Rasmus Hojlund fired Manchester United to a late 2-1 win at Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on Thursday, while Tottenham were held to a stalemate at Rangers.

Ruben Amorim’s United side came from behind to best the Czech side thanks to a second-half brace by Danish striker Hojlund, they now sit seventh in the league phase standings.

“The win is important at the moment and it’s good to prepare for the next game,” United manager Amorim told TNT Sports.

A top-eight finish will see United qualify automatically for the round of 16, while finishing ninth to 24th will earn them a play-off tie to reach that stage.

Matej Vydra opened the scoring three minutes after half-time to stun United, before substitute Hojlund scored twice in the last half-hour to seize a vital three points for the English club.

The winner came two minutes from time when Bruno Fernandes cleverly slipped a free-kick into the 21-year-old’s feet and he held off a defender before slipping home.

Elsewhere in the Europa League, Spurs drew 1-1 with Rangers in Glasgow.

The hosts sit in the final automatic qualification spot with Spurs one place below them, but both level on 11 points.

“We took the challenge with both hands, grabbed it and showed what we wanted them to show,” said Rangers manager Philippe Clement.

“We deserved to win the game, but I think it was a very good advertisement for Scottish football to compete with a Premier League team at full strength.”

A draw somewhat eases the pressure on Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou, after his side went into the match with just one win in their last seven outings in all competitions.

Rangers took the lead two minutes after the interval when Moroccan striker Hamza Igamane continued his fine start to life in Glasgow by netting his fourth goal in as many European outings this season.

Captain James Tavernier bent an excellent inswinging pass from the right flank beyond the Spurs defence and into the path of Igamane who finished unerringly at the far post.

Substitutes Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski combined to bring the English side level with a quarter of an hour remaining, the Swede wrong-footing the goalkeeper with a cool finish from just inside the box.

Fraser Forster made a vital save from Cyriel Dessers to keep Spurs level in the last 10 minutes, and moments later the Rangers striker had a goal disallowed for offside.

“(It was) a great save by Fraser at the end. It’s an important point,” said Postecoglou.

Lazio top the standings with 16 points — joint with Athletic Bilbao — after beating Ajax 3-1 in Amsterdam to book their spot in the knock-out stages.

Lyon beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 to move up to fourth — one place above the in-form Bundesliga club.

Anderlecht overcame Slavia Prague 2-1 in the Czech capital to jump to third in the standings.

‘SOLID PERFORMANCE’

A much-changed Chelsea side beat Astana 3-1 in the Conference League to guarantee a top-eight finish in the league phase — ensuring automatic qualification to the round of 16.

“It was a solid performance. We knew it was quite cold. We tried to adapt quickly. The players did fantastically with the weather conditions and the long journey yesterday,” said Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca.

Chelsea sit top of the standings on 15 points after five matches, two ahead of Vitoria Guimaraes who won 4-1 at Swiss side St Gallen.

Chelsea wrapped up the points in the first half through goals from Marc Guiu and Renato Veiga.

Marin Tomasov pulled one back for the hosts on the stroke of half-time but Maresca’s side rarely looked troubled in the second half as they closed out the win.

Spanish teenager Guiu gave Chelsea the perfect start by netting a brace inside the opening 20 minutes, bringing his tally in Europe to three goals in five appearances this season.

Last season’s defeated finalists Fiorentina won 7-0 at home to Austria’s LASK Linz as they ensured progression to the knockout stages.

South America will become the second continent after Europe to hold a qualifying tournament for the women’s football World Cup, after governing body CONMEBOL announced plans for a competition starting next year.

Continental championships have traditionally served as qualifiers for the Women’s World Cup, except in Europe, where UEFA stages a separate qualifying tournament.

“The new competition will be played between 2025 and 2026, and will provide two direct berths and two play-off berths, in addition to the one already occupied by Brazil, the host team for the next World Cup,” CONMEBOL said in a statement on Thursday.

The first edition of the tournament will see nine teams compete in a round robin format, with each team playing four matches at home and four away.

The two teams that top the table will qualify directly for the Women’s World Cup, while the third and fourth teams will go into FIFA’s intercontinental play-offs.

The next edition of the Women’s World Cup is set to kick off on June 24, 2027, with the final scheduled for July 25.

Saudi Arabia will host the men’s soccer World Cup in 2034 while the 2030 edition will be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with one-off matches in three South American countries, world soccer’s governing body FIFA said on Wednesday (Dec 11).

The decision was announced by FIFA President Gianni Infantino following a virtual extraordinary Congress. The 2030 and 2034 World Cups each had only a single bid and both were confirmed by acclamation.

“We are bringing football to more countries and the number of teams has not diluted the quality. It actually enhanced the opportunity,” Infantino said about the 2030 World Cup.

“What better way to celebrate the 100th anniversary in 2030 than to have the World Cup in six countries, in three continents, with 48 teams and 104 epic matches. The world will stand still and will celebrate the 100 years of the World Cup.

“Congratulations to all the bidders for putting up a great dossier, but I would like to put on record my big, big thank you to the six confederation presidents and to their teams,” he added.

The combined proposal from Morocco, Spain, and Portugal will see the 2030 World Cup take place across three continents and six nations, with Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay hosting celebratory games to mark the tournament’s centenary.

Uruguay held the first World Cup in 1930, while Argentina and Spain have also staged the tournament. Portugal, Paraguay and Morocco will all be first-time hosts.

Four years later, Saudi Arabia will become the second nation from the Middle East to host the quadrennial tournament, 12 years after neighbours Qatar staged the 2022 edition.

In 2023, FIFA said the 2034 World Cup would be held in the Asia or Oceania region, with the Asian Football Confederation throwing its support behind the Saudi bid.

Australia and Indonesia had also been in talks over a joint bid, but dropped out.

FIFA announced that both bids would be uncontested in 2023, leaving little room for doubt.

On Tuesday, the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) said it would vote against the awarding of hosting rights by acclamation and criticised FIFA’s bidding process, saying it was “flawed and inconsistent”.

CRITICISM

Both bids have come under fire.

The decision to host the 2030 World Cup across three continents has been panned by climate activists because of the increased emissions from the extra travel required.

FIFA has said it will take measures to “mitigate the environmental impact”.

The 2034 bid by Saudi Arabia has been criticised because of the country’s human rights record and desert climate, much in the same way as the Qatar World Cup.

The Saudi climate will likely force FIFA to hold the tournament in the Northern Hemisphere winter, just like it did in Qatar.

A World Cup in Saudi Arabia will also spark debate about the Kingdom’s record on human rights and lead to accusations of “sportswashing”.

Amnesty International and the Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) last month urged FIFA to halt the process to pick Saudi Arabia as hosts unless it announces major reforms before the vote.

The Kingdom has invested heavily in sport over the last few years, although critics, including women’s rights groups and members of the LGBTQ community, allege it is using its Public Investment Fund to sportswash its human rights record.

Following the confirmation of Saudi Arabia as hosts of the 2034 World Cup, 21 organizations including the Amnesty, Saudi diaspora human rights organizations, migrant workers’ groups from Nepal and Kenya and international trade unions, published a joint statement condemning the move.

“FIFA’s reckless decision to award the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia without ensuring adequate human rights protections are in place will put many lives at risk,” Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Head of Labour Rights and Sport, said in the statement on Wednesday.

The country denies accusations of human rights abuses and says it protects its national security through its laws.

Saudi Arabia, which has never hosted a tournament of this magnitude, will have to construct eight stadiums that will be used for the event.

“We look forward to hosting an exceptional and unprecedented edition of the FIFA World Cup by harnessing our strengths and capabilities to bring joy to football fans around the world,” Prince Mohammed bin Salman said.

Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, the Minister of Sports, said it was a historic moment for Saudi Arabia.

“The Kingdom is on a remarkable journey of transformation under Vision 2030 and today is another huge step forward that reflects and celebrates our progress while looking ahead to an even brighter future,” he said in a statement.