Belgrade, Serbia
Portugal and Belgium were left frustrated by draws in their World Cup qualifying matches. Ireland was left in shock.
Cristiano Ronaldo stormed off after he failed to score as Portugal was held 2-2 by Serbia — though TV replays indicated he did put the ball over the line — while top-ranked Belgium could only salvage a 1-1 draw in the Czech Republic.
On a night when underdogs tested big names, Luxembourg pulled off the biggest shock of all to beat Ireland 1-0.
Stéphanie Frappart made more history as the first woman to referee a men’s World Cup qualifier as the Netherlands beat Latvia 2-0.
She’s previously made similar breakthroughs in the men’s Champions League and French league.
Another female referee, Kateryna Monzul, is taking charge of Sunday’s game between Austria and the Faroe Islands.
After Norway players had challenged next year’s host Qatar on its human rights record, another team joined in Saturday.
Dutch players wore T-shirts before the game bearing the message “Football supports change” before the Netherlands’ 2-0 win over Latvia.
Norway’s players urged more teams to follow suit, with shirts asking the question “Next?”
Fans remain a rare sight in European soccer amid the coronavirus pandemic, but some countries are changing that.
Russia had 13,000 supporters for its 2-1 win over Slovenia, the biggest crowd at this week’s qualifying games.
The Netherlands had 5,000 fans as part of a trial scheme to test how more public events can reopen safely.
Ronaldo tossed his captain’s armband on the field as he walked off at the end of Portugal’s draw with Serbia, believing he should have had a winning goal.
His shot was heading over the line when Serbia’s Stefan Mitrovic slid and cleared the ball.
TV replays indicated the ball did cross the line, but goal-line technology and video review aren’t used in the World Cup qualifiers.
Diogo Jota put the reigning European champions ahead with a pair of first-half headers. But halftime substitute Nemanja Radonjic set up two goals to pull the hosts level with half an hour to play.
Serbia defender Nikola Milenkovic saw a direct red card in stoppage time for a dangerous studs-first tackle on Danilo.
Also in Group A, Luxembourg’s Gerson Rodrigues scored with five minutes remaining to humble the Irish—AFP
