After a long wait 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™ qualifiers finally kicked-off in the UEFA and Concacaf zones on Wednesday. There were some intriguing scorelines in Europe with France held 1-1 at home by Ukraine, while Turkey outgunned three-time World Cup runners-up Netherlands. There were also important wins for Serbia and Belgium.
FIFA.com summarises all the results, action and stand-out statistics. Live coverage of Qatar 2022 qualifiers will resume on Thursday with a lone AFC match and more action from the UEFA and Concacaf regions.
Results
Group A
Portugal 1-0 Azerbaijan
- A 36th-minute own-goal proved enough for Portugal to beat Azerbaijan. Only an excellent performance from Shahruddin Mahammadaliyev kept the visitors in the game in the first half, with Cristiano Ronaldo denied on multiple occasions. Azerbaijan delivered a spirited second-half performance, giving their opponents a couple of scares on the counter-attack. Portugal extended their record winning streak in World Cup qualifiers to ten games.
Serbia 3-2 Republic of Ireland
- The Irish, without a goal in their last seven matches, ended that drought through Alan Browne’s towering back-post header. Dusan Vlahovic levelled for the hosts with a smart left-foot finish into the bottom-right corner before substitute Aleksandar Mitrovic put them ahead with a glorious chip from 30 yards. Mitrovic then completed the turnaround with a soaring leap and header to become his country’s joint all-time leading scorer, with James Collins’ scrappy late effort a mere consolation for the visitors.
Group D
France 1-1 Ukraine
- Antoine Griezmann curled in a beautiful goal to open the scoring, moving him level with David Trezeguet in joint-fourth in the list of France’s all-time scorers on 34 goals behind leader Thierry Henry, Olivier Giroud and Michel Platini. Serhii Sydorchuk equalised for Ukraine after his shot just inside the penalty area took a massive deflection off Presnel Kimpembe before nestling into the corner of the net.
Finland 2-2 Bosnia and Herzegovina
- After a goalless first half, the match burst into life in the second with Bosnia’s star man Miralem Pjanic tucking away a close-range effort after Finland goalkeeper Jesse Joronen saved his initial penalty kick. However, Finland’s star striker Teemu Pukki replied soon after, reacting after a shot hit off the crossbar. Pukki then completed his brace, finishing off a counter-attack for the Finns by calmly slotting past Ibrahim Sehic, before Miroslav Stevanovic equalised for the visitors.
Group E
Belgium 3-1 Wales
- Wales took a shock lead when Gareth Bale split the Belgium defence with a gorgeous through-ball for Harry Wilson, who slotted home. Belgium responded admirably though, with a fine Kevin De Bruyne strike and a Thorgan Hazard header putting them in front. Romelu Lukaku extended the advantage from the spot in the 73rd minute.
Estonia 2-6 Czech Republic
- A 16-minute Tomas Soucek hat-trick powered Czech Republic to a 6-1 win in Estonia. The West Ham United midfielder went into the game having scored just four times in 30 caps. In-form Bayer Leverkusen forward Patrik Schick continued a goal and two assists.
