Nemec nicks it late on for Slovakians

Slovakia kept in touch with Group F leaders England with a 1-0 home win over Slovenia.

Adam Nemec struck nine minutes from time in Trnava to maintain the Slovakians’ grip on second place, two points behind Gareth Southgate’s side.

The two nations meet at Wembley on Monday.

Slovakia are four points ahead of third-placed Scotland, with the sides scheduled to face each other at Hampden on 5 October in the penultimate round of fixtures.

Germany kept on course for the finals in Russia thanks to a 2-1 win at the Czech Republic. It was the world champions’ seventh straight win in qualifying and maintained their fivepoint lead over Northern Ireland atop Group C. Mats Hummels headed an 88thminute winning goal.

Poland lost 4-0 in Denmark and now lead Group E by just three points from Montenegro. It was their first loss in qualifying.