A searing first-half strike from Paul Pogba handed France a 1-0 win at rivals the Netherlands as Belgium and Portugal clocked up 6-0 victories and Christian Benteke grabbed a slice of World Cup qualifying history.
Pogba’s Free Kick Seal Victory for France
Criticised by coach Didier Deschamps for his performance in Friday's 4-1 win over Bulgaria in Paris, the world's most expensive footballer emphatically replied with a towering display for Les Bleus in Amsterdam in the most eye-catching fixture on Monday.
The Manchester United midfielder's powerful hit from 25 metres out after half an hour left diving Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg able to get his hands to the fizzing ball but unable to stop it.
I didn’t speak to him (Pogba), I just said a few words to him before entering the changing rooms, ‘I have confidence in you’. The match confirms what he is able to do. Pogba was much better in everything he did. He showed what he can do. We never doubted he could do it. We mustn’t forget Paul is relatively young and he can still progress.Didier Deschamps, Coach, France
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France, losing finalists on home soil at Euro 2016, are equal on seven points at the top of Group A with Sweden, who beat Bulgaria 3-0 at home in Solna. The two countries will play on November 11 at the Stade de France.
Pogba, 23, was imperial in front of a central defence made up of Raphael Varane and Laurent Koscielny, who pushed back wave after wave of Dutch attacks.
And Pogba nearly doubled his account with a header off a Dimitri Payet corner on 66 minutes just lacking power.
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If the team has a good match, I have a good match. If it’s a bad match, I have a bad match. We’re not going to talk about individual performances. It’s true it’s not always nice to hear criticism, ‘bad things’ about myself. There wasn’t any answer. Today it was a good team effort.Paul Pogba, Mid-Fielder, France
Benteke Scored Goal in Just 7 Seconds, Creates Record
Belgium striker Benteke set a new World Cup record for the fastest goal ever -- just seven seconds -- on his way to a hat-trick in Faro.
Belgium top Group H on nine points out of nine, ahead of Greece on goal difference.
The 25-year-old Crystal Palace forward picked up the ball in the first action in Faro and racing towards goal with the Gibraltar defence in disarray left goalie Deren Ibrahim with no chance.
Benteke's quick-fire goal eclipsed the previous best of 8.3 seconds achieved by San Marino's Davide Gualtieri in a World Cup qualifier against England in November 1993.
Portugal Continues to Dominate the Qualifiers
Portugal, bidding to catch Group B leaders Switzerland, matched their 6-0 win over Andorra on Friday.
Andre Silva scored a hat-trick for the European champions before captain Cristiano Ronaldo netted his fifth goal in four days, with Joao Cancelo and Joao Moutinho also scoring late on.
Switzerland maintained their unbeaten run, coming away 2-1 winners from Andorra with Fabian Schaer and Admir Mehmedi scoring in either half.
(With inputs from PTI)
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