Scott McTominay on Saturday scored an injury-time winner as Scotland came from behind to claim a crucial 3-2 victory over Israel in World Cup qualifying, while England thrashed Andorra 5-0 to stay on track to reach next year’s global showpiece.
The win takes Scotland four points clear of Israel in second place in Group F with three matches remaining, as they bid to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1998.
Group winners qualify automatically for next year’s finals in Qatar, with the runners-up heading into the playoffs.
Photo: Reuters
Scotland trailed twice in the first half at Hampden Park to goals from PSV Eindhoven forward Eran Zahavi and Mu’nas Dabbur.
John McGinn leveled once, but home striker Lyndon Dykes missed a penalty on the stroke of halftime. He made amends before the hour mark with an equalizer, awarded following a video review after the referee initially disallowed it for a high boot.
A point would have been a decent result for Steve Clarke’s men, but the hosts pushed for a winner which arrived in the 94th minute, as Manchester United midfielder McTominay bundled in at the back post.
England manager Gareth Southgate rested key players including Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling as his second string impressed in a 5-0 thumping of Andorra.
England remain four points clear at the top of Group I after second-placed Albania won 1-0 against Hungary in Budapest.
Elsewhere, Liverpool star Sadio Mane was among the goals as Senegal cruised to a 4-1 win over Namibia, and near-certain qualification for the final World Cup elimination round in Africa.
In Casablanca, Ayoub el Kaabi scored in each half as Morocco cantered to a 3-0 Group I win over Guinea-Bissau and, like Senegal, the north Africans can punch a ticket to the final round tomorrow.
Pacesetters South Africa remain one point ahead of Ghana in Group G, after both nations achieved 3-1 victories. South Africa overcame third-placed Ethiopia in Bahir Dar, while Ghana were too good for bottom side Zimbabwe in Cape Coast.
The New Taipei Kings claimed the inaugural Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) championship on Sunday, defeating the Kaohsiung FamilyMart Aquas 108-89 in the final. Playing at home, the Kings pulled ahead with Jeremy Lin’s (林書豪) clutch three-pointers, securing their victory over the Aquas in the TPBL final. The Kings came out strong in the first quarter, dominating to build a 35-18 lead. By halftime, they had stretched their advantage to 61-38. In the third quarter, the Aquas narrowed the deficit to 12 points, but Lin stepped up, sinking several tough three- pointers to extend the lead. In the final quarter, the Kings pushed the
In an unlikely Ethiopian outpost of one the most French of pastimes, four men are leaning over their petanque balls, arguing over who is winning. Petanque, the bowling game also known as boules, is more readily associated with French village squares where locals launch metal balls at a jack while enjoying an afternoon drink, but for decades, it has also been a beloved pastime for members of a club near the iconic Meskel Square in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. It was founded in the early 20th century to cater to French railway workers, who built a line connecting Addis Ababa
Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Australian teenager Maya Joint on Tuesday eased into the Eastbourne Open quarter-finals in England as Hsieh prepares for the Wimbledon Championships next week. Four-time Wimbledon women’s doubles champion Hsieh and 19-year-old Joint fired two aces and converted five of eight break points to defeat Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Poland’s Katarzyna Piter 6-3, 6-3 in 58 minutes on the grass court. Hsieh and Joint are today to face fourth seeds Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who advanced on Monday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Quinn Gleason of the US and
BEAT THE HEAT: A brutal heat wave in the US has made cooling breaks standard. Dortmund’s coach said the weather could shape the destiny of the tournament Chelsea on Tuesday beat Esperance of Tunisia 3-0 to set up a FIFA Club World Cup last-16 tie against SL Benfica, who earlier defeated Bayern Munich 1-0, as furnace-link heat and the threat of thunder and lightning wreak havoc at the tournament. Elsewhere, minnows Auckland City claimed a memorable draw against Boca Juniors, while Los Angeles bowed out of the tournament with a stalemate against Flamengo. In Charlotte, Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal for Benfica in their Group C clash with Bayern in front of 33,287 fans, finishing first-time from a cutback by his fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes in the 13th
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