Qatar’s Mohammed Muntari celebrates with team-mate Abdelkarim Hassan after scoring their first goal against Ireland at Nagyerdei Stadion in Debrecen, Hungary, yesterday.
Doha: Qatar produced another fine performance at the European Qualifiers as they played out a 1-1 draw against Ireland in their third match at Nagyerdei Stadion in Debrecen, Hungary yesterday.
Mohammed Muntari, assisted by Ahmed Alaa, scored the equaliser with an angular shot in 47th minute after James McClean gave Ireland lead in the fourth minute.
It was Muntari's, who also scored a winner against Luxembourg, 10th international goal of his career.
Qatar - ranked 58th on FIFA computer - were impressive throughout the match, maintaining a 55 percent of ball possession against Ireland, who are ranked 42nd in the world.
Qatar's top goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb also showed good form blocking several attacks by the Irishmen, including a superb save in the final moments of the match.
The Felix Sanchez-coached side defeated Luxembourg 1-0 before overcoming Azerbaijan 2-1, following a brace by captain Hassan Al Haydos.
Ronaldo leads Portugal; Mitrovic nets double for Serbia
Elsewhere, in Luxembourg City, Cristiano Ronaldo scored as Portugal came from behind to defeat the hosts 3-1 in another Group A clash yesterday.
Luxembourg, which opened with a surprise win over Ireland, looked on its way to another shock result after Gerson Rodrigues put the hosts ahead in the 30th minute. But Diogo Jota equalized in the second minute of stoppage time and Ronaldo and João Palhinha added second-half goals.
After being held scoreless in the first two qualifiers this year, Ronaldo scored his 31st goal in World Cup qualifying in the 51st with a touch from close range after a low cross by João Cancelo.
He has now scored for Portugal in every calendar year since his first international goal in 2004, and moved six away from tying the all-time scoring record for a men’s national team. The record of 109 goals is held by former Iran striker Ali Daei, the only other male soccer player to surpass the 100-goal milestone.
Ronaldo had been furious after having a goal disallowed in the 2-2 draw against Serbia on Saturday even though it appeared that the ball crossed the line.
Jota equalized with a header for his third goal in these qualifiers, and Palhinha came off the bench to score his first goal in three international appearances in the 80th.
Luxembourg defender Maxime Chanot was sent off in the 86th after being shown a second yellow card for a hard foul.
Portugal forward João Félix had to leave the field in the first half because of an injury.
Earlier, Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a goal in each half as Serbia defeated Azerbaijan 2-1 to stay tied with Portugal at the top of Group A with seven points from three matches.
Belgium's 8-0 rout of Belarus puts reserves in the spotlight
Belgium's second-string used the opportunity of a rare start to impress coach Roberto Martinez as they thumped Belarus 8-0.
With Martinez warning players were under scrutiny for places in the Euro 2020 squad, Michy Batshuayi, Hans Vanaken (2), Leandro Trossard (2), Jeremy Doku, Denis Praet and Christian Benteke all scored as the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Dries Mertens were given the night off.
It lifted Belgium to seven points from their opening trio of matches in Group E, while Belarus suffered their first defeat after opening their qualifying bid with a 4-2 win over Estonia at the weekend.
Belgium, top of the FIFA rankings, were 4-0 up at halftime at Den Dreef as they inflicted Belarus' heaviest ever defeat.
Meanwhile, in Cardiff, Daniel James headed a late winner as Wales claimed their first victory in their qualifying campaign by beating the Czech Republic 1-0.
The Czechs had enjoyed the better of the Group E clash but with both teams having been reduced to 10 men it was Wales who struck in the 81st minute as James met Gareth Bale's cross.
Forward Patrik Schick was sent off shortly after halftime for the Czechs after grappling with Connor Roberts when a free kick was swung in to the Wales area.
But Roberts was later dismissed for catching Tomas Soucek with his arm in the 77th minute.
The slick Czechs threatened on numerous occasions in the first half with Jakub Jankto going close and even after they lost Schick they were the better side.
But after an opening loss to Belgium, Wales were delighted to get their campaign up and running.
They are in third place with three points from two games, with the Czechs on four from three games and Belgium leading on seven points after thrashing Belarus.
Dutch thump Gibraltar 7-0
Netherlands' winger Steven Berghuis scored one goal and set up another as they overcame a wasteful first half to thump minnows Gibraltar 7-0 in their World Cup qualifier at the Victoria Stadium on Tuesday.
Luuk de Jong, Memphis Depay, Georginio Wijnaldum and Donyell Malen all also scored as the visitors netted four goals in nine second-half minutes to give an emphatic look to the score after a stuttering opening period frustrated manager Frank de Boer.
Substitute Donny van de Beek added a sixth late on and Depay got his second as the Netherlands recorded their biggest away win since a 7-0 success over San Marino in 1993.
The Dutch moved into second place in Group G with six points from three games, one point behind leaders Turkey who were surprisingly held to a 3-3 draw at home by Latvia.
