Memphis Depay extended his fine international form by scoring twice in a 6-0 thrashing of Gibraltar as the Netherlands closed in on automatic World Cup qualification.
Depay scored twice and could have had a first-half hat-trick but missed his first penalty. There was no denying him a second time from the spot when he converted moments before the break. The Barcelona forward now has nine goals in World Cup qualifying - more than any other player from a European team.
Virgil van Dijk opened the scoring with a header from a Depay corner after nine minutes and there were also second half goals for Denzil Dumfries, Arnaut Danjuma and Donyell Malen.
The result left the Dutch two points ahead of Norway in the Group G standings with two matches left to play. The Netherlands compete their qualifiers next month away against Montenegro and home to Norway.
It was a fourth win in a row for veteran coach Louis van Gaal, who was brought back to help ensure World Cup qualification after Frank de Boer resigned following the team's Euro 2020 failure.
Norway kept pace with the Netherlands after beating Montenegro 2-0 thanks to a Mohamed Elyounoussi double as the Scandinavian nation kept alive their hopes of reaching a World Cup for the first time since 1998.
Norway took the lead in the 29th minute as a short corner found its way to Holmgren Pedersen and his cross was headed back across goal by Stefan Strandberg to Elyounoussi who stooped to head into the net.
Norway took a risk by playing with a high backline and they were almost punished when Stevan Jovetic found Adam Marusic with a sublime ball in behind, but the striker's first touch was too heavy and the ball ended up going wide as Norway had to withstand massive pressure for the rest of the game.
Montenegro had Marko Vesovic sent off in second-half stoppage time for two yellow cards in quick succession before Elyounoussi struck a beautiful curling drive to seal the three points for Norway.
Croatia stumble against Slovakia
Over in Group H, Croatia dented their hopes of qualifying automatically after a 2-2 home draw with Slovakia left them trailing Russia by two points in a two-team race for top spot.
The Russians, who have 19 points from eight games, beat Slovenia 2-1 away to leapfrog Croatia, who came from behind twice against the Slovakians and had a late goal scrapped after a VAR check.
Both Russia and 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia are assured of at least a play-off berth as third-placed Slovakia are on 10 points and have no chance of breaking into the top two.
Winger Ivan Schranz headed the Slovakians into a 20th-minute lead before Andrej Kramaric glanced in the equaliser five minutes later and the visitors struck again on the stroke of halftime through Lukas Haraslin.
Croatia captain Luka Modric levelled with a 71st-minute free kick before substitute Nikola Vlasic was denied a winner in the 83rd as his close-range effort was ruled out for an infringement.
Wales in control of play-off destiny
Wales, meanwhile, kept their World Cup play-off destiny in their own hands after a 1-0 win in Estonia.
With Group E rivals Czech Republic also winning on Monday night, when they beat bottom side Belarus 2-0, Wales needed to collect three points to stay level and Kieffer Moore's early strike was enough to earn a vital victory.
Wales started well and raced into a 12th minute lead, with Moore prodding home following a goalmouth scramble from a corner.
As Wales tired it became a matter of holding on rather than looking for a second, with the hosts almost levelling through substitute Vlasiy Sinyavskiy, who was denied by a brilliant save from goalkeeper Danny Ward.
Wales move onto 11 points in the group but stay third, level with Czech Republic in second, although Wales have a game in hand on the Czechs.
Runaway group leaders Belgium, who are five points clear with two games to play, are all but assured of automatic qualification.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Match info
Premier League
Manchester United 2 (Martial 30', Lingard 69')
Arsenal 2 (Mustafi 26', Rojo 68' OG)
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
ICC men's cricketer of the year
2004 - Rahul Dravid (IND) ; 2005 - Jacques Kallis (SA) and Andrew Flintoff (ENG); 2006 - Ricky Ponting (AUS); 2007 - Ricky Ponting; 2008 - Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI); 2009 - Mitchell Johnson (AUS); 2010 - Sachin Tendulkar (IND); 2011 - Jonathan Trott (ENG); 2012 - Kumar Sangakkara (SL); 2013 - Michael Clarke (AUS); 2014 - Mitchell Johnson; 2015 - Steve Smith (AUS); 2016 - Ravichandran Ashwin (IND); 2017 - Virat Kohli (IND); 2018 - Virat Kohli; 2019 - Ben Stokes (ENG); 2021 - Shaheen Afridi
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Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Maestro
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Biog:
Age: 34
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite sport: anything extreme
Favourite person: Muhammad Ali
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 611bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Price: upon application
On sale: now
THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 2 (Willems 25', Shelvey 88')
Manchester City 2 (Sterling 22', De Bruyne 82')
The biog
Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic
'Joker'
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix
Rating: Five out of five stars
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
