BUT LET’S NOT FORGET ABOUT THE SCOTS! Scotland 3-1 Kazakhstan (John McGinn 90).This will be three wins in a row for Steve Clarke’s side. Admittedly they’ve only had to play San Marino, Cyprus and Kazakhstan, but from small acorns, and all that.
FULL TIME: Wales 2-0 Hungary
WALES QUALIFY FOR EURO 2020!The Welsh make it to only their third major finals in their history! And their qualification is fully deserved! They picked up momentum at the business end, and here’s their reward! They were excellent to a man this evening … but the plaudits go to Aaron Ramsey, who scored both goals on his return. They’ve missed him, huh?
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GOAL ELSEWHERE! Poland 3-2Slovenia) Jacek Goralski 81).But never mind that, because …
GOAL ELSEWHERE! Germany 6-1 Northern Ireland (Julian Brandt 90).Brandt tears down the inside left and fizzes a shot across Peacock-Farrell and into the top right. This is now officially a rout. “Thank goodness Stoke doesn’t have to play Germany any time soon,” quips Josh Reynolds.
GOAL ELSEWHERE! Holland 5-0 Estonia (Myron Boadu 87).The Dutch celebrate their return to the top table in style.
GOAL ELSEWHERE! Slovakia 2-0 Azerbaijan (Marek Hamsik 86).Too little, too late for Slovakia. A Hungarian equaliser in Cardiff would have seen them through. But Ryan Giggs ’men were not to be denied.
(min:Gareth Bale leaves the field of play , to be replaced by Harry Wilson. A chance for Cardiff to show their appreciation of their world star. Wilson gets a grand reception as he comes on, too. The Welsh are a happy bunch right now.
86 min:So having said that , a scrappy scramble erupts in the Welsh box. Joe Allen is on hand to tidy up. A goal forHungarynow would put the cat among the pigeons all right.
83 min:Hungary are causingWalesno problems whatsoever. The hosts have the feet up on the desk, cigar on. That isn’t stopping their fans looking extremely nervous, as the prize of qualification edges ever closer. But you can understand that. It’s how football supporters roll.
GOAL! San Marino 0-5 Russia (Nikolai Komlichenko 78).For the record, Scotland scored two when they visited the microstate.
GOAL ELSEWHERE! Holland 4-0 Estonia (Georginio Wijnaldum 78).A hat-trick for one of the most underrated midfielders in Europe.
Updated (at 4.) ****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** (PM EST)
GOAL ELSEWHERE! Belgium 6-1 Cyprus (Christian Benteke 68).The clock is ticking very slowly for the Cypriots.
GOAL ELSEWHERE! Poland 2-2 Slovenia (Josip Ilicic 61).A point would secure third spot for Slovenia; Poland have long been home and hosed.
75 min:Everyone in the Cardiff City Stadium is in party mode already. James burns his way down the left and cuts back for Ramsey, who hooks for the bottom right. His hat-trick effort is blocked and hacked clear.Walesare purring.
GOAL ELSEWHERE! Germany 5-1 Northern Ireland (Leon Goretzka 72).That Michael Smith goal seems a long time ago now. Goretzka scores his second of the evening, a crisp drive into the bottom left from the edge of the area.
GOAL ELSEWHERE! Holland 3-0 Estonia (Georginio Wijnaldum 66).A second for the Liverpool midfielder, who now has eight goals in this campaign already for club and country.
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GOAL ELSEWHERE! Latvia 1-0 Austria (Marcis Oss 65).Goals in every qualifier this evening. Marvellous.
GOAL ELSEWHERE! Scotland 2-1 Kazakhstan (Steven Naismith 64).Onwards and upwards.
Updated (at 4.) ***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** (PM EST)
66 min:Daniel James is a class act. The Manchester United winger makes himself a bit of space on the left, sashays infield, and curls a delightful shot towards the top right. It’s beaten Gulacsi all ends up, but goes over the bar. An inch or so away. Factor in Bale’s earlier free kick, andWaleshave been about five centimetres away from a four-goal lead. They’ve been very impressive tonight indeed.
GOAL ELSEWHERE! Poland 2-1 Slovenia (Robert Lewandowski 54).With Serge Gnabry going goal crazy, his Bayern Munich team-mate gets in on the act.
GOAL ELSEWHERE! Germany 4-1 Northern Ireland (Serge Gnabry 60).Julian Brandt slips a lovely ball down the inside-left channel. Serge Gnabry shoulders debutant Tom Flanagan out of the road with ease, opens his body, and sidefoots past Bailey Peacock-Farrell for his hat-trick.
GOAL ELSEWHERE! San Marino 0-4 Russia (Aleksei Ionov 56).Also no doubt recalling how Belgium beat San Marino 9-0 last month: San Marino.
58 min:Wales are looking extremely comfortable right now. Moore nearly breaks clear down the left, chasing a monster punt, but he can’t quite latch onto the ball for a shot.
GOAL ELSEWHERE! Belgium 5-1 Cyprus (Kypros Christoforou (og).This could get ugly for Cyprus. Belgium beat San Marino 9-0 last month, they’ll no doubt recall.
GOAL ELSEWHERE! Scotland 1-1 Kazakhstan (John McGinn 48).The rebuild starts in earnest here!
52 min:Bale nearly gets it, too. He whips a vicious free kick over the wall and back down towards the top right. Gulacsi is nowhere. The ball nearly shaves the top of the crossbar. So close to a spectacular third.
51 min:Hungary suddenly look ragged and desperate. Barath bundles Moore to the ground, just to the left of the D. Bale’s eyes light up. Two goals already for Ramsey. He wants a piece of the action.
GOAL ELSEWHERE! Germany 3-1 Northern Ireland (Serge Gnabry 47). A second for the former Arsenal man, and there’s more grist to Grant Tennille’s mill (8. 26 PM).
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GOAL! Wales 2-0 Hungary (Ramsey 47)
Updated (at 3.) pm EST
The second half gets underway in Cardiff!And elsewhere too, we’ll be bound. A reminder of the state of play. As things stand, Wales are going to Euro 2020 next year. They have to win, or it’s the play-offs for them. A draw is no good to them. A draw might not be good enough forHungary, either; Slovakia, currently leading against Azerbaijan, would pip them to automatic qualification on the head-to-head should they hold on as expected.
Scotland were booed off at half-time.No huge surprise there, if you’d read Ewan Murray’s analysis yesterday.
The half-time scores.
- (Germany 2-1 Northern Ireland)
- Netherlands 2-0 Estonia
- North Macedonia 1-0 Israel
- Latvia 0-0 Austria
- Belgium 4-1 Cyprus
- San Marino 0-2 Russia
Wales 1-0 Hungary Slovakia 1-0 Azerbaijan
Poland 1-1 Slovenia
Scotland 0-1 Kazakhstan
GOAL ELSEWHERE! North Macedonia 1-0 Israel (Boban Nikolov 45) .ADiminuendoend to the first-half goal rush.
HALF TIME: Wales 1-0 Hungary
The big boys Bale and Ramsey combine, and as things stand, the 2016 semi-finalists are heading back to the finals!
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