Sports
England secure World Cup place, Switzerland qualify ahead of Italy
The Three Lions of England have secured their place at the 2022 FIFA World Cup billed to hold in Qatar after beating San Marino 10-0 on Monday night.
England, winners of Group I, are hitting double figures for the first time since 1964 as they secured qualification for the global showpiece.
Harry Kane also racked up the records by scoring four in the first half to go level with Gary Lineker on 48 England goals, additionally setting a new high of 13 for his country in a calendar year.
The Spurs forward, who bagged a hat-trick in the 5-0 win against Albania last week, scored four goals on Monday to help his side clinch the big win.
It is worthy of note however that San Marino are ranked 210th out of 210 in the Fifa rankings.
Read Also: Serbia stun Portugal to qualify for World Cup; Spain, Croatia land tickets too
Elsewhere, Italy were beaten to the automatic World Cup spot by Switzerland in Group C.
The Azzurri will now feature in the play-offs to stand a chance of qualifying for next year’s event after they wete held to a frustrating goalless draw by Northern Ireland in Belfast.
Switzerland, who defeated Bulgaria 4-0 in the other game of the group, sealed their place in the global showpiece after emerging winners of the group.
Going into the final round of qualifying, reigning European champions Italy were leading Group C only on goal difference, +11 to +9 and needed to win as well as bag more goals.
But the events turned out in Switzerland’s favour, as Italy will join other big teams like Portugal in the playoffs next year as the race for Qatar continues.
Elsewhere, Scotland secured a seeded spot in the World Cup play-off semi-finals as goals from John Souttar and Che Adams stunned Denmark with a thrilling performance at Hampden Park.
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...