European World Cup Qualifiers: What We Learned

Sep 07, 2016 by Alex Baker

World Cup qualification for the UEFA region got underway this weekend with the continent’s top teams back in action vying for a place at Russia 2018. Here are some of the key takeaways from the weekend’s qualifiers.

England left it late but got it done

It took until the fifth moment of extra time for the breakthrough to come but ultimately, Sam Allardyce got his tenure as England manager underway with a win against 10-man Slovakia. In truth, the Three Lions had been dominant throughout, maintaining a majority of possession and putting up 20 shots against a defensive Slovakian side that managed just a single off-target shot.

Wayne Rooney impressed in a deeper-lying midfield role but Allardyce will likely be concerned about his team taking so long to... Read More

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