The big news: Spain score eight in goal fest

Spain hammered Liechtenstein 8-0 in their World Cup qualification campaign as Diego Costa, Alvaro Morata and David Silva scored two each to continue their winning start under new coach Julen Lopetegui. Sergio Roberto and Vitolo scored the other two goals to complete the rout.

Lopetegui took the reins of national team from Vicente del Bosque after Euro 2016 and made it two wins out of two after his side beat Belgium 2-0 last week. Spain were lethal if nothing else. Costa opened the scoring in the 10th minute to give La Roja a 1-0 lead. However, the rest of the first half went without a goal, with Spain on the offensive. But once the second half began, the flurry of goals wouldn’t stop as seven were slotted in, leaving Liechtenstein shell-shocked.

Other top stories

  1. Ten-man Italy beat Israel 3-1 in their opening match of the World Cup qualifiers in group G. Defender Giorgio Chiellini was sent off in the second half after he got his second yellow card for the night. Graziano Pelle, Antonio Candreva and Ciro Immobile scored for Italy as Tal Ben Chaim pulled one back for Israel.
  2. Gareth Bale scored two goals as Wales beat Moldova 4-0 in their World Cup qualifying match. The Euro 2016 semi-finalists were at their usual best with Bale cutting down Moldova’s resistance with his spirited run and gameplay.
  3. Republic of Ireland drew 2-2 with Serbia as Daryl Murphy’s 80th-minute strike helped them draw the match. Ireland had taken the early lead via Jeff Hendrick. However, in the second half, they conceded two goals to trail 2-1. Murphy finally scored his first international goal in his 24th appearance to hand Ireland a draw.
  4. Rain played spoilsport as the match between Albania and Macedonia was suspended owing to the rain. Both sides had scored a goal each before leaving the pitch.
  5. In other World Cup qualifying matches, Finland were held to a 1-1 draw against Kosovo. Croatia too played out a 1-1 draw against Turkey.
  6. Iceland survived a scare against Ukraine as they began their bid to qualify for their first-ever World Cup. The match ended 1-1, after Ukraine's Yevhen Konoplyanka missed a penalty that would have bagged the three points.