Denmark pounds Ireland to qualify
Denmark fell behind early in the second-leg World Cup playoff here against Ireland before coming back to win 51 and punch their ticket for the 2018 tournament in Russia.
Shane Duffy put the hosts ahead 1-0 in the 6th minute, raising the hopes of their supporters among the crowd of 51,000 at Dublin's Aviva Stadium on Tuesday night.
Duffy took advantage of a poor clearance by the Danish defenders after Robbie Brady's free kick to put a header past goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.
With their heroes having escaped from the first leg in Copenhagen with a 0-0 draw, the Irish fans could be forgiven for imagining that the side could defend a lead at home.
But things turned sour in the 29th minute, when Denmark's Andreas Christensen scored.
The Danes took the lead three minutes later with a strike from their best player, Christian Eriksen.
The Tottenham Hotspur playmaker went to get two more in the second half, in the 63rd and 74th minutes, respectively, and Nicklas Bendtner converted from the spot in stoppage time to make the final 5-1.
Denmark are headed to the World Cup for the fifth time.
Germany holds France in friendly: Germany snatched a late 2-2 draw on home soil after substitute Lars Stindl provided the injury-time equalizer in Cologne.
FIFA World Cup champions Germany avoided a defeat at the last international match in 2017 as the hosts fought back twice on goals from Timo Werner and Lars Stindl.
Both sides staged a lively opening period as Germany tested France goalkeeper Steve Mandana through Mesut Oezil before Blaise Matuidi rattled the side netting from close range with seven minutes played.
As the match progressed, France assumed control of the ball and the proceedings on the pitch. They took a well-deserved lead 34 minutes into the encounter when Anthony Martial's square pass allowed Alexandre Lacazette to tap home the opener from very close range.
The hosts needed the break to recover from the setback as Anthony Ruediger had a promising chance to level the scores before Timo Werner capitalized on a through ball from Oezil to restore parity in the 56th minute.
Joachim Loew's men gained momentum but failed to grab the lead as Toni Kross rattled the woodwork following a free kick in the 70th minute. France punished the hosts' wastefulness as Kylian Mbappe teed up for Lacazette, who provided the second goal of the evening against the run of the game.
France should have sealed the deal in the 89th minute, but Anthony Martial failed to overcome Germany goalkeeper Kevin Trapp following a one-on-one encounter.
Thus, Germany had the last laugh as Lars Stindl benefitted from Mario Goetze's lay up to make it 2-2 in the dying minutes of the game to shock the visitors from France.