September's European Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup concluded on Tuesday, with England, France and Portugal among those to secure important victories on the road to the finals next year, while Erling Haaland scored five goals in Norway's stunning 11-1 victory over Moldova.
We wrap up the Matchday 6 action.
Qualifying lowdown
Tuesday's results
Group D: Azerbaijan 1-1 Ukraine, France 2-1 Iceland
Group F: Armenia 2-1 Republic of Ireland, Hungary 2-3 Portugal
Group H: Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-2 Austria, Cyprus 2-2 Romania
Group I: Norway 11-1 Moldova
Group K: Albania 1-0 Latvia, Serbia 0-5 England
France 2-1 Iceland
Highlights: France 2-1 Iceland
Bradley Barcola slotted in the 62nd-minute winner as France came from behind in Paris. Andri Gudjohnsen pounced inside the box to prod the visitors ahead after 21 minutes, holding the lead until Kylian Mbappé converted a penalty during first-half time added time to surpass Thierry Henry's total of 51 Bleus goals. Michael Olise curled a shot against the crossbar from distance for the hosts before Barcola settled the contest, although his team played the final 22 minutes with ten players following a straight red card for midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni.
Hungary 2-3 Portugal
Highlights: Hungary 2-3 Portugal
Portugal made it two wins from two with João Cancelo's late strike seeing off a valiant Hungary in Budapest. Barnabás Varga opened the scoring with a sublime header after 21 minutes before the visitors' pressure finally told, Bernardo Silva firing into the top corner before the break. Cristiano Ronaldo claimed his 39th World Cup qualifying goal from the penalty spot to complete the turnaround, but Varga thought he had claimed a share of the spoils by nodding in on 84 minutes before Cancelo had the final say.
Serbia 0-5 England
England enjoyed a convincing win against Serbia
England enjoyed a convincing win against SerbiaGetty Images
Three England players scored their first international goals as Thomas Tuchel’s men earned a dominant victory in Belgrade. Captain Harry Kane led the way, nodding in Declan Rice’s outswinging corner for a 33rd-minute lead. Noni Madueke celebrated his first when he raced on to Morgan Rogers’ inventive flick and doubled England’s advantage just two minutes later, while close-range finishes brought up that same milestone for centre-back pair Ezri Konsa and Marc Guéhi in the second half before Marcus Rashford hit a late penalty.
Best of the rest
Armenia responded to a heavy defeat to Portugal by stunning Republic of Ireland to get off the mark in Group F, with an Eduard Spertsyan penalty and a Grant-Leon Ranos finish giving them just their second win in their last nine competitive games.
Erling Haaland scored five and substitute Thelo Aasgard got four as a rampant Norway defeated Moldova 11-1. The former has now notched an incredible 48 goals in 45 international matches for his country.
Highlights: Norway 11-1 Moldova
Monday's results
Group B: Kosovo 0-2 Sweden, Switzerland 3-0 Slovenia
Group C: Belarus 0-2 Scotland, Greece 0-3 Denmark
Group I: Israel 4-5 Italy, Gibraltar 0-1 Faroe Islands
Group L: Croatia 4-0 Montenegro
Kosovo 2-0 Sweden
Highlights: Kosovo 2-0 Sweden
Kosovo claimed their first win over Sweden, with two first-half counterattacking goals enough for victory in Pristina. Elvis Rexhbecaj scored the first after being released over the top, with his shot initially stopped by Sweden goalkeeper Robin Olsen but rebounding off Rexhbecaj into the net. Kosovo’s all-time top scorer Vedat Muriqi made it two before the break with a clinical finish converting a two-on-one counter set up by Albion Rrahmani. Kosovo comfortably held on in the second half to move into second in Group B; Sweden drop to third.
Croatia 4-0 Montenegro
Highlights: Croatia 4-0 Montenegro
Croatia made it four wins from four with a comfortable victory in Zagreb against a Montenegro team who had Andrija Bulatović sent off before half-time. By then the hosts were already ahead, Kristijan Jakić getting off the mark at international level in fine style. With Luka Modrić pulling the strings, qualifying top scorer Andrej Kramarić added a second after the restart and there were two more late on through Ivan Perišić and an own goal.
Best of the rest
Italy edged a remarkable 5-4 win against Israel, Gennaro Gattuso's charges twice coming from behind before Sandro Tonali hit a 91st-minute winner.
Mikkel Damsgaard and Andreas Christensen scored eye-catching goals to help Denmark claim a first Group C victory, Rasmus Højlund rounding off a 3-0 win in Greece.
Highlights: Israel 4-5 Italy
Sunday's results
Group A: Germany 3-1 Northern Ireland, Luxembourg 0-1 SlovakiaGroup E: Georgia 3-0 Bulgaria, Türkiye 0-6 SpainGroup G: Lithuania 2-3 Netherlands, Poland 3-1 FinlandGroup J: North Macedonia 5-0 Liechtenstein, Belgium 6-0 Kazakhstan
Türkiye 0-6 Spain
Highlights: Türkiye 0-6 Spain
The European champions produced a masterclass in attacking football in Konya to maintain a perfect start to their qualifying campaign and hand the hosts their first home defeat in over two-and-a-half years. Pedri opened the scoring in the sixth minute, with Mikel Merino adding a first-half double to make it 3-0 at the break. Ferran Torres got the fourth following a swift counter and Merino completed his hat-trick with a curling strike, before Pedri scored his second.
Germany 3-1 Northern Ireland
Highlights: Germany 3-1 Northern Ireland
Germany rallied after a first-half setback to secure their first win. After seven minutes, Serge Gnabry charged on to Nick Woltemade's pass and finished coolly. However, Isaac Price equalised with a far-post volley from Justin Devenny's corner 11 minutes before half-time, though Germany almost regained the lead when Waldemar Anton headed against the crossbar. After substitute Nadiem Amiri slotted in with 21 minutes remaining, Florian Wirtz curled a sublime free-kick past Bailey Peacock-Farrell to ensure Northern Ireland suffered their first defeat.
Best of the rest
Memphis Depay became the Netherlands' all-time top scorer as he scored his 51st and 52nd international goals in a 3-2 win against stubborn Lithuania, who pegged Ronald Koeman's side back from 2-0 to 2-2 before half-time.
Robert Lewandowski took his international tally to 86 with the second of Poland's goals in a 3-1 win against Finland, while Kevin De Bruyne's Belgium tally stands at 33 after he struck twice in a 6-0 defeat of Kazakhstan.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored his second goal in as many Group E games as Georgia got off the mark with a comfortable win against Bulgaria. With 20 international goals, he is within six of Shota Arveladze's team record (26).
Saturday's results
Group F: Armenia 0-5 Portugal, Republic of Ireland 2-2 Hungary
Group H: Austria 1-0 Cyprus, San Marino 0-6 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Group K: Latvia 0-1 Serbia, England 2-0 Andorra
Armenia 0-5 Portugal
Highlights: Armenia 0-5 Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo and João Félix struck two apiece as the UEFA Nations League winners kicked off their campaign in impressive style. The dominant visitors were 3-0 up inside 32 minutes thanks to goals from the forward pair and João Cancelo, and picked up where they left off when Ronaldo found the net from distance seconds into the second half. João Félix's improvised finish added gloss, and Portugal could have scored more.
England 2-0 Andorra
Highlights: England 2-0 Andorra
Thomas Tuchel's men made it four wins from as many Group K outings thanks to a goal in each half against a resolute Andorra side at Villa Park. The Three Lions got their breakthrough when centre-back Christian Garcia unwittingly diverted Noni Madueke's dangerous cross into the Andorra net. Declan Rice doubled the advantage midway through the second half with a neat downward header from a pinpoint Reece James delivery.
Best of the rest
Dušan Vlahović's neat early finish ensured Serbia claimed maximum points in Latvia ahead of Tuesday's showdown with England; the hosts' Renārs Varslavāns hit the woodwork in added time.
Adam Idah struck a 93rd-minute equaliser as the Republic of Ireland battled back from 2-0 down at half-time to draw with a Hungary side that played much of the second period with ten men.
Austria maintained their 100% record in home meetings with Cyprus but once again their margin of victory was reduced: 7-1 in 1968, 4-0 in 1985, 3-1 in 1999 and 1-0 this evening.
Friday's results
Group B: Slovenia 2-2 Sweden, Switzerland 4-0 Kosovo
Group C: Greece 5-1 Belarus, Denmark 0-0 Scotland
Group D: Iceland 5-0 Azerbaijan, Ukraine 0-2 France
Group I: Moldova 0-4 Israel, Italy 5-0 Estonia
Group L: Faroe Islands 0-1 Croatia, Montenegro 0-2 Czechia
Ukraine 0-2 France
Highlights: Ukraine 0-2 France
An early and late goal were enough for France to kick off their qualifying campaign with victory over Ukraine. Michael Olise struck after ten minutes with a sweeping finish after fine work on the left from Bradley Barcola, but an excellent save from Anatoliy Trubin denied Olise a second and kept the margin at one at the break. Ukraine had chances after the interval, with Artem Dobvyk having a header cleared off the line by Ibrahima Konaté and Illia Zabarnyi hitting the post with a header from close range, but in the 82nd minute Kylian Mbappé was set clear by Aurélien Tchouaméni and he weaved past Zabarnyi and slotted the ball past Trubin to seal victory.
Italy 5-0 Estonia
Highlights: Italy 5-0 Estonia
Gennaro Gattuso's reign as Italy coach started in style thanks to five second-half goals. The Azzurri had to be patient though, eventually breaking through in the 59th minute when Moise Kean headed in from Mateo Retegui's flick. The floodgates then opened with Retegui dispatching the second and, two minutes later, Giacomo Raspadori's diving header making it 3-0. Retegui and Alessandro Bastoni found the net with late headers too to give the scoreline a convincing look in Bergamo.
Best of the rest
Andrej Kramarić became the top scorer in qualifying with five goals after grabbing Croatia's first-half winner in the Faroe Islands.
Greece made an excellent start to qualifying, scoring four times in the opening 36 minutes on their way to a handsome 5-1 success against Belarus.
Switzerland also struck four times before the interval with Breel Embolo on target twice as they eased past Kosovo 4-0.
Žan Vipotnik fired a late equaliser as Slovenia came from behind twice to earn a 2-2 draw at home to Sweden.
Highlights: Iceland 5-0 Azerbaijan
Thursday's results
Group A: Luxembourg 1-3 Northern Ireland, Slovakia 2-0 Germany
Group E: Georgia 2-3 Türkiye, Bulgaria 0-3 Spain
Group G: Lithuania 1-1 Malta, Netherlands 1-1 Poland
Group J: Kazakhstan 0-1 Wales, Liechtenstein 0-6 Belgium
Slovakia 2-0 Germany
Highlights: Slovakia 2-0 Germany
A fine counterattacking goal from Atlético de Madrid defender Dávid Hancko shortly before half-time set Slovakia on course for a significant win on the opening day of Group A action. David Strelec curled in a second not long after the restart as Julian Nagelsmann's visitors were consigned to a third successive consecutive defeat.
Bulgaria 0-3 Spain
Highlights: Bulgaria 0-3 Spain
Spain made a smooth start to their qualifying campaign, cruising to a comfortable victory in Sofia. The in-form Mikel Oyarzabal scored his fifth goal in his last six internationals to open the scoring in the fifth minute, and a superb Marc Cucurella strike and Mikel Merino header made it 3-0 at the break. Spain had further chances in an end-to-end second half which also saw Bulgaria threaten at times, but Bulgarian goalkeeper Svetoslav Vutsov made several excellent saves.
Netherlands 1-1 Poland
Highlights: Netherlands 1-1 Poland
Matty Cash's scintillating strike earned resolute Poland a point in Rotterdam in Jan Urban's first match in charge. Tijjani Reijnders' deflected drive had already hit the post when Denzel Dumfries made the breakthrough with a 28th-minute header from a corner. Robert Lewandowski captained Poland on his first international appearance since March, but it was defender Cash who scored from the visitors' only attempt on target, completing a slick move with a thunderous arrowed finish ten minutes from time.
Georgia 2-3 Türkiye
Highlights: Georgia 2-3 Türkiye
Türki̇ye survived a late scare in Tbilisi to get their Group E campaign off to a winning start. The visitors led 3-0 after 52 minutes, Mert Müldür heading in a third-minute opener before Kerem Aktürkoğlu rolled in either side of half-time, but Georgia fought back. Zuriko Davitashvili stroked in on 63 minutes and home hope swelled when Türki̇ye substitute Barış Alper Yılmaz was dismissed. Georgia struggled to make their chances pay, though, until Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's low drive deep into added time.
Best of the rest
Captain Youri Tielemans struck twice as Belgium proved too strong for Liechtenstein in Vaduz, triumphing 6-0.
Kieffer Moore marked his 50th international appearance with the only goal as Wales won in Kazakhstan to move top of Group J.
Highlights: Liechtenstein 0-6 Belgium