Dutch International Memphis Depay scripted history on Monday in the Netherlands’ 4-0 win over Finland at the Ajax Arena in Amsterdam.
Depay, netted to extend his goal record for the Oranje to 53 goals, the highest in the nation’s history and also set up an assist to surpass Wesley Sneijder’s record with 35 assists.
Donyell Malen, Virgil van Dijk, and Cody Gakpo also scored for the Dutch, who lead the group with 16 points and two games remaining.
Poland is three points behind in second place. Sebastian Szymanski scored directly from a corner, and Robert Lewandowski added another goal in Poland’s 2-0 win against Lithuania.
The Faroe Islands made a significant stride towards their first World Cup with a surprising 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic
on Sunday.
Ranked 136th by FIFA, this nation with a population of less than 55,000 is now in contention for the playoffs for next year’s tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
A run of four wins from their last five qualifying matches has seen them rise to third in Group L. Their win against the second-placed Czechs means just one point separates the teams in the race to be runner-up to Croatia, securing a place in the playoffs.
Substitute Martin Agnarsson was the hero for the Faroe Islands, located halfway between Scotland and Iceland and covering just 540 square miles. The team has long been an underdog in European soccer and was once ranked as low as 198th.
They were still the underdogs against a Czech team hoping to win the group. But Agnarsson’s 81st-minute goal not only dented the Czechs’ chances of qualifying automatically but also intensified the fight for the runner-up spot, with one game remaining for both teams.
The upset began when Hanus Sorensen put the Faroe Islands ahead in the 67th minute at Torsvollur, a stadium with a capacity of just over 6,000 in the capital, Torshavn. Adam Karabec equalised in the 78th minute before Agnarsson’s decisive goal.
Croatia, World Cup runner-up in 2018 and semifinalist in 2022, leads the group by three points after a 3-0 home win against Gibraltar, boasting a far superior goal difference. Croatia also has a game in hand over the Czechs and the Faroe Islands.
