World Cup Qualifiers, England and Belgium secure wins: Records broken
What's the story
England and Belgium enjoyed massive victories in the ongoing FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for the 2022 event in Qatar. Euro 2020 finalists England powered past Hungary in an away game, winning 4-0. Meanwhile, Belgium too pocketed a 5-2 win away against Estonia. Belgium top Group E with 10 points from four matches, whereas, England claimed a fourth successive win to dominate Group I.
England
England maintain 100% record
England beat Hungary 4-0 in a hostile environment in Budapest. The victory was marred by racist slurs on England players. England took control after a poor first half when Raheem Sterling found the back of the net in the 55th minute. Sterling assisted Harry Kane next before Harry Maguire benefited from a goal-keeping error. Declan Rice helped England score their fourth goal.
Opta stats
Unique records for Phillips and Rice
England have conceded just the one goal from open play in the 1,331 minutes Kalvin Phillips has featured for the side across 16 matches. Fellow mid-fielder Rice is the first West Ham player to score for England in a World Cup/Euro qualifier since Trevor Brooking in June 1981 (also v Hungary). Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has now scored five international goals for England.
Kane
Harry Kane continues to impress for the Three Lions
Kane netted his 39th goal for England in what was his 62nd appearance. The Tottenham forward has scored seven goals in 11 matches this year. As per Opta, Kane has now scored in each of his last 13 Euro/World Cup qualifying matches for England, netting 17 goals overall.
Belgium
Belgium beat Estonia 5-2 as Lukaku excels
Despite gaining an early lead, Estonia couldn't offer resistance against Belgium, who went on to seal a thrilling win. Romelu Lukaku was in sublime form, scoring a brace. Hans Vanaken, Axel Witsel, and Thomas Foket were also on the score sheet for the Belgians, who are ranked number one in the world.
Lukaku
Lukaku has netted 66 goals for Belgium
Lukaku has now scored 66 goals for Belgium in 99 matches. The Chelsea striker has surpassed Didier Drogba in terms of international goals scored (65). Lukaku has a stunning 34-goal gap over second-placed Eden Hazard (32) for Belgium. He has nine goals in 10 appearances for Belgium in 2021.
Spain
WC Qualifiers: Spain's 66-game unbeaten run comes to an end
Spain suffered their first World Cup qualifying defeat in 28 years after going down against Sweden. The defeat saw Spain face an end to their 66-game unbeaten run in World Cup Qualifiers. In this run, they won 52 games and drew 14. The previous team to beat Spain in World Cup qualifying was Denmark, in March 1993 in Copenhagen.
Results
A look at the results
Group B: Georgia 0-1 Kosovo, Sweden 2-1 Spain Group C: Italy 1-1 Bulgaria, Lithuania 1-4 Northern Ireland Group E: Czech Republic 1-0 Belarus, Estonia 2-5 Belgium Group I: Andorra 2-0 San Marino, Hungary 0-4 England, Poland 4-1 Albania Group J: Iceland 0-2 Romania, Liechtenstein 0-2 Germany, North Macedonia 0-0 Armenia