Kylian Mbappe has got France out of trouble, Cristiano Ronaldo helped Portugal do the same, and England finally got their Thomas Tuchel era into gear.
Three of Europe’s soccer powerhouses took big steps closer to the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday, all while Erling Haaland scored five goals in a thumping win with fresh stitches in his face.
England took a huge step towards automatic qualification with captain Harry Kane paving the way for a crushing 5-0 victory in Belgrade.
“Serbia are a good team, and we made them look average tonight,” Kane told BBC radio.
England took full advantage of a timid Serbia display to maintain their 100 per cent record in Group K without conceding a goal.
Kane headed home in the 33rd minute before Noni Madueke scored his first senior international goal.
Seven minutes after the break Ezri Konsa opened his England account with a close-range finish.
Serbia’s night went from bad to worse when Nikola Milenkovic was sent off in the 73rd minute and from Declan Rice’s resulting free kick, Marc Guehi made it four.
Substitute Marcus Rashford rounded it off with a late penalty as England moved to 15 points from five games and a seven-point lead over Albania, who beat Latvia 1-0.
“There’s never a perfect performance, but for today it was a very, very good performance,” Tuchel said.
“I’m just glad for the players that they could show … what they’re capable of.”
Serbia are third on seven points, but with a game in hand.
The group winners qualify for next year’s finals, in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with the runners-up going into the play-offs.
Elsewhere, France held on with 10 men in Paris to beat Iceland 2-1.
Real Madrid striker Mbappe converted a penalty just before halftime and led the hosts’ break for the second goal, setting up Bradley Barcola to score in the 62nd.
Ukraine’s chances of qualifying from Group D plunged in a 1-1 draw with Azerbaijan.
Playing with stitches in his face following an accident with a bus door, Haaland scored five goals, including a first-half hat-trick, as Norway demolished Moldova 11-1 to extend their lead over Italy at the top of Group I to six points.
Thelo Aasgaard netted four times despite only coming on in the 64th minute.
Joao Cancelo scored the winning goal in the 86th minute to give Portugal a 3-2 victory over Hungary.
After earlier winning a penalty, Ronaldo converted it to give Portugal a 2-1 lead in Budapest, while also in Group F, Ireland’s hopes of a first World Cup appearance since 2002 suffered a blow with a 2-1 loss to Armenia.
Austria enjoyed a 2-1 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina to take them closer to a first finals since 1998, while Cyprus and Romania drew 2-2, also in Group H.
In African qualifying, the Cape Verde Islands could become the second smallest country to qualify for a FIFA World Cup after they took a step closer with a 1-0 home qualifying win over Cameroon.
Egypt, South Africa and Ivory Coast also moved towards securing first place in their respective groups on a busy Tuesday across the continent.
Cape Verde’s victory in Praia puts them four points clear of the Indomitable Lions in Group D and they have their destiny in their hands.
The west African island archipelago, with a population of just above 600,000, need three points from next month’s qualifiers against Libya and Eswatini.
Iceland, with about 350,000 people, is the smallest country to have competed at the finals when they played at Russia 2018.
Egypt would have become the third African country to qualify – after Morocco and Tunisia – had they won at Burkina Faso but a 0-0 draw means they still need two points from their final two Group A fixtures to make sure.
The seven-time African champions suffered an early setback in Ouagadougou when Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush was forced off through injury in the ninth minute.
Their best moment came in the 67th when Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah set up Osama Faisal but the substitute’s strike was ruled offside.
South Africa remain in the driving seat in Group C after a 1-1 home draw with Nigeria, which all but ends any hopes the Super Eagles had of direct qualification.
Elsewhere, Senegal moved closer to making it three World Cups in a row after coming from 2-0 down to beat Democratic Republic of Congo 3-2 away in Kinshasa in Group B.
African champions Ivory Coast remain one point ahead of Gabon in Group F after the two teams drew 0-0 in Franceville.
The winners of the nine qualifying groups automatically head to the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the US with the four best runners-up advancing to a playoff in November, with the potential of a further place at the finals.