Kane & Laimer victorious in World Cup qualifying, Minjae wins

Four FC Bayern players were in action for their national teams on Saturday evening – and all of them celebrated wins. Harry Kane and England claimed a deserved 2-0 victory over Andorra in World Cup qualifying, while Konrad Laimer and Austria also took an important step towards the finals next year with a 1-0 success against Cyprus.

“Good to be back out there in an England shirt. Job done at Villa Park, positive step forward in our World Cup qualifying campaign,” wrote Kane on social media following his side’s fourth win in four qualifiers. The Three Lions’ captain played the full 90 minutes in Birmingham, where an own goal by Christian Garcia and Declan Rice’s 67th-minute strike produced the final scoreline. England now comfortably lead Group K with 12 points, five ahead of nearest challengers Serbia, who they meet in Belgrade on Tuesday night (20:45 CEST).

The Austrian national team, featuring Laimer, also collected an important three points in World Cup qualifying on Saturday, beating Cyprus 1-0 in Linz. Like Kane, Bayern’s defensive specialist played the full game and saw former Munich man Marcel Sabitzer net the only goal of the day for Ralf Rangnick’s men from the penalty spot. The result maintains Austria’s position in second place (nine points) in Group H, having played one match less than leaders Bosnia and Herzegovina. The top two meet in Zenica on Tuesday (20:45 CEST).

Kim wins with South Korea

Meanwhile, Minjae Kim and South Korea won 2-0 in their friendly against the USA. The FCB centre-back also played the full 90 minutes, helping his side to protect their two-goal lead from the first half. South Korea, like hosts USA, have already qualified for next year’s tournament.

Earlier on in the day, Leon Klanac enjoyed a successful start to the season with the German U19s. The DFB youngsters beat Italy 3-1 in front of 243 spectators in Koprivnica, Croatia. The 18-year-old goalkeeper did not feature.

Michael Olise, Dayot Upamecano and Nicolas Jackson celebrated wins with their national teams on Friday night: