Sabitzer on scoresheet for Austria, Lewandowski in emphatic win

A goal from Marcel Sabitzer helped Austria to an important 2-0 away win against the Faroe Islands in World Cup qualifying on Saturday. The Bayern summer signing netted the second goal with a long-range strike just after the restart (48’) to seal the win, after his former RB Leipzig teammate Konrad Laimer had opened the scoring (26’). The victory leaves Franco Foca’s side in fourth place with 10 points from seven matches, four behind Scotland in second spot, which would qualify for the play-offs. The Austrians have a tricky assignment next, though, travelling to group leaders Denmark, who have yet to drop a point so far.

Lewandowski plays half of emphatic win

Robert Lewandowski’s Poland enjoyed a comfortable 5-0 success against bottom-of-the-table San Marino in Warsaw on Saturday. In a one-sided clash in qualifying Group I, Karol Świderski (10’), Cristian Brolli (20’ own goal), Tomasz Kędziora (50’), Adam Buksa (84’) and Krzysztof Piątek (90’) scored the goals. Lewandowski was substituted at half-time with the score at 2-0, probably with a view to resting him for Tuesday’s crucial match in Albania, where the Poles (14 points) can move above the hosts (15 points) into second place with a win.

Debut win for Sarr

It was a successful international debut for Bouna Sarr! The 29-year-old Bayern right-back represented the Senegalese national team for the first time on Saturday evening, celebrating a 4-1 win in their World Cup qualifier against Namibia. Sarr played the full 90 minutes in Thies. The goals for head coach Aliou Cissé’s team came from Idrissa Gueye (10’), Famara Diédhiou (38’), Sadio Mané (55’) and Keita Baldé (84’), with Joslin Kamatuka (76’) scoring the only goal for the visitors. The two countries meet again on Tuesday in Johannesburg in Group H, which Senegal lead with nine points from three games. Namibia are second with four points.

Friday’s international action also went well for FC Bayern players: