The 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Europe in September ended with a series of matches in the early morning of September 9. After the previous 2 matches with surprising results, the third match did not have any shocks. In contrast, most big names affirm their value and strength with big wins.
In Group A, without Cristiano Ronaldo in the match at Azerbaijan, Portugal still won 3-0 to maintain the top position with 13 points. The pressure from Serbia has somewhat eased as this opponent only had a 1-1 draw at the Republic of Ireland.
Similarly, Spain also lost some pressure in Group B. After losing to Sweden, La Roja won 2 consecutive matches to get the 13th point after 6 matches.
Meanwhile, after just winning against Spain, Sweden lost 1-2 at Greece to finish second with 9 points. However, the Nordic team has played two fewer games, so they could have a chance to take the top spot in October if they beat Kosovo and Greece at home, as Spain have to play in the Nations League semi-finals.
Group C saw Italy have their first win since winning EURO 2020. After 2 consecutive draws against Bulgaria and Switzerland, Azzurri crushed Lithuania 5-0, including a double from Moise Kean, and had 14 points after 6 matches.
Switzerland played resiliently against Italy but then were helpless against Northern Ireland (0-0) so they are temporarily 6 points behind Italy. In October, they will have to win 2 matches with a very high score if they want to take the top spot of Italy.
Group D saw defending world champion France create a 7-point gap with Ukraine - the team that has held all 5 matches, and Finland.
With a score of 1-0 on the field of Belarus, the Belgian team ended September with 3 consecutive wins, while creating a very safe 9-point gap against the Czech Republic and Wales in Group E.
Up to now, Denmark is the only team to maintain a perfect record with 18 points in Group F. The brave Soldiers have not even conceded a single goal and are 7 points ahead of Scotland, 8 points ahead of Israel.
Group G witnessed a fierce three-horse race between the Netherlands and Norway (both with 13 points), Turkey (11 points). In addition, Montenegro can also step in at any time when they have 8 points.
Also in a similar situation are Croatia, Russia (both with 13 points) and Slovakia 9. in Group H.
Jordan Pickford conceded an injury time goal, England in Group I missed the opportunity to be the second team to win all when returning from Poland with a score of 1-1.
That also caused the Three Lions (16 points) to temporarily reduce the gap to 4 points for Albania and Poland (4) to be pushed down to 3rd place. Hungary contributed to the group stage with 10 points in hand after a 2-1 victory over Andorra.
Finally, in Group J, the German team won all 3 matches under new coach Hansi Flick to lead with 15 points. Ukraine (4) failed to maintain the form of the first 3 matches in March, only winning 2 more points, so the gap was narrowed by Romania (10) and the North Macedonia 9.
In October, the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Europe will have 2 matches, from October 9 to 12.
