Another hat trick for Cristiano Ronaldo, another win — and qualification for the World Cup — for Denmark.
And yet more crowd trouble in a game between England and Hungary.
There was a sense of familiarity to the World Cup qualifiers in Europe on Tuesday, not least in Faro where Ronaldo extended his men’s record tally of international goals to 115 by scoring the 58th hat trick of his career for club and country in Portugal’s 5-0 win over Luxembourg.
Denmark became the second European nation to qualify for next year’s tournament in Qatar, after Germany on Monday, by securing an eighth straight win in group play by beating
Austria 1-0.
The decisive win — sealed by Joakim Maehle’s second-half goal — came at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen where star playmaker Christian Eriksen collapsed in June during a European Championship game. It is still unclear if Eriksen can resume his career to play at the World Cup in 13 months’ time.
England is likely to be there, but was made to wait before booking its place after being held to a 1-1 draw by Hungary at Wembley Stadium.
Events on the field were overshadowed by clashes between police officers and Hungary supporters at the start of the match, sparked — according to police — by a visiting fan making “racially aggravated” comments toward a steward.
