Harry Kane rescues England
LONDON(AP): WHILE HARRY Kane didn’t contribute to the glut of hattricks in European qualifying for the World Cup, the England striker grabbed a crucial equaliser in a chaotic finale against Scotland yesterday.
A dramatic final six minutes in Group F at Hampden Park saw Scotland come from 1-0 down to take the lead through two Leigh Griffiths’ free kicks. Kane, captain of England for the first time, volleyed home deep into stoppage time to make it 2-2.
Things were simpler for Germany and Poland, who were aided by hat-tricks as the pair continued to dominate their groups.
Despite fielding a weakened team against minnow San Marino, Germany stayed perfect in Group C with a 7-0 win. Sandro Wagner scored a hattrick on just his second appearance for Joachim Loew’s side.
Poland stayed unbeaten as Robert Lewandowski’s threetimer took him level with Cristiano Ronaldo at the top of the scoring charts. Lewandowski scored two penalties during a 3-1 win over Romania.
But that wasn’t Group E’s only treble. Stevan Jovetic scored Montenegro’s first-ever hat-trick in a 4-1 victory over Armenia.
Results: Azerbaijan 0 Northern Ireland 1; Kazakhstan 1 Denmark 3; Scotland 2 England 2; Slovenia 2 Malta 0; Germany 7 San Marino 0; Lithuania 1 Slovakia 2; Montenegro 4 Armenia 1; Norway 1 Czech Republic 1; Poland 3 Romania 1.