It was a night of football fireworks across Europe as Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium delivered statement victories in their respective World Cup qualifying matches.
In Konya, Turkey, Spain stormed to a record-breaking 6-0 away win, their second-biggest margin in World Cup qualifying history. Arsenal’s Mikel Merino stole the spotlight with a stunning hat-trick — the first of his career — while Pedri González and Ferran Torres added to the goal-fest. Spain’s dominance was slightly dampened by an injury to Nico Williams, but Luis de la Fuente’s men now sit comfortably atop Group E with six points.
Meanwhile, in Cologne, Germany bounced back from their shock defeat to Slovakia with a 3-1 victory over Northern Ireland. Goals from Serge Gnabry, Nadiem Amiri, and a spectacular free-kick from Florian Wirtz sealed the win, reigniting their campaign in Group A.
Elsewhere, history was made in Kaunas as Memphis Depay scored twice to become the Netherlands’ all-time top scorer, surpassing Robin van Persie. His brace led the Dutch to a hard-fought 3-2 win over Lithuania, keeping them ahead of Poland on goal difference in Group G.
In Brussels, Belgium crushed Kazakhstan 6-0, with Kevin De Bruyne bagging a brace to become his country’s second all-time top scorer. Jeremy Doku, Nicolas Raskin, and Thomas Meunier also found the net as the Red Devils cemented their dominance in Group J.
Across the continent, other results saw Georgia beat Bulgaria 3-0, North Macedonia thrash Liechtenstein 5-0, and Poland defeat Finland 3-1.
The qualifiers are heating up, with some nations looking unstoppable while others struggle to keep pace.
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