Luck plays its part

Borussia Dortmund teenager Christian Pulisic scored twice as the United States thrashed Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 6-0 on Friday to edge closer to a place in the final round of CONCACAF qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup.

A first-half flurry of goals from Bobby Wood, Matt Besler and Jozy Altidore effectively sealed a straightforward victory for Jurgen Klinsmann's side against the Caribbean minnows.

Rising star Pulisic added a fourth for the USA in the 71st minute shortly after coming on as a second-half substitute.

Pulisic, 17, then laid on the fifth for another substitute, Sacha Kljestan, in the 78th minute.

Pulisic completed the scoring with a confident finish in injury time to make it 6-0.

The win left the United States within touching distance of the "Hexagonal" final round of qualifiers.

Klinsmann's men would have been assured of qualification if Trinidad & Tobago had beaten Guatemala in the day's other Group C game.

However two goals from Carlos Ruiz -- including an 87th-minute equalizer -- secured a 2-2 draw for Guatemala in Port of Spain against the "Soca Warriors."

The result means the USA need a point in their final group game against Trinidad in Jacksonville, Florida on Tuesday to be certain of progressing to the later rounds.

The first goal came when Wood curled in a shot from the edge of the area on 28 minutes after good work from Altidore and Fabian Johnson.

Besler had celebrated the birth of his baby daughter just hours before kick-off, then marked the occasion with his first international goal on 32 minutes. 

It's a game of mathematics now.

The World Cup in Russia has reached an exciting phase. Except for eight teams, the fate of the rest hangs in the balance. Wins alone in the remaining group matches are no longer enough for teams to qualify into the round of 16. Complex mathematics comes into play. Permutations of points, goal difference, head-to-head records, fair play points or even the drawing of lots may decide their destinies.

The eight nations of Portugal, Spain, Russia, Uruguay, France, Croatia, Belgium and England are relieved, and eight others -- Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Peru, Costa Rica, Tunisia, Panama and Poland -- are packing their bags to catch a flight home.

The tournament's top favourites -- Brazil, Argentina and Germany -- are yet to make it to the next level. Eight spots are up for grabs, and one stumble or a better showing by also-rans can get any of these world giants out of this World Cup.

Tensions run high in three out of eight World Cup groups -- D (Croatia, Nigeria, Iceland and Argentina), E (Brazil, Switzerland, Serbia and Costa Rica) and F (Mexico, Germany, Sweden and South Korea). The race is wide open.

A few of the superstars sparkled, but most others are still a pale shadow of their famous selves. Stars shone, teams won: that's the story of the World Cup so far. Notwithstanding yesterday's missed penalty against Iran, Cristiano Ronaldo is the only superstar who showed no dip in the superb form he has been displaying for his club Real Madrid. For him, it was just a change of jersey from club to country. He started off with a hattrick against Spain and scored one goal in the next, against Morocco.

England striker Harry Kane topped the list of goal-scoring stars with 5. Romelu Lukaku (4) and Eden Hazard (2) spearheaded Belgium's exciting journey forward. Denis Cheryshev (3) of Russia, Diego Costa (3) of Spain, Ahmed Musa (2) of Nigeria, Luka Modric (2) of Croatia and Philippe Coutinho (2) of Brazil are among the goals.

But Argentina's greatest goal-machine Lionel Messi is still hibernating and Brazil's big hope Neymar not up to the mark yet.

So, for fans of this beautiful game, it's time to live with nerves frayed and keep fingers crossed for their big stars to come out firing on all cylinders!

As records go, Europe plays best on European soil. And in Russia, there is no exception to that yet. European nations are dominating and American countries struggling. Japan and Nigeria are however carrying the lights of Asia and Africa quite commendably.

England are the latest of the European countries going great guns with a thumping 6-1 win against Panama that included a hattrick, the third in their World Cup history, from Harry Kane. The mercurial skipper also struck twice in England's 2-1 victory in their opener against Tunisia, including a header in injury time.

This English side look completely different than that seen in Brazil fours back. In 2014, England, with survivors of its so-called Golden Generation in the team, bowed out from the group stage winless and blamed it all on the heat, particularly the humidity of the Amazonian jungle.

Those were older, more experienced and celebrity-obsessed. These are younger, hungrier and goal-obsessed. The second-youngest in Russia, England's players of below-26 demonstrated joyous display of togetherness in the sweltering heat of Nizhny Novgorod.

In my view, momentum is everything in football.

Fortunately for Gareth Southgate, his men picked the momentum at the start. Now the challenge is to keep the momentum going all the way. And England fans have every reason to be pumped up this time. Fifty-two years went by after the father of modern football won the cup in 1966.

The writer is former Sports Editor of The Daily Star

Sorry, England! It's not the World Cup, but the footballers who are coming home.

England's 52-year wait for a World Cup was further extended by Croatia on Wednesday night in an exciting semifinal that seemed headed for penalty shootouts. But the Croatian footballers stepped harder on the gas to clinch the winner with only two minutes to go for the penalty decider.

In the dying minutes, the two opponents were in contrasting mood: England worn-out and Croatia reinvigorated. Winning the ball from a header, Croatian marksman Mario Mandzukic swiftly capitalised on lapses in concentration at the back. He drifted in behind an England defender before beating an otherwise rock-solid custodian Pickford with a cool, low strike into the net. 

Quite understandably though, expectation was running high among England fans at home and in Russia as this youthful side of Gareth Southgate played some high-octane games on way to the semi final. 'It [World Cup] is coming home' was the wave the 66-million population of England were riding for the last three weeks.

But little did they know what fate had in store for them. A team from a 27-year-old country of a population of only 4 million burst the English bubble with a display of constantly attacking football. The score could have been 3-1 had Pickford not deflected a goal-bound jab by Mandzukic minutes before the decisive goal.     

Unlike the knocked-out pre-tournament favourites, England had not come up against quality opponents till Wednesday. It was undoubtedly a high-pressure game that tested team character. Under pressure, the character of both teams came to the fore: Croatia delivered and England choked.

Coach Zlatko Dalic inspired Croatia to their first ever final in their fifth appearance in World Cup finals. And the ultimate glory is now one match away and with one team standing in the way. Croatia came out the better side in all aspects of the game Wednesday. But, on July 15, they need to do even better against the more fancied France, who knocked them out of their previous World Cup semifinal in 1998.

Morning shows the day... but not always. England took the lead only five minutes into the match from a scintillating curling free kick over the defence wall by Kieran Trippier, and held on till Ivan Perisic steered a cross into the net in the 68th minute.

Croatia just went on to lord over England after the goal with forays of attacks. England had no clue about how to counter the skills of the midfield duo of Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic.

Happy final, Croatia! 

The writer is former Sports Editor of The Daily Star

Defender Vincent Kompany will require a scan to determine if he can play in the World Cup in Russia after injuring his groin during Belgium's goalless draw with Portugal in a friendly on Saturday.

The 32-year-old Kompany, a key part of Belgium's defence, abruptly left the pitch in the 55th minute of the match after appearing to hurt himself when lunging for the ball.

"You could feel that when he came off we were all very much worried," coach Roberto Martinez told a news conference, adding that it would probably take 48 hours to determine how serious the injury was.

"He said he felt discomfort in his groin when he walked off the pitch. He's not a young player, he knows his body. At that point it was the right time to come off," Martinez added.

The injury was the key talking point after Belgium's 0-0 draw with Portugal as both sides showed attacking intent but no killer blow less than two weeks before the World Cup begins.

Both Belgium and the European champions had promising phases, with Portugal's Bernardo Silva in particular creating chances at the end of the first half.

Belgium's best chance fell to defender Jan Vertonghen, earning his 100th cap, as he forced goalkeeper Beto into an acrobatic save midway through the second period.

Belgium began with their strongest possible 11, apart from the injured Axel Witsel and Thomas Vermaelen, and a trial three-man defence.

Portugal coach Fernando Santos made six changes from the team that started Monday's 2-2 draw with Tunisia and were again without Cristiano Ronaldo, still resting after last weekend's Champions League final. Striker Andre Silva started on the bench, giving 21-year-old Goncalo Guedes the chance to shine in attack.

Santos expressed satisfaction after the match, saying his team had done well to keep a clean sheet against a team that set a joint record of goals in qualifying for the World Cup.

The hosts made five second-half changes to try out some of their fringe players before Martinez cuts his 28-man squad to 23 on Monday.

"I cannot be fully satisfied because of Vincent Kompany's injury but apart from that it was the test we needed," he said, adding that Vermaelen at least appeared to be returning to fitness.

Portugal host Algeria on June 7 before their World Cup opener on June 15 against Spain in a group also featuring Morocco and Iran.

Belgium will play further friendlies against Egypt on June 6 and Costa Rica on June 11. They open their World Cup campaign on June 18 against Panama, before also facing England and Tunisia in Group G.

Sam Allardyce's tenure as England manager begins on Sunday when his side launch their bid to reach the 2018 World Cup against former Euro 2016 foes Slovakia in Trnava.

Allardyce, 61, was handed the role he had long coveted after Roy Hodgson stepped down in the immediate aftermath of England's humiliating Euro 2016 elimination by Iceland.

It was England's most dismal loss since a 1-0 defeat by the part-timers of the United States at the 1950 World Cup, but Allardyce believes the experience will make his young team stronger.

"For me it is about going out and the players showing not just how passionate they are, but how skilful they are at international level," he told reporters this week.

"We were the youngest squad at the Euros and I think the experience they have gained in that tournament -- some of them for the first time -- will give them a better determination and next time round they will be much better."

England would not have encountered Iceland in France had it not been for a frustrating 0-0 draw against Slovakia in Saint-Etienne in their final group game.

Hodgson received a torrent of criticism after making six changes for the match, in which England failed to score despite dominating proceedings.

Several players who lined up in England red at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on June 20 have seen their statuses change significantly in the two months and two weeks since.

Goalkeeper Joe Hart is now on loan at Torino after being frozen out by Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

He at least got a place in Allardyce's first squad, unlike Everton's Ross Barkley and new Bournemouth loanee Jack Wilshere, both of whom were overlooked.

Chris Smalling, an ever-present at centre-back throughout the Euro, is not currently getting in Manchester United's team and Daniel Sturridge has had to get used to a watching brief at Liverpool.

Ryan Bertrand, the left-back in Saint-Etienne, is injured and 18-year-old sensation Marcus Rashford has dropped to the Under-21s after seeing his place taken by Zlatan Ibrahimovic at United.

But Raheem Sterling, lambasted for his performances in France, is in the form of his life at Manchester City and, like his new club-mate John Stones, is a strong contender for a starting role.

West Ham United midfielder Michail Antonio, meanwhile, could win his first cap.

Captain Wayne Rooney is to be used in the number 10 role, having laboured in midfield at the Euro, and has vowed that this qualifying campaign will be his last.

Already his country's record goal-scorer, Rooney will earn his 116th cap at Trnava's Stadion Antona Malatinskeho, taking him past David Beckham as England's most capped outfield player.

Slovakia coach Jan Kozak, whose side fell to Germany in the last 16 at the Euro, has also made adjustments to his squad.

Goalkeeper Jan Mucha and winger Miroslav Stoch missed the cut, the latter after falling out with Kozak, Stanislav Sestak has retired from international football and several players are injured.

Kozak has called up two uncapped players in MSK Zilina winger Jakub Holubek and Dukla Prague holding midfielder Jakub Povazanec.

But the core of his starting XI is likely to remain unchanged, built around Fenerbahce centre-back Martin Skrtel, AC Milan midfielder Juraj Kucka and Napoli playmaker Marek Hamsik.

As in Euro 2016 qualifying, when they won 2-0 at Switzerland in their opening game, England are beginning a qualification campaign with what appears to be their most difficult fixture.

With only the top team guaranteed to qualify from Group F, which also features Slovenia, Lithuania, Malta and old enemies Scotland, Allardyce can ill afford a false start.