Europe’s top teams win WC qualifiers as Swiss move goalposts

<p>World Cup qualifying in Europe took a quirky turn when the goalposts were removed before a match between Switzerland and Lithuania because they were deemed the incorrect size</p>
<p>It was one of the few things that didn’t go to script on Sunday.</p>
<p>All of the continent’s heavyweight countries secured victories, though Spain left it late — the second minute of stoppage time, to be precise — to see off Georgia 2-1 after falling behind.</p>
<p>Like Spain, France started its qualification campaign with an unexpected draw at home but also got back on track in its second game, easing to a 2-0 win at Kazakhstan.</p>
<p>Italy stretched its unbeaten streak to 24 games with a 2-0 win in Bulgaria, and England also moved onto a maximum six points in group play with a 2-0 victory at Albania. Germany made it two straight wins to open qualifying, too, by beating Romania 1-0 away.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Denmark became the latest European team to use the World Cup qualifiers to direct attention to workers’ rights in 2022 host Qatar. Its players wore red T-shirts with the slogan “Football supports change” for the customary team photo before kicking off against Moldova, which Denmark went on to beat 8-0.</p>
<p>The Danish soccer federation said the shirts will be signed and auctioned to raise money for projects with Amnesty International that help migrant workers in Qatar.</p>
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<p>Steve Douglas is at <a href="https://twitter.com/sdouglas80">https://twitter.com/sdouglas80</a></p>