World Cup qualifiers: Tuesday's scores and stats

A burst of four goals in the space of ten second-half minutes eased the Netherlands to a comfortable victory in Gibraltar and kept them within touching distance of Group G leaders Turkey. The Dutch toiled during a frustrating first half and were indebted to Steven Berghuis – a star in their win over Latvia – for belatedly settling nerves with another well-taken left-foot finish. Berghuis then turned provider to tee up Luuk de Jong to score in his third successive international game, and polish was added to the scoreline by a Memphis Depay double and close-range finishes from Georginio Wijnaldum, Donyell Malen and Donny van de Beek.

Daniel James headed home a late winner as Wales edged out Czech Republic in a tense match in which both sides were reduced to ten men. Gareth Bale set up the all-important goal with a superb left-foot cross, atoning for having missed the best of precious few chances in Cardiff. Patrik Schick had earlier been shown a direct red card for lashing out at Connor Roberts, who himself was handed his marching orders soon after following a second cautionable offence. Wales are now unbeaten in their last 12 home matches.

AFC

Japan stretched their lead at the top of Group F with a ruthless demolition of Mongolia. This meeting of the section’s top and bottom sides always looked likely to prove a mismatch, and the floodgates duly opened when Takumi Minamino fired the Samurai Blue into a 13th-minute lead. The Mongolian goal was breached four more times in the first half alone, with Yuya Osako, Daichi Kamada and Hidemasa Morita on target before Kash-Erdene Tuya put through his own net. Japan proved even more relentless after the break, with double figures reached in style as Osako completed his hat-trick, Kyogo Furuhashi, Junya Ito and Sho Inagaki all bagged braces and Takuma Asano added further sheen to the scoreline. Their final haul of 14 unanswered goals saw Japan match the biggest win recorded in the Qatar 2022 preliminaries: an identical 14-0 triumph for Iran over Cambodia in October 2019.

Saleh Alshehri dazzled as Saudi Arabia thrashed Palestine 5-0 to surge above Uzbekistan to the top of Group D. After Yasser Alshahrani’s header finally rewarded the hosts’ dominance in the 37th minute, Alshehri’s brilliant back-heel helped set up Fahad Almuwallad to double the lead. The 27-year-old forward then scored twice after the interval, the second masterfully created by a delightful, nutmeg-decorated dribble by Sultan Al Ghanam. Salem Aldawsari completed the rout from the spot late on.

Guyana won their first World Cup qualifier since November 2011 and did so decisively. Terence Vancooten opened the scoring after eight minutes, but the goal spree came in the second half when Kadell Daniel, substitute Omari Glasgow and Emery Welshman made it a rout in Santo Domingo.

Belize got their Qatar 2022 qualification campaign up and running with an assured victory over Turks and Caicos Islands. Carlos Bernarndez scored right before half-time in San Cristobal. Jesse August doubled their lead on the other side of the whistle before Bernardez made it a brace. Deshawon Nembhard, making just his second appearance for his country, and veteran goalscorer Deon McCaulay both got on the scoresheet before the final whistle to rub further salt in Turks and Caicos’ wounds.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines ended an eight-match losing streak in FIFA World Cup qualifying with a 3-0 triumph over British Virgin Islands in Willemstad, Curacao. Oalex Anderson netted in the 10th minute and Zidane Sam doubled the advantage ten minutes later as Vincy Heat collected their first win since September 2015. Azinho Solomon added insurance in the dying minutes. After the pair had both lost their respective opening matches, the result allowed St. Vincent and the Grenadines to move off the bottom of Group C.

Grenada relied on a lone Saydrel Lewis strike just past the half-hour mark to overcome a gritty challenge from US Virgin Islands in St Georges. The win – a far cry from their 10-0 victory in the pair’s previous 2008 World Cup meeting – pushed Grenada to third in what is shaping as a competitive Group A.

Barbados were made to work overtime to end a strong challenge from an Anguilla side who had avoided defeat in just one of 11 previous World Cup qualifiers. The only goal of the contest arrived nine minutes from fulltime when Emile Saimovici struck to earn Barbados their first points of the campaign.

A double from Kane Crichlow helped Bermuda on their way to a comprehensive 5-0 win over Aruba in Bradenton, Florida. It was a strong win for the Bermudians who suffered a 5-1 loss against Canada on Thursday and who were defeated by Aruba during 2020 Concacaf Nations League qualifying.