Italians and Swiss will therefore play their qualification next Monday to the height of suspense, respectively in Northern Ireland and at home against Bulgaria.

The two countries are still guaranteed to finish at the worst second in their group, and therefore a barrage.

Roberto Mancini's Nazionale got the match point in the ... 90th minute, with a penalty whistled after watching the video for a Denis Zakaria foul on Domenico Berardi, but Jorginho shot over!

Such a mishap had already happened to the Chelsea player in the first leg, also ended in a draw (0-0) in Basel on September 5.

On Friday, Switzerland opened the scoring at the Olympic Stadium with right-back Silvan Widmer, with a splendid strike under the bar in the middle of the race on a service from Noah Okafor (11th).

The European champions, deprived in particular of Marco Verratti, Ciro Immobile or Giorgio Chiellini, equalized thanks to a header from defender Giovanni Di Lorenzo, receiving a free kick from Lorenzo Insigne (36 ').

England on a walk

In Group I, England walked under the fine rain of Wembley at the expense of Albanians quickly overtaken: the 5 goals were scored in the first period, by Harry Maguire (9th), Jordan Henderson (28th) and a hat-trick by Captain Harry Kane (18th, 33rd, 45th + 2).

England defender Harry Maguire opens the scoring for the Three Lions to kick off the offensive festival against Albania at Wembley on November 12, 2021 Glyn KIRK AFP

The selection of Gareth Southgate touches the goal and the last step should be only a formality, on the ground of San Marino, 6th and last with nine defeats in as many matches.

The English could have been qualified on Friday evening if Poland had missed out in Andorra, but that was not the case: a 4-1 victory for the men of Portuguese coach Paulo Sousa.

The Andorrans have certainly played their part, with the exclusion of their striker Ricard Fernandez for a nudge on an opponent from the ... 1st minute of play!

Poland, assured of second place, will therefore play the play-offs.

Robert Lewandowski scores Poland's first goal in Andorra la Vella, November 12, 2022 Valentine CHAPUIS AFP

The same will be true for Scotland in Group F, after their 2-0 victory in Moldova, last in the standings.

The selection of Steve Clarke will play a final game without a stake on Monday against Denmark, who were already assured of their qualification before the matchday, but still dominated the Faroe Islands 2-0 in Copenhagen.

In the other group game, Austria beat Israel 3-2 in Klagenfurt.

© 2021 AFP