AFC
The Socceroos were victorious in both friendlies against Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand over the weekend.
Awer Mabil’s strike in the first match held on Thursday night (AEST) in Brisbane, as well as Mitchell Duke’s header and Jason Cummings’ maiden international goal from the penalty spot in the Auckland rematch three days later, ensured the Aussies closed out their World Cup preparations in the best way possible with respective 1-0 and 2-0 victories.
Meanwhile, a disciplined Iran outfit stunned South American heavyweights Uruguay 1-0 in Austria, before sharing spoils with World Cup-bound Senegal 1-1 in their final tune-up to Qatar.
Japan closed out their formalities in the Kirin Challenge Cup with a surprise 2-0 win over a disappointing, albeit depleted USA outift, as well as holding Ecuador to a scoreless draw overnight.
Tournament hosts Qatar were stunned 3-0 at home by a makeshift U23 Croatian side in an unofficial friendly in Austria on September 20, after their original opponents Bolivia cancelled at the last minute.
The side were also humbled three days later by Group F’s Canada 2-0, courtesy of early goals from star forwards Cyle Larin and Jonathan David, but surprised World Cup absentees Chile with a 2-2 draw overnight despite the goalscoring efforts of Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal.
Like AFC affiliates Japan, Saudi Arabia also played out a scoreless draw with Ecuador on Friday, before playing out yet another goalless encounter with a hapless USA to close out the international break.
Premier League stars Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton and captain Son Heung-Min both got on the scoresheet for South Korea on Friday, netting either side of a brace from Sunderland winger Bennette in a 2-2 draw with Costa Rica.
Tottenham Hotspur’s talisman got on the scoresheet once again in a 1-0 victory over Cameroon four days later.
CAF
Despite the return of Nicolas Nkoulou and debut of Brentford forward Bryan Mbuemo, Cameroon were stunned by a 77th-ranked Uzbekistan on Friday, succumbing to a 2-0 defeat. The Indomitable Lions suffered yet another loss in their final tune-up to the World Cup overnight, falling 1-0 to South Korea.
Meanwhile, Ghana were beaten comfortably by the highly-fancied Brazil 3-0 on Friday, before the Black Stars steadied the ship in their penultimate warm-up match for Qatar – defeating Nicaragua 1-0 courtesy of a goal from 18-year-old Sporting CP forward, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku.
Morocco defeated World Cup absentees Chile 2-0 in a match which marked Chelsea attacker Hakim Ziyech’s return to the national team after a year’s absence, before sharing spoils with a goalless Paraguay in their final match before the November tournament.
Senegal got the better of CONMEBOL affliates Bolivia with a 2-0 win courtesy of a fourth-minute opener from Boulaye Dia and a first-half penalty from Bayern Munich’s Sadio Mane, before drawing 1-1 with Group B’s Iran overnight - holding onto their second-half lead from an Iran own-goal for only nine minutes.
Socceroos’ Group D opponents Tunisia will now be sweating on the November start of the tournament in Qatar, after only putting a single goal past 127th-ranked Comoros and suffering a 5-1 hammering at the hands of Brazil in their two matches.
CONCACAF
Canada followed up their comfortable 2-0 victory over tournament hosts Qatar with a match of the same scoreline, but this time in reverse as Uruguay toppled the fastest CONCACAF qualifiers with two first half goals, in the Canadians’ greatest test of their Qatar warm-up matches.
Costa Rica won their penultimate friendly match before the tournament in Qatar in extraordinary circumstances, scoring in both the second and fourth minutes of stoppage time to defeat Uzbekistan 2-1, following on from their 2-2 draw with South Korea in their previous friendly.
Mexico left the disappointment of their late August defeat to Paraguay firmly behind them, with respective 1-0 wins against Socceroos’ play-off opponents Peru and fellow Qatar absentees Colombia, courtesy of a late winner from Napoli winger Hirving Lozano and a sixth-minute penalty in the respective games.
The USA closed out their World Cup preparation with mounting concerns over their current form and a host of injuries, with Borussia Dortmund rising star Gio Reyna hobbling off only half-an-hour into their 0-0 draw Saudi Arabia in a match which also saw the return of Chelsea star Christian Pulisic, following his absence from the disappointing 2-0 defeat to Japan on Friday.
CONMEBOL
Argentina cruised to consecutive 3-0 victories to further stake their claim as a contender for the Qatar tournament, with captain Lionel Messi helping himself to a brace in both matches as well as being assisted by goals from Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martínez and Manchester City young gun Julian Alvarez in their matches against Honduras and Jamaica, respectively.
Amid ongoing fan conversations about the sensational depth of their squad, Brazil also had a couple of big days out in their friendlies, thumping the tournament’s lowest-ranked side Ghana 3-0 and impressively following up with a 5-1 drubbing of Tunisia.
Barcelona’s Raphinha and Tottenham star Richarlison traded duties of scoring a brace in each of the respective encounters.
Ecuador’s two goalless draws against Saudi Arabia and Japan would leave many uncertain of their World Cup fate, particularly when coming up against very strong Netherlands and Senegalise sides in Group A in Qatar.
Uruguay bounced back from their shock 1-0 defeat in their first friendly, a match where they were left frustrated by a very organised and disciplined Iranian outfit, with a convincing 2-0 victory over Canada, courtesy of first-half goals from River Plate playmaker Nicolás de la Cruz and Liverpool’s Darwin Núñez.
UEFA
Croatia marched into first place in Group 1 of the UEFA Nations League, winning 2-1 against Denmark thanks to stunning strikes from defender Borna Sosa and a 79th-minute winner from substitute Lovro Majer of Ligue 1 side Rennes, which cancelled out Christian Eriksen’s equaliser scored just two minutes prior.
The Croatians closed out the group stage with a dominant 3-1 victory over Austria, with captain Luka Modric, forward Marko Livaja and ex-Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren all getting on the scoresheet.
France handed Austria relegation to the Nations League B with a 2-0 win in their first match of the international break, courtesy of second-half goals from a controversy-ridden Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud, before the depleted side fell 2-0 to World Cup Group D opponents Denmark, casting a large shadow over the hopes for breaking the curse of World Cup winners ahead of the November tournament.
A rampant Portugese outfit put the Czech Republic out of their misery in their first match of the international break, winning 4-0 and relegating the Czechs to the Nations League B thanks to a surprise brace from Manchester United full-back Diogo Dalot, as well as goals from his United teammate Bruno Fernandes and Liverpool star Diego Jota.
Switzerland made a strong finish to the group stage after losing their first three matches, as they completed the turnaround by upsetting Spain 2-1 and repeating the dose against Czech Republic three days later, with Monaco forward Breel Embolo netting once in both matches.
An 88th minute winner from Atletico Madrid’s Alvaro Morata was all that separated Spain from Portugal in the final match-up of the Nations League’s Group 2 proceedings.
Germany were stunned 1-0 by unlikely Group 3 toppers Hungary in their first match of the break, while Qatar’s most notable absentees Italy handed England relegation to the Nations League B with a 1-0 win in a rematch of the renowned Euro 2020 final.
An unbelievable second-half, in which England and Germany traded blows throughout its entirety, finished 3-3 in both sides’ final match of the international break.
However, the match will perhaps be most remembered for back-to-back howlers from Manchester United defender Harry Maguire which gifted the Germans a two-goal lead, and whose bludges were spared only by a spirited England fightback.
Head coach Gareth Southgate’s continuous selection of Maguire in the national team left many onlookers puzzled, amid the defender being sensationally dropped by Erik ten Hag at club level.
Two early goals from Belgium stars Kevin de Bruyne and Michy Batshuayi buried Wales in their first match of the break, despite a 50th minute reply from AFC Bournemouth striker Kieffer Moore as the match finished 2-1.
Goals from Eredivisie wingers Cody Gakpo of PSV Eindhoven and Ajax’s Steven Bergwijn helped the Netherlands to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Poland, while both sides closed out the group stage with 1-0 victories.
Virgil van Dijk’s 73rd minute header was enough to topple Belgium in an upset victory for the Netherlands, while MLS situated striker Karol Świderski provided the only goal of the match for Poland over Nations League B-bound Wales.
Serbia, the Nations League B’s sole World Cup representatives, swept Sweden aside 4-1 courtesy of a hat-trick from in-form Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrović, who also netted in their 2-0 victory over Norway in Serbia’s penultimate tune-up to the World Cup.
