v Greece
Updated
