We all really love the international break, right? Come on, who does not love a little England against San Marino?
However, that Wembley meeting was not the only deal on Thursday night. Many of the big guns were in action, while a few more of the home countries got their World Cup qualifying campaigns underway.
Here is your compilation for the entire Thursday night action.
17-year-old Jude Bellingham plays for England.
Let it sink in. Pic.twitter.com/0hSSVATwCM
– 90min (@ 90min_Football) 25 March 2021
England made a decent start to their campaign when a rotated XI fired San Marino for an easy 5-0 victory.
James Ward-Prowse and Ollie Watkins both scored their first goals for the Three Lions, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored twice and Raheem Sterling had his 14th international strike.
You can find Ross Jackson’s player rating from the fixture here.
⚽️ ?? pic.twitter.com/vfwASmz7Eh
– Kai Havertz (@ kaihavertz29) March 25, 2021
Germany did easy work with Iceland in a 3-0 victory, but made headlines before starting when they followed Norway’s example and protested against Qatar’s human rights record.
Joachim Low’s side lined up in t-shirts that spelled ‘human rights’ in a stand against Qatar’s alleged violation of migrants.
Leon Goretzka, Kai Havertz and Ilkay Gundogan all scored in an otherwise routine victory. Do you want more player ratings? Here you are with the permission of Max Parsons.
A BEAUTY from McGinn. Scotland has withdrawn it again!
Follow #SCO vs #AUT in #FIFAWorldCupQualifiers here: https://t.co/d1kYPuLSVJ pic.twitter.com/OYWbkzVSKC
– Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) March 25, 2021
Steve Clarke’s Scotland side came from behind twice to save 2-2 with Austria at Hampden Park.
The hosts were forced to endure great spells without the ball for the first 45 minutes, although they undoubtedly had better chances as Ryan Christie was twice denied by Alexander Schlager.
The visitors took the lead early in the second half, with David Marshall palming Florian Grillitsch’s effort back to the risk zone and Sasa Kalajdzic applying goals.
Grant Hanley’s strong nod restored parity for Clarke’s side, but Kalajdzic produced an even better header ten minutes from time to restore Austria’s lead.
With a defeat for the opening game threatening, Aston Villa man John McGinn saved his side a point with an incredible overhead kick in the 85th minute.
Our opening of the @FIFAWorldCup 2022 qualifier ends with defeat against @azzurri #GAWA pic.twitter.com/VKkXEMVQcT
– Northern Ireland (@Northern Ireland) 25 March 2021
Northern Ireland suffered defeat in the first outing of their qualifying campaign when they went down 2-0 to Italy at Ennio Tardini Stadium.
After a solid start to the match, the guests had to take the wind out of the sails when Italy struck. Alessandro Florenzi selected Domenico Berardi on the right and the Sassuolo man cut the field before hitting the ball high into the net to give the home side the lead.
Ian Baraclough’s men got a mountain to climb at half-time when Lazio hitman Ciro Immobile shot past Bailey Peacock-Farrell to make it 2-0. The youngster will be disappointed to have been hit at his front post but Immobile’s strike proved just too hot to handle.
Northern Ireland pressed on to find a way back into the game but could not break down a resilient Italy backline when they got away.
? ¡¡FINAL OF THE PARTY IN GRANADA !!
The @SeFutbol empathize with Greece in the first match of the Classification Phase for the World Cup of # Catar2022. # ESP? #Gre | 1-1 | 90 + 4 ‘# SomosEspaña # SomosFederación pic.twitter.com/ptQjmh5M1X
– Spanish Football Selection (@SeFutbol) March 25, 2021
Alvaro Morata’s brilliant individual goal was not enough to drive Spain to victory in its opening against Greece.
Morata picked up Koke’s cross fantastically before volleying into the near post, but second-half substitute Inigo Martinez conceded a penalty minutes after his introduction, allowing Anastasios Bakasetas to equalize.
You can find the players’ ratings for that game here.
Zlatan’s return. ?? pic.twitter.com/7fLfjlSolb
– 90min (@ 90min_Football) 25 March 2021
Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a hand in the game’s only goal when Sweden started their World Cup qualifier with a 1-0 victory against Georgia.
The Milan striker led the line for his side in his first international appearance since 2016 and it did not take long for him to make an impact. After checking the ball on the chest in the area, the veteran front showed the presence of the mind to hook the ball behind him and find Viktor Claesson, with the midfielder cooling the opener home.
The guests pressed for an equalizer but it was not like Ibrahimovic made a triumphant return to the international scene
Group B
Sweden 1-0 Georgia Spain 1-1 Greece
Group C
Bulgaria 1-3 Switzerland Italy 2-0 Northern Ireland
Group F
Israel 0-2 DenmarkScotland 2-2 AustriaMoldova 1-1 Faroe Islands
Group I
Hungary 3-3 PolandEngland 5-0 San MarinoAndorra 0-1 Albania
Group J
Liechtenstein 0-1 ArmeniaGermany 3-0 IcelandRomania 3-2 Northern Macedonia
