Antoine Griezmann reacts to a missed chance against Luxembourg
Antoine Griezmann reacts to a missed chance against Luxembourg

World Cup qualifying: Round-up of Sunday's matches around Europe


Round-up of Sunday's World Cup qualifying action in Europe.

World Cup qualifying results

Group A
Belarus 0-4 Sweden
Netherlands 3-1 Bulgaria
France 0-0 Luxembourg

Group B
Faroe Islands 1-0 Andorra
Latvia 0-3 Switzerland
Hungary 0-1 Portugal

Group H
Estonia 1-0 Cyprus
Gibraltar 0-4 Bosnia
Greece 1-2 Belgium

Group I
Croatia 1-0 Kosovo

World Cup qualifying tables

Sky Bet’s World Cup qualifying odds

France failed to convert 1/100 pre-match quotes as they were held to an astonishing goalless draw by Luxembourg in World Cup qualifying on Sunday night.

At half-time, France were still 1/20 to find a way through the Luxembourg rearguard and didn't hit even money until the last 10 minutes in Toulouse.

But Luxembourg defied a full-strength France frontline featuring Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud, Thomas Lemar, Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe.

Luxembourg's players celebrate a famous result

France were held at bay by goalkeeper Jonathan Joubert and it was Luxembourg who almost snatched all three points late on when Gerson Rodrigues was denied by the post.

Griezmann and Paul Pogba had earlier each hit the crossbar

The goalless draw was 50/1, with eight Sky Bet punters brave enough to back it but none risking more than £3.

Didier Deschamps' side still lead Group A from Sweden, but only by a single point with two games to play. France nonetheless remain 5/1 favourites for the World Cup despite their place in Russia still yet to be rubber-stamped.

No such concerns for Belgium, who became the first European side to seal a qualification spot after a 2-1 victory over Greece left them eight points clear in Group H with two games to play. They get 16/1 quotes for Russia 2018 glory.

All three goals came in a five-minute spell from the 69th minute, with Jan Vertonghen's long-range strike and Romelu Lukaku's powerful header sandwiching Zeco's equaliser.

Netherlands gave their faltering qualification hopes a boost with a 3-1 victory in their must-win Group A clash against Bulgaria in Amsterdam.

Brighton's Davy Propper scored Holland's first and third goals, with Arjen Robben getting the other.

Georgi Kostadinov gave Bulgaria hope 20 minutes from time when he briefly made it 2-1.

Arjen Robben celebrates his goal against Bulgaria

Sweden still hold the advantage, though, after a 4-0 win over Belarus, with France's unexpected slip meaning top spot is very much still in play.

Switzerland remain three points ahead of Portugal in Group B after making it eight wins from eight with a 3-0 win over bottom-of-the-table Latvia while the European champions edged out Hungary 1-0 at the Groupama Arena.

Bosnia moved ahead of Greece in the race for second spot in Group B with a 4-0 victory over Gibraltar, Edin Dzeko netting twice, while Cyprus' hopes of pinching second appear over after they went down to an injury-time Mattias Kait strike in Estonia.

Domagoj Vida scored the only goal as Croatia fended off Kosovo at the second attempt.

The match resumed on Sunday after torrential rain in Zagreb forced the players off after barely 20 minutes on Saturday night, when the Stadion Maksimir pitch was temporarily waterlogged.

They began at the point play had been abandoned, and minnows Kosovo threatened an upset until Vida secured a 1-0 win by heading home Luka Modric's free-kick in the 74th minute.

Modric curled the ball in from the left flank and defender Vida strode through a static Kosovo back line to plant his header into the net.

Victory took Croatia back to the top of Group I, having been briefly unseated from that position by Ukraine.

They will be swiftly back in action too, facing a trip to play Turkey on Tuesday, when Kosovo play Finland.

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