Thomas Mueller put his Euro 2016 goal drought behind him, scoring twice to give dominant Germany an easy 3-0 win away to Norway in their opening World Cup qualifier Sunday. Mueller took advantage of shoddy Norwegian defending to give the title holder an early lead and headed the third goal on the hour of the European Group C game. In between, he produced a superb pass to set up Joshua Kimmich for his first international goal. Germany made light of the absence of Jerome Boateng, Mario Gomez and Andre Schuerrle, plus Lukas Podolski and Bastian Schweinsteiger who both have retired from international football. They enjoyed 68 percent of the possession, spent nearly the entire game inside the Norway half and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, given the captaincy in place of Schweinsteiger, did not have to save a single shot on target. "We controlled everything, we didn't allow Norway to get into the game and we didn't allow them any scoring chances," said German coach Joachim Loew. "I'm happy with the performance." Germany was given another boost when the Czech Republic, which was expected to be its nearest rival, dropped two home points in a 0-0 draw with Northern Ireland. In the group's other game, Ruslan Gurbanov's goal on the stroke of halftime gave Azerbaijan a 1-0 win at minnow San Marino. England's Adam Lallana scored his first international goal with the last kick of the game as the visitors beat 10-man Slovakia 1-0 in their Group F qualifier to get new manager Sam Allardyce's reign off to a winning start. With the referee checking his watch, Danny Rose sent a hopeful low ball into the area for Lallana, who jinked left past a defender and struck a low shot through the legs of goalkeeper Matus Kozacik for his first England goal in 27 games. Robert Snodgrass bagged a hat trick as Scotland started World Cup 2018 qualifying in perfect fashion with a 5-1 win in Malta. Substitute Steven Fletcher and Chris Martin also got their names on the scoresheet as Alfred Effiong netted nine-man Malta's consolation. It put Gordon Strachan's team top of Group F ahead of England. Slovenia staged a late fightback to draw 2-2 at Lithuania. Denmark is setting the early pace in Group E after Christian Eriksen sealed a 1-0 win over Armenia. Poland threw away a two-goal lead, secured by Bartosz Kapustka and captain Robert Lewandowski, to draw 2-2 in Kazakhstan. Two quick goals in the second half from Sergei Khizhnichenko ensured Kazakhstan opened qualifying with a point. Romania was held to a 1-1 draw by Montenegro with Nicolae Stanciu missing the chance to win it for the hosts when he missed a penalty in the seventh minute of stoppage time. — Agncies
