The Tottenham Hotspur attacker, who represented England at under-age level, was making just his second international start in what was effectively a dead rubber and settled the game from the penalty spot in the final minute before half-time. The hosts came into the game already assured of their place in a play-off semi-final for next summer's tournament thanks to their success in last year's Nations League, while also not able to finish any higher than third in their group. As such, manager Michael O'Neill made six changes from Friday's 1-0 defeat by Slovakia in Kosice that ended any hopes of a top-two finish. Donley was one of those brought in and the player on loan at Stoke for this season thought he had opened the scoring in the 18th minute with a neat finish into the corner, but Ethan Galbraith had been offside before squaring the ball. Goalkeeper Conor Hazard had to be alert to prevent Christopher Martins giving Luxembourg a surprise lead before Mathias Olesen whistled an effort past the post as the visitors grew into the half. The only goal of a dour contest came when Donley coolly converted the penalty awarded after the video assistant referee (VAR) adjudged Martins had kicked the leg of Ciaron Brown in an attempted clearance.

The Norwegians beat Estonia on Thursday to all-but secure their place at next year's tournament, with Italy needing to win by a nine-goal margin to pinch first place. Pio Esposito gave them a glimmer of hope of achieving the seemingly impossible when he struck after 11 minutes, firing in after being picked out by Federico Dimarco, and they dominated after that but could not find another goal before the break. The second half belonged to Norway and Haaland. Antonio Nusa hammered home an excellent strike to level matters before Haaland volleyed in superbly from Manchester City team-mate Oscar Bobb's cross. The striker, who had been quiet up until scoring, then swiftly got his second to make it an incredible 16 goals scored in eight qualifying matches for Norway. Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Jorgen Strand Larsen wrapped up a dream win when he slotted home in stoppage time. Norway's qualification means Haaland will follow in the footsteps of his father, Alf Inge, who played for his country at their last World Cup appearance in 1998. Italy, meanwhile, will enter the lottery of play-offs, which have been a source of recent heartbreak and embarrassment. They lost 1-0 on aggregate to Sweden to miss out on the 2018 World Cup, then four years later suffered one of their most humiliating defeats, beaten 1-0 at home by North Macedonia to end their hopes of qualifying for the 2022 tournament.

The Three Lions were already qualified as group winners and Thomas Tuchel made seven changes to the side that beat Serbia at Wembley on Thursday. Alongside the changes to the starting XI, Tuchel made tactical tweaks with John Stones stepping into midfield whenever England were in possession but despite the victory it was not a vintage England performance. Kane, who took his personal tally to 78 international goals, scored his first in the 74th minute when he bundled the ball in from close range from substitute Bukayo Saka's corner before he headed in Marcus Rashford's excellent cross eight minutes later. It was not England's best performance under Tuchel but they had chances to take the lead before Kane's double with Jude Bellingham, Jarrod Bowen and Saka all going close. Albania were in good form coming into this match themselves, unbeaten in their previous eight matches, and they had a good chance to take the lead but Arber Hoxha shot straight at Dean Henderson at the end of a counter-attack. The win means that England have become the first European side to play at least six qualifiers and win them all without conceding.

The two sides met in a winner-takes-all Group D clash in the Polish capital Warsaw - with a point enough for Iceland. And for 83 minutes it looked as if Iceland were going to get it. But Ukraine went ahead when Oleksandr Zubkov nodded in from close range after substitute Oleksii Hutsuliak had flicked on a corner. And Hutsuliak added a deflected second goal in injury time. The draw for the play-offs will take place in Zurich on Thursday at 12:00 GMT, with the games being played in late March. Ukraine are bidding to qualify for only their second World Cup, having reached the 2006 quarter-finals. In the other game in Group D, France - who had already sealed top spot - came from behind to win 3-1 away to winless Azerbaijan.

Having etched his name into Republic of Ireland folklore, Troy Parrott let the tears flow. At the end of a whirlwind 72 hours, the striker's raw emotion was understandable. On Thursday, Parrott upstaged Cristiano Ronaldo with two goals to sink Portugal and take the Republic of Ireland's play-off push into the final game. Carrying a nation's hopes on his back in Budapest, the 23-year-old Dubliner rose to the occasion in spectacular fashion. Against Hungary, his penalty brought the Irish level after they fell behind to an early Daniel Lukacs header. Then, after Barnabas Varga's stunning strike, he equalised again with a deft finish 10 minutes from time. The Republic of Ireland needed a win to make the play-offs, and after substitute Johnny Kenny was denied, Parrott seized the match-winning moment when he latched on to Liam Scales' header, poked the ball into the Hungary net and wheeled away in ecstasy in a heart-stopping finale at Puskas Arena. "I'm really, really emotional. They're tears of joy. Ah, what a night, what a night," the AZ Alkmaar striker, who led the line in Evan Ferguson's absence, told RTE. "This is why we love football, because things like this can happen. Look, I love where I'm from, so this means the world to me. My family is here. "It's the first time I've cried in years as well, I really, really can't believe it. Everyone is crying. "I said against Portugal that this is what dreams are made of, but this tonight, I don't think I'll ever have a better night in my whole life. "That is really a fairy tale. You can't even dream about something like that. Honestly, I have no words to describe my emotions right now."