That’s all from me. Thanks for reading and for your emails and comments. We’ll have a match report on Hungary v Republic of Ireland live on the site, so watch out for that.
Elsewhere, John Brewin will provide MBM updates on the WSL game of the day between Tottenham and Arsenal.
Albania v England MBM will launch around 3/3.30pm GMT. Billy Munday is in the hot seat for that one.
This is what those results do to the WSL table. Liverpool, despite that amazing result are now bottom owing to West Ham’s brilliant win. City have a three point lead over Chelsea after the Blues drop points.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City Women | 9 | 14 | 24 |
| 2 | Chelsea Women | 9 | 11 | 21 |
| 3 | Man Utd Women | 9 | 10 | 17 |
| 4 | Arsenal Women | 8 | 10 | 15 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur Women | 8 | -1 | 15 |
| 6 | London City Lionesses | 9 | -5 | 15 |
| 7 | Brighton & Hove Albion Women | 9 | 3 | 11 |
| 8 | Aston Villa Women | 8 | -1 | 10 |
| 9 | Leicester Women | 9 | -11 | 6 |
| 10 | Everton Women | 9 | -7 | 5 |
| 11 | West Ham Women | 9 | -14 | 4 |
| 12 | Liverpool FC Women | 8 | -9 | 2 |
Other FT results in the WSL
Aston Villa 1-3 London City Lionesses
In their first season in the WSL, the London side are well in the mix for a European place this season after another great result.
West Ham 3-1 Everton
A huge win for West Ham, who haul themselves off the bottom of the table. Katja Snoeijs scored a late consolation for Everton.
Brighton 4-1 Leicester
Marisa Olislagers and Kiko Seike scored two late goals for the hosts, to put the game to bed.
Full-time in the WSL: Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea
The Blues are held by Liverpool and drop points! Manchester City will be delighted.
Hungary v Republic of Ireland teams
Hungary: Dibusz, Nego, Orban, Attila Szalai, Kerkez, Szoboszlai, Schafer, Lukacs, Alex Toth, Sallai, Varga.
Subs: Demjen, Szappanos, Mocsi, Balogh, Otvos, Vitalis, Gruber, Bolla, Marton Dardai, Styles, Zsolt Nagy, Redzic.
Republic of Ireland: Kelleher, O’Brien, Collins, O’Shea, Coleman, Cullen, Molumby, Scales, Ogbene, Azaz, Parrott.
Subs: Bazunu, Travers, Kenny, Idah, Dunne, Coventry, Taylor, Egan, Manning, McGrath, Johnston, Ebosele.
Referee: Espen Eskas (Norway)
Chelsea remain locked at 1-1 with Liverpool. A draw would be a damaging result for the Blues, who would lose ground on Manchester City at the top after this weekend. Sonia Bompastor has sent on Lauren James and Lucy Bronze from the Chelsea bench as the visitors push for a winner in the last 10 minutes.
GOAL! Brighton 2-1 Leicester (Shannon O’Brien 75)
Leicester have one back through Shannon O’Brien!
The biggest WSL game of the day is undoubtedly the north London derby between Tottenham and Arsenal. John Brewin is on deck to provide live MBM updates right here.
WSL GOALS UPDATE!
Aston Villa 1-3 London City Lionesses
The London side look home and dry after Isobel Goodwin and a second goal of the day from Saki Kumagai (another header from a corner following a near-post flick on!)
West Ham 3-0 Everton
West Ham, rooted to the bottom of the WSL table before today’s game with one point from eight games, are now 3-0 up through Shekiera Martinez!
Brighton 2-0 Leicester
Maelys Mpome has doubled Brighton’s lead with neat side-footed finish from the edge of the box.
Albania v England kicks off at 5pm GMT and the Guardian’s Philip Cornwall, who is invariably in the away end supporting the Three Lions, has sent this email and photo in via email.
“The attached isn’t very representative of modern Tirana, completely transformed from when I saw Norman Wisdom perform live and Emile Heskey cue up Andy Cole’s only England goal, but these England flags are in one of the few central locations unchanged since 2001. All very relaxed here on a warm autumn afternoon in southern Europe”
Norman Wisdom in Albania? Now we’re talking.
Things are hotting up in Budapest with around 40 minutes to go until Hungary v Republic of Ireland starts.
Denmark hit by sickness bug before key Scotland clash
Big news for Scotland v Denmark before Tuesday’s game: the visitors have been hit by a sickness bug!
A sickness bug has disrupted Denmark’s plans for their make-or-break World Cup qualifier with Scotland in Glasgow on Tuesday. Brian Riemer, the Danish head coach, has admitted he is concerned over the situation amid fears the ailment will spread further before kick-off.
Joachim Andersen and Rasmus Højland missed Denmark’s surprising draw with Belarus on Saturday evening due to illness. The result in Copenhagen meant Scotland’s 3-2 loss to Greece was immaterial for Steve Clarke’s side. Scotland trail Denmark by a point in Group C as the teams prepare to meet in the final fixture. A draw will be sufficient for Denmark but the backdrop is fraught.
“Right now we have Joachim Andersen, who is sick, and we have Højlund, who is sick,” said Riemer. “And a staff member who is sick. We are in a situation where the doctor is on it. It is the season for such things. You can’t protect yourself 100% but we are doing everything we can and right now our hope and assessment is that we have put a plug in it and that on Tuesday we have 24 men who are fit for a fight and ready to play.
Updated
Half-time scores in the WSL
Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea
Beata Olsson equalised for Liverpool before half-time, running from inside her own half beyond Chelsea’s high back-line and finishing neatly past Peng.
Aston Villa 1-1 London City Lionesses
Villa also equalised before the break, through Kirsty Hanson.
West Ham 2-0 Everton
Hammerhead has inspired West Ham today: two quickfire goals from Anouk Denton and Amber Tysiak have given the home side a comfortable lead.
Brighton 1-0 Leicester
A beautiful dinked finish from Madison Haley has given Brighton the advantage.
From bad to worse for Arsenal, with Italy manager Gennaro Gattuso revealing that Riccardo Calafiori has left the international squad after suffering with “a few issues”.
“We tried Calafiori, he had a few issues,” Gattuso told Sky Sports Italia. “I thank him for his commitment. He stayed here for a week, he could have played perhaps, but it wouldn’t have been fair to him or Arsenal.”
Italy are due to play group leaders Norway later today and are likely to finish second and go into the play-offs, they are three points adrift but have a far inferior goal difference and need to win by a nine-goal margin at the San Siro to automatically qualify. The prospect of Italy missing another major tournament remains a very real one.
Arsenal's Gabriel Magalhães suffers injury scare with Brazil
Arsenal suffered a major injury scare as defender Gabriel limped out of Brazil’s friendly win over Senegal at the Emirates Stadium.
The 27-year-old went down just before the hour mark and received treatment to his right thigh before being substituted by manager Carlo Ancelotti.
Gabriel’s absence would be a major blow for the Gunners after a fine start to the season based on a firm defence that has conceded just five goals in 11 Premier League games.
“Bad? I don’t know. He had an injury in his adductor,” Ancelotti said. “The medical staff has to check tomorrow. We are really sorry for this, really disappointed. When a player has an injury, you hope they can recover well and soon.”
Chelsea’s teenage winger Estêvão opened the scoring for Brazil and Manchester United midfielder Casemiro added the second from a free-kick. PA Media
Another submission for an England XI, courtesy of Nick Poole via email.
GK: Pickford, barring injury or spectacular loss of form looks certain to start.
RB: Reece James, please let him be fully fit!
CBs: Guehi and Stones
LB: Livrimento if fit (sat next to my daughter at Woodcote School occasionally)
CMs: Rice with either Anderson or Wharton, Anderson starts except for injury or loss of form
RW: Saka
10: Bellingham Foden or Rogers (I would think Rogers will start unless injury or aforementioned loss of form)
LW: got to be Eze, surely?
ST: KaneLots of options from bench though including Palmer who might still wrest starting spot during tournament.
WSL GOAL(S) UPDATE!
Liverpool 0-1 Chelsea
Alyssa Thompson has curled a brilliant opener into the top bin, cutting inside from the left wing and unleashing her shot. No chance for Kirby in Liverpool’s goal.
Aston Villa 0-1 London City Lionesses
Saki Kumagai has scored her first WSL goal, nodding in at the back post from a corner.
Friday’s Football Weekly is worth a listen if you are catching up with the Republic of Ireland.
Under two hours to go until Hungary v Republic of Ireland, the winner of which will secure a World Cup qualifying play-off. After a turbulent qualification campaign, the Republic secured a famous 2-0 win over Portugal to keep their hopes alive and earn an unlikely second place in Group F. Hungary require only a draw in Budapest but Ireland have their fate back in their own hands. Here’s what manager Heimir Hallgrímsson had to say regarding his side’s injury/team news.
I’m tempted to play the same team. Will I do it? I don’t know. The confidence is there and the belief is there. We will see how they are in training and take it from there.
“Everyone is fit apart from [Evan Ferguson]. We called him yesterday or he did a session yesterday, and he hasn’t kicked the ball still. We talked to him and he feels that he would not be able to contribute much.
“I give a big-up to him, thinking about the team first. Obviously, every player would like to come, especially after the game in Dublin and join, but he thinks he would not contribute enough to be in the squad. So we leave him out and he just continues with Roma, with his rehabilitation.”
Peeeeeeeep! Four WSL matches get underway.
Liverpool v Chelsea, Brighton v Leicester, Aston Villa v London City Lionesses and West Ham v Everton are a go go!
Regarding my question over that Bradford City mascot, Nathan Atkinson (Bradford Telegraph and Argus sports reporter) has been in touch.
That would be the City Gent mascot Lenny Berry. The long-running fanzine of the same name is still running and sold on matchdays at Valley Parade, but alas Lenny is no more, after a rather turbulent 2013!
Nathan then links to this Telegraph and Argus piece from 2013, from which I have taken the following copy. Absolutely extraordinary!
Bradford City’s famous City Gent mascot says he has been forced to quit by the club because he is no longer fat enough for the role after losing seven stones through illness.
Life-long Bantams’ fan Lenny Berry, who has played the bowler hat-wearing mascot for almost 20 years, refused an offer of wearing a ‘Sumo-style’ suit and costume head to continue as the character after bosses at the League One club said his appearance no longer matched the ‘original concept’.
In a statement, City confirmed the main reason for asking Mr Berry to wear a padded costume was because his ‘physical appearance’ had changed from the original City Gent, former chairman the late Stafford Heginbotham.
But the 59-year-old says he now looks different because he lost weight for health reasons after being diagnosed with diabetes in 2006.
Last night, he said: “I’m am absolutely gutted. I am a grown man and this is something I have cried over. I’ve been through the fire. I’ve been through everything down there. When they did Save Our City I had my head shaved in the middle of the pitch and got 12-15 mascots to take part in a charity match. I don’t want the club getting hurt, I love the club. If you cut me open I’d be claret and amber.
“In a meeting I asked why it wasn’t brought up six years ago when I first lost the weight,” he said. “They said they knew about my health issues. Obviously I’ve lost a lot of weight. I used to be 17 and a half stones, whereas I’m now around ten and a half. I lost it in about 18 months after I found out I had diabetes.
“I used to have supporters chant things at me, like ‘who ate all the pies’. I used to get them going and then grab my belly. I play the part of the mascot though, through my face and my eyes. I’ve always had a good rapport with fans”.
Updated
It will be interesting to see if Villa can back up their excellent win away at Manchester United last weekend with victory today against London City Lionesses. Suzanne Wrack sat down with Villa’s manager, Natalia Arroyo, earlier this week, which is worth a read.
And have a look at that Chelsea bench, one that doesn’t include Sam Kerr: Spencer, Bronze, Girma, Baltimore, Jean-Francois, Nusken, Hamano, James, Beever-Jones.
The Blues are absolutely stacked in every position and will close the gap on City at the top of the table to one point if they can beat Liverpool today.
WSL team news!
Liverpool v Chelsea
Liverpool: Kirby, Evans, Clark, Fisk, Woodham, Nagano, Kerr, Holland, Kapocs, Enderby, Olsson.
Subs: Laws, Borggrafe, Parry, Szymczak, Kiernan, Lundgaard, MacLean, Bonner, Silcock.
Chelsea: Peng, Carpenter, Bjorn, Bright, Charles, Walsh, Kaneryd, Cuthbert, Kaptein, Thompson, Macario.
Subs: Spencer, Bronze, Girma, Baltimore, Jean-Francois, Nusken, Hamano, James, Beever-Jones.
Brighton v Leicester
Brighton: Nnadozie, Rule, Mpome, Minami, Olislagers, Symonds, Cankovic, Seike, Noordam, McLauchlan, Haley.
Subs: Baggaley, Poulter, Vanegas, Kafaji, Carabali, Hayes, Auee, Tsunoda, Martin.
Leicester: Leitzig, Van Egmond, Kees, Swaby, Boureille, Tierney, McLoughlin, Ale, Cain, O’Brien, Rantala.
Subs: Clark, Keane, Wellesley-Smith, Thibaud, Sherwood, Las, Eiriksdottir.
Aston Villa v London City Lionesses
Aston Villa: D’Angelo, Wilms, Patten, Deslandes, Grant, Kearns, Taylor, Kendall, Maritz, Mullett, Hanson.
Subs: Roebuck, Sallaway, Mayling, Maltby, Salmon, Daly.
London City Lionesses: Lete, Fernandez, Sangare, Linari, Imuran, Kumagai, Geyoro, Godfrey, Asllani, Parris, Goodwin.
Subs: Poor, Pattinson, Goldie, Perez, Franssi, Roddar, Lindstrom, Zelem, Kennedy.
West Ham v Everton
West Ham: Szemik, Endo, Tysiak, Zadorsky, Hanshaw, Gorry, Siren, Denton, Ueki, Martinez, Asseyi.
Subs: Walsh, Belloumou, Pavi, Csiki, Brasero Carreira, Morgan, Wandeler, Houssein, Cemal.
Everton: Ramsey, Fernandez, Mace, Ishikawa, Kitagawa, Van Gool, Wheeler, Vignola, Hayashi, Payne, Robinson.
Subs: Brosnan, Hobson, Ladd, Weir, Snoeijs, Holmgaard, Momiki, Jones.
I just popped ‘West Ham mascot’ into my search bar for our picture library and found this Tom Jenkins gem from 2000. Who is the gentleman stood next to Stuart McCall? Is that just Bradford City’s mascot for the day, or a more notable figure?
I agree that Palmer does seem a little under-appreciated in an England shirt, perhaps even by me (based upon my own England XI below), although I wouldn’t say Bellingham or Foden are “inferior”. Whoever is left out, including Rogers, Tuchel will take some flak for his selection, unless we romp every game 4-0, which of course we won’t.
Fitness issues have played a part, but Palmer finds himself on the outside of things with England in the same way he did with City. Chelsea’s attack is built around Palmer, the whole team is geared towards creating pockets of space for him, giving him plenty of the ball in the right areas of the pitch, etc. It’s the same with Bayern/Kane, and Arsenal/Saka to an extent. Tuchel cannot warp this England side to suit just Palmer, so he is asked to thrive in a system that is not built for him. Just like at Manchester City.
I am delighted to say that West Ham United’s mascot Hammerhead is present at the Chigwell Construction Stadium for the WSL match against Everton. I have just Googled the genesis of Hammerhead, and found this press release from 2011.
Foundered in the Thames Iron Works many decades ago, the workers who crafted a new champion drew on the spirits of heroes old and new to create the ultimate goal machine.
When a bolt of lightning hit the Iron Works, a mighty warrior of iron was born – Hammerhead.
As strong as iron, as fast as Billy Bonds and blessed with the goalscoring prowess of Vic Watson, some say Hammerhead was once a shipbuilder at the Thames Iron Works, while others say he is a knight from the historic Boleyn Castle.
Hello everyone. Just under an hour to go until the four early WSL games kick-off (all times GMT). We will also have MBM coverage later of the late kick-off: the north London derby between Spurs and Arsenal.
These are the current standings:
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City Women | 9 | 14 | 24 |
| 2 | Chelsea Women | 8 | 11 | 20 |
| 3 | Man Utd Women | 9 | 10 | 17 |
| 4 | Arsenal Women | 8 | 10 | 15 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur Women | 8 | -1 | 15 |
| 6 | London City Lionesses | 8 | -7 | 12 |
| 7 | Aston Villa Women | 7 | 1 | 10 |
| 8 | Brighton & Hove Albion Women | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| 9 | Leicester Women | 8 | -8 | 6 |
| 10 | Everton Women | 8 | -5 | 5 |
| 11 | Liverpool FC Women | 7 | -9 | 1 |
| 12 | West Ham Women | 8 | -16 | 1 |
The Gunners cannot afford to drop points again if they are to cling to a title race, especially with Manchester City winning their own derby on Saturday.
With that, I’m going to hand over to Michael Butler. Thanks for your company, emails and England XIs; see you soon.
Another interesting England XI here. One question: do any of you see Cole Palmer as a challenger for Saka or should we only consider him as a No10?
I like Livramento loads but I think a left-footed left-back is essential, especially if you play Rashford ahead of Gordon as he likes to veer inside.
“Not for the first time, I pity Simon McMahon’s liver,” kettlepotblacks Matt Dony. “Naturally, I’m hoping Wales bulldoze their way into group Pot 3, but I’d rather they avoid Scotland. I’m not sure the footballing gods could cope with two teams finding so many creative new ways to make it desperately difficult for themselves.
“Ethan Ampadu will be a huge miss. He’s so consistently reliable for Wales. Harry Wilson returning will help, though. He’s the main spark these days. Mae’n dod adre, Rob!
This is England 2025
AFC Rushden & Diamonds’ game at Coventry Sphinx was abandoned on Saturday after sexist abuse was allegedly aimed at a female referee, both non-league clubs said.
“A comment of a sexist nature was allegedly directed toward the female match official towards the end of the first half. Attempts to identify the individual were unsuccessful,” AFC Rushden & Diamonds said in a statement.
“We are deeply concerned and disappointed that such behaviour has occurred at one of our matches. Discriminatory language or actions of any kind have absolutely no plac
Thanks very much to Rogorn for this guide to the playoffs. This shows why Wales are desperate to beat North Macedonia on Tuesday and move into Pot 3 (I think, ask Rogorn to be sure).
It’ll be interesting to see which players Thomas Tuchel turns to if England are, say, 1-1 or 2-1 down against France with 20 minutes to go. Cole Palmer’s ability and ego (in a positive sense) make him a perfect fit. Trent Alexander-Arnold could become an impact sub from right-back, which never happened to Gary Neville.
You need players who are effective against a low block, which is why I’d be loath to rule out Ivan Toney at this stage.
Wharton is just a personal preference – I’m obsessed with him in a way that isn’t entirely appropriate, and think he could play for any team in the world. But I agree Anderson has been superb and it would be grossly unfair of leave him out.
I haven’t seen enough of O’Reilly to form a judgement, though he was very impressive against Mo Salah last Sunday. Lewis-Skelly’s lack of game time is a problem though; not sure what can be done about that because Arsenal won’t loan him out in the second half of the season.
The point about Gordon is a good one. I think that position is so important because you can’t get lightning pace in the team anywhere else.
Updated
My colleague Michael Butler has picked his England XI.
Pickford; James, Stones, Guehi, O’Reilly; Wharton, Rice; Saka, Bellingham (unless Foden is on fire), Rashford; Kane.
Scotland v Denmark (Tuesday 7.45pm)
“Last night was wild, Rob,” writes Simon McMahon. “All-day drinking is not big or clever. At one point I was being sick into my pint glass giving Clarke and his shower of charlatans masquerading as football players both barrels, effing and jeffing at the TV and switching to the darts in disgust, before ending up praying that Belarus held on in Denmark and celebrating a Scotland defeat. God knows what Tuesday will be like.”
I’ve just checked and I’m down to cover the game for us, so please send in any drunken missives from, ooh, 9am?
On this day in 1996… the first meeting between Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United and Arsene Wenger's Arsenal. Check out the technique from David Beckham, who was having a brilliant season in central midfield.
Pick your best England XI
Oi! Listen up. If England were playing in a World Cup quarter-final tomorrow, and everyone was fit, what would be your XI?
Post it BTL or email matchday.live@theguardian.com. Justify your decisions if you like, especially if you decide to go maverick. We’ll stick some of the most interesting/thoughtful responses in the blog.
My team, off the top of my only partially caffeinated noggin, would be: Pickford; James, Stones/Konsa*, Guehi, Lewis-Skelly**; Wharton, Rice; Saka, Bellingham, Gordon/Rashford***; Kane.
* Stones is he’s fit and match-sharp
** Assuming he gets enough game time
*** Not too fussed which of these play but it has to be someone with blistering pace
Updated
On this day in 1998… Nottingham Forest’s Pierre van Hooijdonk feels the love after returning from strike action to score against Derby.
Scotland v Denmark (Tuesday 7.45pm)
Steve Clarke has already given his pre-match teamtalk – not to his players but to the Tartan Army.
We need positive backing. One of my favourite sayings for the players is ‘play with the anticipation of success and not the fear of failure’. I’m going to ask the Hampden crowd to do that on Tuesday night.
We need them for the first minute to be with us and in the difficult moments in the game to be especially with us. That’s what this group of players deserve and, if they get that, I’m pretty sure we can do something special.
I think we can inspire each other. The team can inspire the fans and the fans can inspire the team.
Ethan Ampadu and Jordan James will miss Wales’ match against North Macedonia on Tuesday.
“I am gutted,” said Ampadu. “If it was a challenge that was a bit reckless or silly I would be frustrated with myself. It’s annoying because I don’t think it was a yellow. I don’t think I touched the guy and I won the ball.
“To miss the opportunity to represent your country is always hard and I’m really disappointed with that.”
Updated
Group J: Liechtenstein 0-1 Wales
Wales continued their excellent record under Craig Bellamy with an admittedly nervy 1-0 win over Liechtenstein. While they can still mathematically secure automatic qualification, the reality is that Wales – who have already qualified for the playoffs via the Nations League – need to beat North Macedonia at home on Tuesday to secure second place and a (theoretically) more favourable playoff draw. Confused? That’s okay: all I need are the three digits on the back card.
Group B: Switzerland 4-1 Sweden
Sweden were plugged 4-1 by Switzerland in Graham Potter’s first game, leaving them bottom of Group B with one point from five games. But they are guaranteed a playoff place by virtue of the Nations League, so onwards.
In my endearingly humble opinion, Sid Lowe’s interviews are consistently among the best things on this site. His latest, with Cristhian Mosquera, is no exception.
Watching Micky van de Ven surge through pretty much the entire FC Copenhagen team in the Champions League last week, two sensations occurred. The first was awe, that somebody so powerful and so quick would still have the composure to finish as he did. And the second was that this didn’t feel entirely fair. It was as though Gulliver had landed himself a deal in the Lilliput Premier League.
The same evening, Liverpool, who have at times struggled physically in the Premier League this season, bullied Real Madrid, their threat at set plays so marked that eventually it was the 5ft 7in Alexis Mac Allister who headed the vital goal. The following day, Newcastle swatted Athletic Bilbao aside, largely by being bigger than them: for the opening goal, the Spanish side’s defence appears to have looked at Dan Burn and decided there was no point even trying to mark him.
Thomas Tuchel has said he would rather England lose their final World Cup qualifier to Albania than any of his players risk picking up a red card that would rule them out of the start of next summer’s tournament.
The head coach has taken note of Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo possibly facing a two-game ban at the World Cup after his dismissal against the Republic of Ireland on Thursday and will remind his side about the importance of discipline at the Air Albania Arena on Sunday night. Tuchel does not want any needless slips from England, who have already won their qualifying group, and will even tell his players to think twice before fouling an opponent who is through on goal.
“It is important,” the German said. “I’m aware of it and we will talk about it. No red cards please. We are through and we are in a position with last man then the player holds the shirt he gets the red card. If there’s a doubt then it would be smarter not to do it.”
Updated
WSL: Man City 3-0 Man Utd
Manchester City are four points clear at the top of the WSL after a blistering first-half performance in the derby. Sophie Downey reports.
For Harry Kane, it is a numbers game and they keep on coming. The England captain has 23 goals in 17 appearances for Bayern Munich this season, while for his country it is three in four. If he scores against Albania here on Sunday, he would equal Pelé’s record in international football. Kane has 76 goals from 111 caps. The Brazil legend finished with 77 from 92. One more detail: Kane has failed to score in only six matches for club and country this season.
The state of play in Group K
England have qualified, Albania have clinched a playoff place. Next!
The state of play in Group I
Norway will qualify for their fourth World Cup, and their first since Before Haaland (aka 1998), unless they lose by nine goals in Italy. No, exactly. Italy have also secured a playoff place.
The state of play in Group F
Portugal need to win at home to Armenia to be certain of automatic qualification. A draw will be sufficient unless Hungary beat the Republic of Ireland by four goals.
Hungary v Ireland is almost certainly a shootout for a playoff place; Hungary have the draw and home advantage.
The state of play in Group D
France have already qualified, as expected, with Ukraine and Iceland – who meet in Warsaw this afternoon – chasing a playoff place. They’re level of points but Iceland effectively have the draw due to their superior goal difference.
The runners and riders for the 2026 World Cup
Thirty places have been filled, 18 remain.
Scotland, then. They went into last night’s game in Greece knowing* they needed at least a draw to stay in contention for automatic qualification. They lose a thrilling gmae 3-2 – but somehow Belarus held Denmark to a 2-2 draw in Copenhagen.
The upshot is that – gulp - if Scotland beat Denmark at Hampden on Tuesday night, they will – GULP! – qualify for their first World Cup finals since 1998.
Preamble
Oh, hi! You’re up early. And why wouldn’t you be on a big day for, among others, the Republic of Ireland and lovers of perfection. Ireland will secure a World Cup qualification playoff place if they beat Hungary in Budapest. And England, who play in Albania, are aiming to complete a perfect qualification campaign: eight games, eight wins, no goals conceded.
Norway and Portugal should also clinch a place in next summer’s finals, while Ukraine face Iceland in what is effectively a playoff to reach the playoffs.
We’ll have build-up to those matches, plus reaction to last night’s action in Group C. Scotland took a break from doing things the hard way and instead did it the weird way: despite a madcap 3-2 defeat in Greece, their hopes of automatic qualifiction remain alive after Belarus drew 2-2 against Denmark in Copenhagen.
Last and emphatically not least, there are five games in the Women’s Super League, including the small matter of Tottenham v Arsenal.
Here’s a full list of today’s games in Uefa World Cup qualification and the WSL.
Group F (2pm)
Hungary v Republic of Ireland
Portugal v Armenia
Group K (5pm)
Albania v England
Serbia v Latvia
Group D (5pm)
Azerbaijan v France
Ukraine v Iceland
Group I (7.45pm)
Israel v Moldova
Italy v Norway
WSL (all midday unless stated)
Aston Villa v London City Lionesses
Brighton v Leicester
Liverpool v Chelsea
West Ham v Everton
Tottenham v Arsenal (2.30pm)
Post your thoughts BTL or get in touch at matchday.live@theguardian.com
Updated
