It's not coming home

Borussia Dortmund teenager Christian Pulisic scored twice as the United States thrashed Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 6-0 on Friday to edge closer to a place in the final round of CONCACAF qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup.

A first-half flurry of goals from Bobby Wood, Matt Besler and Jozy Altidore effectively sealed a straightforward victory for Jurgen Klinsmann's side against the Caribbean minnows.

Rising star Pulisic added a fourth for the USA in the 71st minute shortly after coming on as a second-half substitute.

Pulisic, 17, then laid on the fifth for another substitute, Sacha Kljestan, in the 78th minute.

Pulisic completed the scoring with a confident finish in injury time to make it 6-0.

The win left the United States within touching distance of the "Hexagonal" final round of qualifiers.

Klinsmann's men would have been assured of qualification if Trinidad & Tobago had beaten Guatemala in the day's other Group C game.

However two goals from Carlos Ruiz -- including an 87th-minute equalizer -- secured a 2-2 draw for Guatemala in Port of Spain against the "Soca Warriors."

The result means the USA need a point in their final group game against Trinidad in Jacksonville, Florida on Tuesday to be certain of progressing to the later rounds.

The first goal came when Wood curled in a shot from the edge of the area on 28 minutes after good work from Altidore and Fabian Johnson.

Besler had celebrated the birth of his baby daughter just hours before kick-off, then marked the occasion with his first international goal on 32 minutes. 

With Manuel Neuer confirmed as his new captain, Joachim Loew plans to blood Germany's next generation as part of his team's preparations to defend their World Cup title in Russia.

Germany's journey to the 2018 finals starts on Sunday at Oslo's Ullevaal Stadium in their opening qualifier against Norway.

Since winning the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, head coach Loew has lost five experienced veterans, each of whom made more than 100 appearances for Germany.

Philipp Lahm, Miroslav Klose, Per Mertesacker, Lukas Podolski and now Bastian Schweinsteiger, who bowed out in Wednesday's 2-0 friendly win over Finland, have all retired from international football.

With them went the collective experience of 604 caps and 152 goals.

But Germany's next crop of talent is knocking at the door.

Loew has said they will get their chance on the road to Russia, in forthcoming qualifiers and friendlies, plus next June's Confederations Cup, against the likes of Portugal, Mexico, Chile, Australia, New Zealand and hosts Russia.

Hoffenheim defender Niklas Suele made his debut against Finland while Schalke 04's Max Meyer and Bayer Leverkusen's Julian Brandt also started in Moenchengladbach.

All three are still only 20.

"They did well. You could see that we were taking a look at the future," Loew said following the Finland win.

"It was either their first game, or one of their first, and we'll be using games like that to give the players experience.

"That's how I'll most likely use the Confed Cup.

"I want to increase the prospects of the younger players. From now on, the door is wide open."

For now, Loew will take no risks with the starting line-up in Oslo, but Meyer and 21-year-old Bayern Munich defender Joshua Kimmich are expected to feature.

A 2-0 defeat away to Poland in October 2014 meant Germany lost their opening Euro 2016 qualifier.

Loew will want no repeat against Norway, who lost their warm-up friendly 1-0 to Belarus in Oslo on Wednesday.

"We will field a strong team. And we will win," he insisted.

Home qualifiers against Czech Republic and Northern Ireland, a friendly away to Italy and a trip to minnows San Marino will follow in October and November. 

The World Cup has entered the final straight with just three matches still to be played -- and that means we're one step closer to discovering who will be crowned our predictions king.

This campaign marks the first time England have reached a semi-final in the tournament since 1990. Croatia, meanwhile have made the World Cup knockout rounds for the first time since 1998.

England and Croatia meet today at 12:00 a.m. in Bangladesh time in the 2018 World Cup semifinals at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow.

Let’s look at some of the statistics ahead of the thrilling encounter.

Head-to-head

They have have met once before at a major tournament - England won 4-2 in a group stage match at Euro 2004.

This will be their eighth meeting overall; England have won four times, Croatia twice, with one draw.

Croatia's last victory against England was the infamous "Wally with the Brolly" match which Croatia won 3-2 at Wembley in November 2007 to end England's hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008.

Six of the previous seven games have also been played on a Wednesday.

Croatia

Croatia are playing in their second World Cup semi-final after a last four appearance on their debut in the tournament in 1998.

They reached the semi-finals via a penalty shootout victory in the last 16 against Denmark and the quarter-final against Russia. The only other team to win two shootouts in a single World Cup were Argentina in 1990 (against Yugoslavia and Italy).

Their only defeat in six World Cup knockout matches was against France in the 1998 semi-final.

That is Croatia's only defeat in eight World Cup matches against European opposition (W5, D2).

Only three of the 10 goals they have scored have been via set-pieces - the others have all been from open play.

However, three out of the four goals that they have conceded have been from set-pieces.

They are unbeaten in their last nine competitive games since losing 1-0 to Turkey in September 2017.

The Croats have had eight different scorers at this World Cup; only Belgium with nine have had more.

England

This is England's third World Cup semi-final following their 2-1 win over Portugal in 1966 and their penalty shootout defeat to West Germany in 1990.

The Three Lions have lost their last three semi-finals at major tournaments (Euro 96 v Germany, 1990 World Cup v West Germany and Euro 68 v Yugoslavia).

England's current haul of 11 goals has equalled their highest total at a World Cup, set in 1966.

After losing three consecutive World Cup games, England have lost just one of their last six (W3, D2).

England have not beaten two European nations in a single World Cup since 1982, when they beat Czechoslovakia and France.

They have lost just two of their last 30 competitive matches (W22, D6) since losing their first two matches at the 2014 World Cup.

Eight of England's 11 goals have been scored via set-pieces - the most in a single World Cup since Portugal in 1966.

Four of their goals have come via corners. The last three teams to score four or more goals from corners at a World Cup have gone on to win it - Germany in 2014, Italy in 2006 and France in 1998.

England's tally of five different scorers is their joint-most in a tournament along with 1954, 1998 and 2002.

Harry Kane is the World Cup's top scorer with six goals. At the previous nine World Cups, only Ronaldo (eight for Brazil in 2002) has scored more. No European player has scored seven goals at a single World Cup since Poland's Grzegorz Lato got seven in 1974, while no European player has scored eight since Gerd Muller hit 10 for West Germany in 1970.

Lady Luck plays a small but significant role in a World Cup that runs over a month.

Performance is of course the most important factor that brings the trophy. But then again, there are small things that at times draw the thin line between winners and losers on some days. The god of small things is Lady Luck, which may swing this way or the other in any of the seven matches, on any of the seven days that a team turns up to lift the coveted cup.

The best of teams may not win a World Cup if they are not a little bit lucky from tournament's first fixture to the final.

A deflected goal. Ball hitting the post and staying out. A player's slip-up at a crucial moment. A key player sidelined for unnecessary bookings. A misdirected spot kick from the unlikeliest footballer. A wrong pass to the opponent inside the box. A player not in the right place at the right time.

This World Cup in Russia has been witness to all these small things in one match or the other. At least one or two of the favourites -- Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Spain or Portugal -- that went home early would have played in the final had they been a little lucky.

Remember the curling free-kick of Messi that barely touched the fingers of the France goalkeeper to stay out, the deflected own goal of Brazil's Fernandinho, the injury of Edinson Cavani in Uruguay's match against France or the perfect dummy of Romelu Lukaku in the last minute that edged Japan out.

However, it's not because of luck alone that France and Croatia moved to the final out of the 32 teams in the tournament. Both teams are gifted with depth and talent. Rival coaches have also showed good tactics as well.

If France and Croatia fail to write their fate, the god of small things will for sure.

The writer is former sports editor of The Daily Star

Defender Vincent Kompany will require a scan to determine if he can play in the World Cup in Russia after injuring his groin during Belgium's goalless draw with Portugal in a friendly on Saturday.

The 32-year-old Kompany, a key part of Belgium's defence, abruptly left the pitch in the 55th minute of the match after appearing to hurt himself when lunging for the ball.

"You could feel that when he came off we were all very much worried," coach Roberto Martinez told a news conference, adding that it would probably take 48 hours to determine how serious the injury was.

"He said he felt discomfort in his groin when he walked off the pitch. He's not a young player, he knows his body. At that point it was the right time to come off," Martinez added.

The injury was the key talking point after Belgium's 0-0 draw with Portugal as both sides showed attacking intent but no killer blow less than two weeks before the World Cup begins.

Both Belgium and the European champions had promising phases, with Portugal's Bernardo Silva in particular creating chances at the end of the first half.

Belgium's best chance fell to defender Jan Vertonghen, earning his 100th cap, as he forced goalkeeper Beto into an acrobatic save midway through the second period.

Belgium began with their strongest possible 11, apart from the injured Axel Witsel and Thomas Vermaelen, and a trial three-man defence.

Portugal coach Fernando Santos made six changes from the team that started Monday's 2-2 draw with Tunisia and were again without Cristiano Ronaldo, still resting after last weekend's Champions League final. Striker Andre Silva started on the bench, giving 21-year-old Goncalo Guedes the chance to shine in attack.

Santos expressed satisfaction after the match, saying his team had done well to keep a clean sheet against a team that set a joint record of goals in qualifying for the World Cup.

The hosts made five second-half changes to try out some of their fringe players before Martinez cuts his 28-man squad to 23 on Monday.

"I cannot be fully satisfied because of Vincent Kompany's injury but apart from that it was the test we needed," he said, adding that Vermaelen at least appeared to be returning to fitness.

Portugal host Algeria on June 7 before their World Cup opener on June 15 against Spain in a group also featuring Morocco and Iran.

Belgium will play further friendlies against Egypt on June 6 and Costa Rica on June 11. They open their World Cup campaign on June 18 against Panama, before also facing England and Tunisia in Group G.