Belgium brush aside Bosnia, Swiss win five-goal thriller in Hungary in last minute

ByReuters

Updated 07/10/2016 at 21:51 GMT

Belgium swept past a defensively frail Bosnia side to secure a 4-0 victory in their World Cup qualifier on Friday and give themselves a perfect start from their first two matches.

Belgium's Toby Alderweireld celebrates after scoring against Bosnia.

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Emir Spahic put through his own net before Eden Hazard ran through to make it 2-0 before halftime. Toby Alderweireld added the third on the hour with a clever finish from a corner before Romelu Lukaku wrapped up the win with a fine solo goal.

Belgium lead Group H with six points above Greece, who won 2-0 at home to Cyprus, on goal difference.

The opener came from a seemingly innocuous cross from Thomas Meunier which fell to Bosnia defender Spahic, who under no pressure managed to beat his own keeper Asmir Begovic, a slight deflection perhaps forcing his embarrassing miscue.

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Two minutes later, following Bosnia's failure to clear, Dries Mertens split open the defence to find an advancing Hazard, who rounded Begovic to slot in from a tight angle.

Defender Alderweireld scoresd with a neat flick at the front post from a corner before striker Lukaku, who had missed an open goal, made amends with a fine solo effort 10 minutes from time.

Belgium showed little sign that they were missing injured captain Vincent Kompany or midfielder Kevin De Bruyne.

They also lost left back Jordan Lukaku with an injury early in the first half but the defence managed to shackle Edin Dzeko, who had scored in Bosnia's last four matches against Belgium.

Belgium's victory brings the record between the sides to three wins each, and two in a row for the hosts, who beat Bosnia 3-1 in September 2015 on their way to Euro 2016.

Belgium next travel to play Gibraltar in Portugal on Monday, when Bosnia host Cyprus.

Substitute Valentin Stocker scored in the last minute to give Switzerland a 3-2 win away to Hungary on Friday after Adam Szalai had twice equalised for the hosts in a thrilling World Cup qualifier.

Switzerland’s Valentin Stocker celebrates scoring a goal with team mates.

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The Swiss went top of Group B with six points from two matches following a game in which all five goals were scored after halftime, while Hungary were left with one point and already look unlikely to make a first World Cup appearance since 1986.

The Faroe Islands are second with four points after their shock 2-0 win in Latvia, while Portugal and Latvia have three and Andorra none.

Switzerland struggled to get going in the first half without the suspended Granit Xhaka, who usually dictates the rhythm in midfield.

But striker Haris Seferovic, widely criticised for his performances at Euro 2016 when he failed to score a goal, put them in front six minutes after halftime, scoring from a rebound after Xherdan Shaqiri's shot was saved by Peter Gulacsi.

Szalai equalised two minutes later, also from a rebound after his own shot hit the post.

Left back Ricardo Rodriguez put Switzerland back in front in the 67th minute, volleying home from Valon Behrami's lofted cross for his first international goal, only for Szalai to again equalise four minutes later.

Switzerland were not to be denied, however, and snatched the points when a long thrown-in was twice headed on and Stocker scored at the far post.

Quincy Promes scored two early goals to set the Netherlands on their way to a 4-1 victory over Belarus in their World Cup Group A qualifier on Friday and snap a miserable run of home form.

Netherlands' Quincy Promes and Memphis Depay celebrate a goal

Image credit: Eurosport

Davy Klaassen and Vincent Janssen added two more in the second half as the Dutch, who finished third at the last World Cup in Brazil but failed to qualify for Euro 2016, ended an unprecedented run of five successive home defeats stretching back 16 months.

Aleksey Rios scored for Belarus just after halftime but a comeback did not materialise.

Promes' opener in the 14th minute marked his first international goal as he hit the ball through the legs of three defenders. He added a second 15 minutes later with a strong finish from the edge of the penalty area.

Belarus threatened with two good chances before the break and then scored straight after it with Sergei Kornilenko's strong run setting up Rios for a close-range finish.

But the Dutch quickly restored their two-goal advantage in the 54th minute as Klaassen tapped home the rebound after Belarus had lost possession on the edge of their own area.

Janssen struck the woodwork with a shot but found the net with a thunderous left-foot shot as the Dutch moved to four points from their opening two qualifiers after a draw in Sweden last month. They host France in Amsterdam on Monday.