David Hytner was at Wembley for England’s comfortable win over San Marino:
Lads, it’s San Marino. Anything that England did here, as they kicked off their campaign to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, was always going to be seen through the prism of what was in front of them – namely the worst team in international football.
San Marino are ranked 210th out of 210 by Fifa and it is probably worth noting that since they began playing official matches in 1990, they have won only once – against Liechtenstein in a 2004 friendly. Their record in World Cup qualifiers when they pitched up at Wembley showed 64 losses and two draws from 66 attempts and an average of 4.7 goals conceded each time.
Much more here:
Kai Havertz is almost exactly 10 times more prolific for his country than he is for his club:
🇩🇪 Kai Havertz has scored more goals in 156 minutes of competitive action for Germany this season (2) than in 1596 minutes of playing time for Chelsea across league and European competition (1)
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) March 25, 2021
Here’s Ewan Murray on Scotland’s dramatic draw for Austria:
On the night Che Adams made his Scotland debut, key interventions arrived from elsewhere. Steve Clarke can thank Grant Hanley and John McGinn for the claiming of a point to start his team’s World Cup campaign, from a match where Austria twice took the lead. For spells, Scotland were outplayed; under this regime, they are never outfought. McGinn’s late goal was an especially memorable ending to a second half which ebbed and flowed in the manner people often wish international football would. By full-time, both teams seemed content with parity.
Much more here:
Sid Lowe has filed his match report on Spain’s disappointing home draw with Greece:
The team that cut through Germany crashed into Greece. Spain began a new World Cup qualifying campaign exhibiting some old, familiar flaws. Possession was not enough, and nor was the Álvaro Morata goal that gave them a first-half lead. A split second, a slip, and a daft penalty, a single moment in a game played almost entirely at the other end, allowed Greece to leave Granada with a draw and left Spain lamenting a lost opportunity. Lost optimism too. It was the only shot John van’t Schip’s side had taken, yet it was enough. For Luis Enrique’s side, almost 80% of the ball was not.
Much more here:
John McGinn is pretty chirpy, as well he might having just scored the goal of his life (I haven’t seen every goal he’s ever scored, but it’s got to be up there):
I thought I was offside. I’ve never scored a goal like that. I’m never normally that far forward but the gaffer made a couple of changes. I don’t think we were as good as we can be tonight. I think it shows how far we’ve come. We’ve flung everything at them.
Final scores
Every game has now finished and here are all the scores you need:
Group B
Sweden 1-0 Georgia
Spain 1-1 Greece
Group C
Bulgaria 1-3 Switzerland
Italy 2-0 Northern Ireland
Group F
Israel 0-2 Denmark
Moldova 1-1 Faroe Islands
Scotland 2-2 Austria
Group I
Andorra 0-1 Albania
Hungary 3-3 Poland
England 5-0 San Marino
Group J
Liechtenstein 0-1 Armenia
Romania 3-2 North Macedonia
Germany 3-0 Iceland
Updated
Final score: Scotland 2-2 Austria
Scotland were very good in the last half-hour, having been very poor for the opening 60 minutes, but though they twice equalised, with two very good goals, they couldn’t find a winner.
Final score: Italy 2-0 Northern Ireland
Italy were much the better side in the opening period, when they scored two and could have had a couple more. Northern Ireland gave it an extremely good go in the second, though, and really deserved a goal, but they couldn’t quite get one.
GOAL! Moldova 1-1 Faroe Islands! Meinhard Olsen with a deflected shot from the left, which dips in at the far post to (probably) deny Moldova a first victory since forever (TBC).
GOAL! Romania 3-2 North Macedonia! Chaos! North Macedonia score two goals in a minute to turn a 0-2 deficit into a probable point, but Romania retake the lead within three minutes! The first North Macedonia goal was the pick of this recent bunch, a fine cross and excelllent header.
GOAL! Hungary 3-3 Poland! Lewandowski with an absolutely fabulous finish, rifling the ball into the corner from the edge of the area!
Updated
Chance for Northern Ireland! They press Italy in numbers from a short goal kick, and it ends with the ball being squared to McNair, running into the area, who unaccountably shoots over the bar!
GOAL! Scotland 2-2 Austria (McGinn, 85 mins)
John McGinn with the overhead! Robertson’s cross from the left is headed out, Christie heads it straight back in again, and McGinn sends a bicycle kit perfectly into the corner of the goal, with the Austrian keeper completely helpless!
Updated
GOAL! Englan 5-0 San Marino! Ollie Watkins, on his debut, is given time on the edge of the area to assess his options, and decides that the best one is to pass the ball into the corner!
GOAL! Hungary 3-2 Poland! Hungary are back in front! The hosts have recovered from the shock of conceding twice and losing an apparently comfortable lead in the blink of an eye, and Orban has put them back into the lead.
GOAL! Scotland 1-2 Austria (Kalajdzic, 80 mins)
It’s a nice ball in from Lainer, but Sasa Kalajdzic has absolutely no business scoring that header. He had to lean backwards, somehow put power on the header, and direct it perfectly into the corner, and he did all three!
Updated
Scotland are pushing for a winner now, and Robertson’s excellent low cross from the left zips across the six-yard box and out the other side! If they’d only started playing before they conceded the first goal, they might have won this comfortably.
Northern Ireland have started to worry the Italian defence, and they’ve had a shot go narrowly wide, one deflect narrowly over, but remain two goals in arrears.
GOAL! Scotland 1-1 Austria (Hanley, 71 mins)
Scotland get their equaliser! They have a free-kick on the right, maybe 15 yards inside the Austrian half, and the delivery is magnificent, the defence helpfully stand about miles away from goal, and Hanley runs through all alone and sends his header into the turf and past the keeper!
Updated
GOAL! Hungary 2-2 Poland! Poland score two goals in one minute to equalise in Hungary! Piatek grabs the first in the 60th minute, and Derby County’s Kamil Jozwiak steers in their second in the 61st!
Updated
Scotland have stepped it up since they fell behind to Austria, and they should have had a penalty for Ilsanker’s rugby tackle on Christie but the referee must have been asleep, or looking the other way, or something.
GOAL! Germany 3-0 Iceland (Gundogan, 56 mins)
Ilkay Gundogan steers an excellent low shot inside the near post from outside the area, and Germany are very much home and metaphorically hosed.
Updated
GOAL! Spain 1-1 Greece (Bakasetas penalty, 57 mins)
Hang on, that wasn’t in the script! Masouras is fouled in the penalty area, and Bakasetas thumps the ball into the roof of the net!
Updated
GOAL! Scotland 0-1 Austria (Kalajdzik, 55 mins)
It’s a fine shot from Grillitsch, from 30 yards or so. It never looks likely to go in, but it dips horribly right in front of Marshall, diving to his right, and he can only shovel it out to Kalajdzic, who sweeps it in!
Updated
GOAL! England 4-0 San Marino! Dominic Calvert-Lewin has stuck the ball in the Sammarinese net again.
GOAL! Romania 2-0 North Macedonia! Cowabunga! Valentin Mihajla with a 35-yard thundercracker to double Romania’s lead!
In other news, Slavia Prague have announced that Ondrej Kudela will not be released for the Czech Republic’s World Cup qualifying trip to Wales, due in part to fears over his safety. The centre-back was accused of racially abusing Glen Kamara when Slavia beat Rangers at Ibrox last week. Here’s the club’s statement:
Slavia is supportive of a thorough investigation of all relevant facts and will fully cooperate with Police Scotland and Uefa. Today, Mr Kudela provided Uefa with a full statement regarding the ongoing investigation. The speculation published in the media about the possible arrest of Ondrej Kudela is incorrect. Police Scotland have confirmed to SK Slavia’s lawyers that the investigations are at an early stage and that Mr Kudela is fully co-operating. To aid Slavia with co-operating with Uefa and Police Scotland, and out of concern for the safety of Ondrej Kudela, SK Slavia decided in cooperation with the national team management not to release Mr Kudela for the match of the Czech national team in Wales.
They’ve at least had a shot off target now, and it’s Gavin Whyte whose effort from wide to the left of goal hits the side netting.
It’s George Saville on for Corry Evans at half-time for Northern Ireland, who have had two shots so far, neither of which got far enough to even be classified as off-target.
Half-time scores
Half-time whistles have all sounded, and here are the scores as they stand. I’ll be back shortly for 45 more minutes of madness:
Group B
Sweden 1-0 Georgia
Spain 1-0 Greece
Group C
Bulgaria 1-3 Switzerland (final score)
Italy 2-0 Northern Ireland
Group F
Israel 0-2 Denmark (final score)
Moldova 1-0 Faroe Islands
Scotland 0-0 Austria
Group I
Andorra 0-1 Albania
Hungary 1-0 Poland
England 3-0 San Marino
Group J
Liechtenstein 0-0 Armenia
Romania 1-0 North Macedonia
Germany 2-0 Iceland
Updated
GOAL! Andorra 0-1 Albania! Ermir Lenjani scores a very nice goal indeed. The ball is chipped between two defenders and Lenjani runs onto it before slamming a left-footed half-volley into the roof of the net!
Updated
GOAL! Italy 2-0 Northern Ireland (Immobile, 38 mins)
Immobile scores for Italy, and that is poor goalkeeping. Immobile surges down the left, Cathcart positions himself to block off the far post and stop the Italian cutting inside, leaving him no option but to shoot at the near post. That’s what he does, and Peacock-Farrell waves it past!
Updated
GOAL! Sweden 1-0 Georgia! Zlatan Ibrahimovic gets his first international assist since June 2016, and Viktor Claesson is the beneficiary! It’s a showy backheel flick from Ibrahimovic, which left Claesson with plenty to do, but he did indeed do it.
GOAL! Spain 1-0 Greece (Morata, 33 mins)!
That is top forward play from Alvaro Morata, who watches the ball come over his right shoulder, controls it with a flick of a bicep, and smashes it into the top corner!
Updated
GOAL! England 3-0 San Marino! After a comical attempt at playing out from the back by San Marino Raheem Sterling, England’s captain for the night, shoots straight at the San Marino goalkeeper and gets lucky.
Clinical from @sterling7 🔥pic.twitter.com/9A9Lvon2EV
— England (@England) March 25, 2021
History has been made this evening, and the night is still young.
52 - After just 7 minutes, it has been @DFB-Teams quickest 2 goal lead in a competitive game for 52 years - in may 1969 Gerd Müller and Wolfgang Overath only needed 5 minutes in a world-cup-qualifier against Cyprus. Quickstarter. #GERISL pic.twitter.com/zFaR5sgFpJ
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) March 25, 2021
If you’re wondering why I haven’t posted an update about Scotland’s game against Austria, it’s because there hasn’t been much to say. Scotland have so far had no shots, no corners, and 37% of possession. Austria have just had their second shot on target, and currently have a player receiving physio treatment inside the centre circle.
GOAL! England 2-0 San Marino! Dominic Calvert-Lewin becomes the second double-barelled player of the night to get on the scoresheet for England tonight.
GOAL! England 1-0 San Marino! It was only a matter of time, and 14 minutes was as long as it took England to make a breakthrough against San Marino, James Ward-Prowse with the goal. Yes, England normally play in white, are at home, are playing a team that normally wears blue, and are wearing blue, while their opponents wear white.
GOAALLL!
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 25, 2021
It had been coming.
Nice interplay down the left and Ward-Prowse slots home the cross for his first @England goal
Watch LIVE:
📺 @ITV
📱 https://t.co/VgUmUnsGMm#ThreeLions #ENGSMR #ITVFootball pic.twitter.com/nqzB0jSmYe
GOAL! Italy 1-0 Northern Ireland (Berardi, 14 mins)
Northern Ireland are behind, as Berardi is released down the right, cuts inside, and finishes smartly inside the near post!
Updated
GOAL! Moldova 1-0 Faroe Islands! Nicolaescu seizes on a rubbish back-pass, benefits from a fluky ricochet off another defender, and tucks the ball away, Moldova’s first goal in 12 months and eight games! Their last win was at home to Andorra in June 2019, and the only other team they’ve beaten since 2014 is San Marino.
Updated
GOAL! Hungary 1-0 Poland Roland Sallai, the 23-year-old Freiburg forward, with a near-post finish after a breakaway.
And another! It’s Germany 2-0 Iceland, and Kai Havertz gets on the scoresheet with a tidy low finish.
As their game against Iceland kicked off the German official twitter account posted this message:
Let's get off to a flyer, boys! 🤞 (1')#DieMannschaft #GERISL 0-0 pic.twitter.com/v9vQUueF8d
— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) March 25, 2021
And as ordered, three minutes later Leon Goretzka put them ahead. It’s 1-0 there. Meanwhile, before kick-off, there was this:
Anthems are being sung. Hold on to your hats!
“It took about five years for beards to pass from hipsterism to mainstream, which seems to be about the same time that Sergio Ramos has been trying to grow one,” notes Charles Antaki. “The result is beyond all doubt the straggliest, tuftiest and overall most laughably rubbish beard in modern football. But I’m not going to be the one to tell him.”
Oh, I’m not sure that’s fair.
All the teams are now in the first post on this blog (scroll down, and refresh if necessary). And here’s a fine photo from one of the early games:
Denmark meanwhile have wrapped up a 2-0 win in Israel, with Martin Braithwaite and Jonas Wind - the Danes’ second Wind, after the forward’s dad, Per - on the scoresheet.
The early games are coming to a close, the first of them to finish being the one in Sofia, where Bulgaria have been unable to recover from Switzerland’s blistering start - the visitors were three up inside the opening quarter-hour - and ended up losing 3-1.
I’m putting the teams into the first post, down at the bottom of the page, as I get them. Early arrivals will probably need to refresh this page to see any updates.
Team news is flooding out at the moment. Here are a few of the high-profile starting XIs, with full line-ups to come:
🚨 ¡¡YA TENEMOS EL ONCE OFICIAL DE ESPAÑA!!
— Selección Española de Fútbol (@SeFutbol) March 25, 2021
👥 Estos son los once futbolistas elegidos por @LUISENRIQUE21 para iniciar el camino hacia el Mundial de #Catar2022.
💪🏻 ¡¡Vamos, equipo!!#SomosEspaña#SomosFederación pic.twitter.com/IB5snbezfp
Unsere Startelf! 🇩🇪🇮🇸
— Die Mannschaft (@DFB_Team) March 25, 2021
1 Neuer (C)
4 Ginter
6 Kimmich
10 Havertz
13 Klostermann
16 Rüdiger
18 Goretzka
19 Sané
20 Gnabry
21 Gündogan
23 Can #GERISL #DieMannschaft pic.twitter.com/LC8Xkfd5Mw
Here's how the #ThreeLions line up for our first game of 2021! 👊 pic.twitter.com/Qu36JPVfee
— England (@England) March 25, 2021
Hello world!
Tonight we stand at the foothills of a mountain, a mountain commonly known as World Cup qualifying. These are the first games of the European group stage, so it’s a blank slate. As of this moment, there is nothing to separate England from Andorra, or Germany from Lichtenstein. The final games are due to be played on the week of 14 November, with play-offs to follow another absolutely ages later (they will be played on this very week next year, some of them precisely 12 months hence, ahead of the finals draw next April) involving the 10 group runners-up and a couple of teams that do badly in qualifying but better in the Nations League, which will yield World Cup places for three of them. We are very much in marathon-not-sprint territory here. Here’s a quick run-through of tonight’s fixtures (7.45pm GMT kick-offs unless specified):
Group B
Sweden v Georgia
Sweden: Nordfeldt, Lustig, Lindelof, Helander, Augustinsson, Kulusevski, Olsson, Larsson, Claesson, Isak, Ibrahimovic. Subs: Quaison, Ekdal, Karlsson, Cajuste, Starfelt, Sema, Bengtsson, Johnsson, Krafth, Svanberg, Olsen, Forsberg.
Georgia: Loria, Chabradze, Kashia, Dvali, Giorbelidze, Kankava, Aburjania, Lobzhanidze, Kvekveskiri, Kvaratskhelia, Kvilitaia. Subs: Mamardashvili, Azouz, Gvilia, Shengelia, Beridze, Tabidze, Kakabadze, Grigalava, Zivzivadze, Kiteishvili, Kupatadze, Mikautadze.
Spain v Greece
Spain: Simon, Marcos Llorente, Sergio Ramos, Garcia, Gaya, Canales, Rodri, Koke, Torres, Morata, Olmo. Subs: Sanchez, Porro, Diego Llorente, Gil Salvatierra, Fabian, de Gea, Thiago, Busquets, Martinez, Oyarzabal, Jordi Alba, Gonzalez.
Greece: Vlachodimos, Bakakis, Papadopoulos, Tzavelas, Tsimikas, Mandalos, Zeca, Bouchalakis, Limnios, Bakasetas, Masouras. Subs: Svarnas, Kyriakopoulos, Mavropanos, Kapino, Dioudis, Fortounis, Giakoumakis, Mavrias, Siopis, Androutsos, Pavlidis, Tzolis.
Group C
Bulgaria v Switzerland (5pm)
Italy v Northern Island
Italy: Donnarumma, Florenzi, Bonucci, Chiellini, Emerson Palmieri, Pellegrini, Locatelli, Verratti, Berardi, Immobile, Insigne. Subs: Belotti, Di Lorenzo, Chiesa, Pessina, Grifo, Mancini, Spinazzola, Barella, Acerbi, Bernardeschi, Sirigu, Cragno.
Northern Ireland: Peacock-Farrell, Smith, Cathcart, Jonny Evans, Dallas, McNair, Corry Evans, McCann, Davis, Whyte, Magennis. Subs: Lavery, McGinn, Ballard, Saville, Thompson, Brown, Hughes, Ferguson, Hazard, McLaughlin, Lafferty, Kennedy.
Group F
Israel v Denmark (5pm)
Moldova v Faroe Islands
Moldova: Namasco, Posmac, Epureanu, Armas, Jardan, Ionita, Carp, Reabciuk, Nicolaescu, Rata, Damascan. Subs: Bolohan, Dragan, Koselev, Belousov, Dumbravanu, Arhirii, Caimacov, Postolachi, Antoniuc, Cojocari, Celeadnic, Iosipoi.
Faroe Islands: Nielsen, Sorensen, Faero, Nattestad, Davidsen, Solvi Vatnhamar, Hansson, Gunnar Vatnhamar, Brandur Olsen, Klaemint Olsen, Edmundsson. Subs: Soylu, Meinhard Olsen, Andreasen, Johannesen, Thomsen, Danielsen, Bjartalid, Vatnsdal, Gestsson, Jensen, Baldvinsson, Jonsson.
Scotland v Austria
Scotland: Marshall, O’Donnell, Hendry, Hanley, Robertson, McGinn, McTominay, Tierney, Armstrong, Dykes, Christie. Subs: Gallagher, Palmer, McLean, McKenna, Fleck, Nisbet, McBurnie, Fraser, Adams, Gordon, McGregor, McLaughlin.
Austria: Alexander Schlager, Lainer, Dragovic, Lienhart, Alaba, Baumgartner, Ilsanker, Grillitsch, Xaver Schlager, Grbic, Kalajdzic. Subs: Trauner, Gregoritsch, Ulmer, Schaub, Friedl, Lindner, Trimmel, Sabitzer, Onisiwo, Schopf, Ranftl, Pervan.
Group I
Andorra v Albania
Andorra: Gomes, Jesus Rubio, Llovera, Vales, Moises San Nicolas, Alexandre Martinez, Rebes, Marcio Vieira, Cervos, Alaez, Fernandez. Subs: Rodrigues, Luigi San Nicolas, Moreno, Emili Garcia, Pujol, Sanchez, Clemente, Alavedra, Marc Garcia, Cristian Martinez.
Albania: Berisha, Djimsiti, Ismajli, Kumbulla, Hysaj, Memushaj, Bare, Gjasula, Lenjani, Cikalleshi, Manaj. Subs: Laci, Roshi, Ajeti, Doka, Uzuni, Selmani, Memolla, Ramadani, Veseli, Strakosha, Broja, Kamberi.
Hungary v Poland
Hungary: Gulacsi, Fiola, Orban, Attila Szalai, Lovrencsics, Kleinheisler, Nagy, Kalmar, Hangya, Sallai, Adam Szalai. Subs: Toth, Nikolic, Schafer, Lang, Gazdag, Roland Varga, Siger, Dibusz, Botka, Kevin Varga, Cseri, Nego.
Poland: Szczesny, Bereszynski, Bednarek, Helik, Reca, Szymanski, Krychowiak, Moder, Zielinski, Lewandowski, Milik. Subs: Dawidowicz, Placheta, Fabianski, Kozlowski, Piatkowski, Jozwiak, Augustyniak, Glik, Grosicki, Piatek, Rybus, Skorupski.
England v San Marino
England: Pope, James, Coady, Stones, Chilwell, Phillips, Ward-Prowse, Lingard, Mount, Sterling, Calvert-Lewin. Subs: Johnstone, Rice, Mings, Henderson, Kane, Foden, Dier, Shaw, Maguire, Watkins, Trippier, Bellingham.
San Marino: Elia Benedettini, Manuel Battistini, Brolli, Rossi, Grandoni, Lunadei, Golinucci, Jose Hirsch, Berardi, Palazzi, Nicola Nanni. Subs: Giardi, D’Addario, Ceccaroli, Zonzini, Michael Battistini, Luca Nanni, Simone Benedettini, Conti, Fabbri, Stimac, Mularoni, Zafferani.
Group J
Liechtenstein v Armenia
Liechtenstein: Buchel, Malin, Kaufmann, Sele, Hofer, Yildiz, Meier, Hasler, Goppel, Noah Frick, Yanik Frick. Subs: Sandro Wolfinger, Justin Ospelt, Beck, Frommelt, Martin Marxer, Fabio Wolfinger, Hobi, Brandle, Alexander Marxer, Grunenfelder, Vogt, Philipp Ospelt.
Armenia: Yurchenko, Hambardzumyan, Calisir, Haroyan, Kamo Hovhannisyan, Barseghyan, Udo, Artak Grigoryan, Bayramyan, Adamyan, Briasco. Subs: Kocharyan, Shagoyan, Serob Grigoryan, Karapetyan, Bichakhchyan, Ishkhanyan, Miranyan, Babayan, Beglaryan, Voskanyan, Aivazov, Muradyan.
Romania v North Macedonia
Romania: Nita, Popescu, Chiriches, Burca, Bancu, Marin, Stanciu, Man, Tanase, Coman, Keseru. Subs: Maxim, Puscas, Camora, Mihaila, Tosca, Bicfalvi, Lazar, Cicaldau, Radu, Hagi, Nedelcearu, Mogos.
North Macedonia: Dimitrievski, Bejtulai, Musliu, Ristevski, Ristovski, Nikolov, Bardhi, Alioski, Elmas, Pandev, Nestorovski. Subs: Velkoski, Avramovski, Stojanovski, Hasani, Ademi, Siskovski, Bogatinov, Trajkovski, Radeski, Spirovski, Ibraimi, Askovski.
Germany v Iceland
Germany: Neuer, Klostermann, Rudiger, Ginter, Can, Goretzka, Kimmich, Gundogan, Sane, Gnabry, Havertz. Subs: Max, Wirtz, ter Stegen, Werner, Musiala, Younes, Trapp, Tah, Neuhaus.
Iceland: Halldorsson, Sampsted, Ingason, Arnason, Magnusson, Gunnarsson, Bjarnason, Sigurjonsson, Palsson, Traustason, Bodvarsson. Subs: Runarsson, Arnor Sigurdsson, Skulason, Albert Gudmundsson, Ragnar Sigurdsson, Sigthorsson, Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Eyjolfsson, Kristinsson, Fridjonsson, Hermannsson.
Updated
