PARIS: Germany roared back to their best in a 6-0 demolition of Norway, while England also closed in on World Cup qualification, albeit in contrasting fashion in a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Slovakia on Monday.
An early Marcus Rashford blunder put England on the back foot but the 19-year-old forward made amends by scoring the winner to put his side five points clear in Group ‘F’ with two rounds remaining.
It proved much easier for Germany in Stuttgart.
Coach Joachim Loew had been looking for a reaction from his players after the fortunate 2-1 win over the Czech Republic on Friday, and Norway paid the price as the defending champions delivered a statement of intent.
“It was a lesson for us,” Norway coach Lars Lagerback said.
The fans also played their part in a carnival atmosphere — a stark contrast to the unsightly scenes in Prague, where a group of around 200 Germany fans chanted Nazi slogans and abused striker Timo Werner.
Werner was received warmly in Stuttgart, his hometown, and he repaid the fans with two goals as Germany moved five points clear of Northern Ireland. Loew’s side made it eight wins from eight games.
“That showed the beautiful side of football,” said Loew, who had said Friday’s scenes in Prague “shamed Germany”. “It was a huge amount of fun to play here and we played our part in that with some great combinations and goals.”
Northern Ireland’s 2-0 win over the Czech Republic in Belfast secured at least second place in Group ‘C’. Germany would need to lose both of its remaining games to surrender the top spot.
Group winners qualify automatically for the World Cup in Russia, while the top eight runners-up from nine groups go on to playoffs to decide the other four places allocated to Europe.
Mesut Ozil got Germany off to a flying start, then set up Julian Draxler, before Thomas Mueller set up Werner with his heel for Germany’s third with just 21 minutes played.
Mueller also provided for Werner’s second, Leon Goretzka scored after the break, and Mario Gomez completed the rout with a little over ten minutes remaining.
Jonny Evans’ second international goal eight years after his first and his West Bromwich Albion teammate Chris Brunt’s 41st minute freekick were enough for Northern Ireland’s first win over the Czechs at the sixth attempt.
Manager Michael O’Neill praised his men after yet another solid defensive display.
“We’re in a great position now. We’re guaranteed second place and seven clean sheets out of eight is a phenomenal record.”
At Wembley, Rashford unleashed a dipping, angled finish from 20 metres in the 59th minute to earn England a sixth win in eight group games, having provided the corner that Eric Dier turned home to make it 1-1 in the 37th.
Rashford made amends for losing possession to Stanislav Lobotka and then failing to track the midfielder, who slotted in an opening goal inside three minutes to bring the majority of Wembley to a stunned silence.
Gareth Southgate’s side now need only two points from their last two games against Slovenia and Lithuania to seal qualification.
“To come from behind against a side with very good footballers, particularly in midfield, we had to show character,” said Southgate. “Marcus Rashford showed, like the rest of the team, great character. He made the mistake for their goal, but he kept persevering.”
Scotland kept alive their hopes of a play-off place, closing to within one point of Slovakia, with a 2-0 home win over Malta, the goals coming from Christophe Berra and Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths.
Gordan Strachan’s team are alive and kicking on the road to Russia in fourth place, on 14 points. Slovenia stayed tied on points with Scotland by beating Lithuania 4-0 but climbed into third place on goal difference.
Elsewhere, Poland, Montenegro, and Denmark all won to keep automatic qualification up for grabs in Group ‘E’.
Poland stayed first by beating Kazakhstan 3-0, with Robert Lewandowski capping the victory by converting a late penalty in Warsaw.
Denmark thrashed Armenia 4-1 away, thanks to a hat-trick from Thomas Delaney and a free-kick by Christian Eriksen, to stay three points adrift of Poland.
Stevan Jovetic scored for Montenegro in their 1-0 win over Romania but his side dropped below the Danes on goal difference with two rounds remaining.
Poland host Montenegro in the final round in what could be a decisive group game.
