Paris (AFP) – Holders France qualified for the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar by crushing Kazakhstan 8-0 on Saturday thanks to four goals from Kylian Mbappe, while Belgium also booked their ticket.
Didier Deschamps’ side outclassed the Kazakhs at the Parc des Princes in Paris to top Group D with Karim Benzema also scoring twice and Adrien Rabiot and Antoine Griezmann on the scoresheet as well.
Benzema told M6 television: “We got the goals, we didn’t concede any and we played some good football.”
Belgium, who were beaten by France in the semi-finals of the 2018 tournament, made sure of their spot in Qatar by beating Estonia 3-1 in Brussels to top Group E.
Christian Benteke opened the Belgians’ account before Yannick Carrasco and Thorgan Hazard completed the job. Estonia’s consolation goal came from Erik Sorga.
The Netherlands threw away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Montenegro in Podgorica, meaning the Dutch still have to get a result against Norway on Tuesday to reach their first World Cup finals since 2014.
The Dutch are top of Group G with 20 points while Turkey have 18 points, the same total as Norway.
The Turks face Montenegro in their final game.
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