Germany won 1-0 in Northern Ireland in the summit match of their World Cup qualifying group. For its part, France only scored 2-2 in Iceland while Belgium took over Wales (4-2).
Nick Woltemade scored the winning goal 1-0 in the 31st minute, from the shoulder, from a corner by David Raum. For the Newcastle United striker, it was his first goal in six international matches. The Northern Irish, who had scored from an offside position in the 14th minute, held on and had good scoring chances after the break.
Thanks to this victory, Germany remains at the top of the table, tied on points with Slovakia, who celebrated a 2-0 home victory against Luxembourg. The Germans will meet Slovakia in Leipzig on November 17 to close out qualifying. Before that, Germany will play in Luxembourg and Slovakia at home against Northern Ireland.
France takes 1 point in Iceland, Belgium defeats Wales
Without Kylian Mbappé, injured, and many other players absent, France conceded a draw in Iceland. Christopher Nkunku and Jean-Philippe Mateta certainly managed to turn the tide by scoring after a little over an hour of play (2-1), but the Icelanders equalized shortly after through Kristian Hlynsson (2-2). At the top of the standings, the French are still three points ahead of Ukraine, 2-1 winner against Azerbaijan.
Finally, Belgium celebrated an important victory by winning 4-2 in Wales after being behind. Kevin de Bruyne scored twice thanks to two penalties. With these three points, Belgium not only overtook Wales in a hotly contested Group J, but they also overtook North Macedonia, who only drew 1-1 against Kazakhstan.
>> Also read: “It’s definitely not a bad point but a good point,” emphasizes Embolo, Snagged by Slovenia, Switzerland must still wait et Cape Verde qualifies for the first time in its history
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