With the World Cup qualifiers now in full swing, there were standout performances from Eric Dier and David Silva, amongst others.
England’s Daniel Sturridge and Eric Dier celebrate after the game
With European qualifying for the 2018 World Cup now under way, there were mixed results across Europe as we took our first look at what will undoubtedly be an eventful campaign.
While Spain dispatched of Liechtenstein with relative ease, thanks to braces from David Silva, Diego Costa and Alvaro Morato in a 8-0 win, Portugal came crashing down to earth, after their Euro 2016 win, with a 2-0 defeat to Switzerland, and France faired only slightly better, having scraped a 0-0 draw away to Belarus.
But it was not just in Europe that World Cup qualifiers were taking place. As expected, Australia made it two from two in the latest phase of qualifying in Asia, the Socceroos joined the Asian Football Confederation in 2006, and as swiftly as Australia beat the UAE, in Jacksonville the USA advanced to the final Concacaf qualifying round.
Whilst the team performances throughout the latest round of qualification appears to be at the forefront of supporters minds, there were some outstanding individual performances, with Spain offering you the pick of the bunch, with Costa, Morata, and Silva all worthy candidates.
We take a look at the five standout performances from the World Cup qualifiers.
England’s Eric Dier and John Stones on the pitch before the match
Eric Dier
In Sam Allardyce’s first game in charge of the England team, the plaudits will be aimed at Adam Lallana and rightly so. It was Lallana’s goal deep in to injury time that gave Allardyce the all important three points, and it was the Liverpool midfielder, not Wayne Rooney, that was providing the spark from midfield. But Lallana was only in the game in fits and starts and if we are to look at any midfielder for a consistent performance, then look no further than Tottenham Hotspur’s Eric Dier.
For well over a year now Dier has been England’s most consistent player, and while the others around him appear to be carrying the wounds of a dire Euro 2016 campaign, the Spurs midfielder is showing just why Mauricio Pochettino turned the centre-back in to a defensive midfielder. Against Slovakia, Dier’s work rate was there to see, as was his ability to start attacks from deep. For much of the game, England looked like the side that we saw at Euro 2016, particularly in the first half, and while there were few positives to take from the game, Dier was definitely one of them.
Robert Snodgrass
Scotland got their qualification campaign for the 2018 World Cup off to a flying start, but it was Snodgrass who will take all the headlines, having scored a hat-trick in a 5-1 away win. Snodgrass has started the Premier League season well with Hull City, but this will have been a performance that he is likely to remember for a while. Not just for the goals that he scored, but also in helping Scotland get off to such a good start in the qualifying campaign, having missed out on Euro 2016.
Scotland’s Robert Snodgrass celebrates scoring their third goal
Romelu Lukaku
Lukaku’s start to the season has not quite gone as he would have liked, the Belgium striker has looked short of match fitness and is yet to score in the Premier League, but a standout performance for his national side may all change that. Against Cyprus, Lukaku and Belgium looked impressive as the won 3-0 away, and the Everton striker will now feel this will kick-start his season.
Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku
Lukaku gave Belgium the lead after 13 minutes, with a close range header before doubling their lead in the second half when his second headed goal, this time a towering header made it 2-0, before Yannick Carrasco added a third goal. With an away game at Sunderland in the Premier League coming up, the Everton striker will hope this is the start of things to come.
Gareth Bale
Bale grabbed two goals as Wales beat the weakest team in their group, Moldova, 4-0 in a performance where the impressive Real Madrid forward was the star of the show. It was inspirational stuff from Bale, who aside from his two goals also set up the opening goal for Sam Vokes. Against Moldova, Bale scored his 23rd and 24th international goals, and looks to have Ian Rush’s all time goal scoring record of 28 firmly in his sights, and his performance on this night in question will have the whole of Wales looking on with increased optimism of where Bale can take them now.
Wales’ Gareth Bale scores their third goal
David Silva
Against Liechtenstein, a number of Spanish players could have walked away with man of the match, but that honour was truly deserved by Manchester City’s David Silva, who now looks ready to take on the responsibility of being Spain’s playmaker from Andres Iniesta, he was the perfect playmaker and controlled the game immaculately. Silva’s performace was scintilating and on any other day, both Morata and Costa could have been the standout player. But with Silva in this kind of form, there yet remains the optimism that in the Manchester City midfielder, Spain do have a successor to Iniesta, just as Iniesta was the successor to Xavi.
Football Soccer – Spain v Liechtenstein – World Cup 2018 Qualifying European Zone
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