Harefield Gazette

Bees stars closing in on Qatar World Cup

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BRENTFORD will hope to have a number of key stars participat­e at next winter’s World Cup, as Christian Norgaard and Mathias Jensen edged ever closer to sealing Denmark’s place in Qatar next year.

The Danes won 5-0 against Moldova, thus maintainin­g their 100% record in Group F in the process.

Norgaard completed a full 90 minutes in their victory at the Zimbru Stadium, with fellow teammate Jensen coming on as a substitute as they comfortabl­y emerged victorious with ease in Chisinau.

A win over Austria on Tuesday night, as we went to press, will officially seal their place in Qatar, with a draw being adequate providing Scotland fail to defeat the Faroe Islands on the same night. Barring any inconceiva­ble twists, the Bees will certainly have two representa­tives on the biggest stage come December 2022.

With Kristoffer Ajer recovering from a hamstring injury, Norway still harbour ambitions of automatic qualificat­ion and lie two points off Holland, who are currently top.

They drew 1-1 with Turkey this weekend with Halil Dervisoglu, currently on loan at Galatasara­y from Brentford, an unused sub for the hosts.

They were to host Montenegro on Monday as they look to pile on the pressure on Le Oranje, who they face in their final qualifying game on November 16 in Rotterdam, with the winner potentiall­y taking a place in Qatar next year.

In other internatio­nal news, Yoane Wissa did not star for DR Congo, who lost 1-0 to Madagascar in their World Cup qualifier on Sunday.

Bees midfielder Frank Onyeka suffered a setback as Nigeria went down to a late 1-0 defeat to Central African Republic on Thursday last week.

The Super Eagles were intending to strike revenge when they meet each other again on Monday afternoon, with a win all but putting them in the driving seat for the third round – providing Cape Verde and Liberia manage to cancel each other out. Should that happen, Nigeria would be four points clear at the top with two games left, leaving their own destiny in their hands.

Saman Ghoddos could be set for an appearance in Qatar as Iran currently lie top of AFC Group A with a 100% record.

The midfielder was an unused sub in their last win over the United Arab Emirates on Thursday last week, but was hoping to feature in their next clash against South Korea on Tuesday evening.

A win for Iran would stretch their advantage at the top of their group to five points over Korea, with six games remaining.

 ?? EDDIE KEOGH/GETTY IMAGES ?? Brentford and Denmark star Christian Norgaard
EDDIE KEOGH/GETTY IMAGES Brentford and Denmark star Christian Norgaard

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