Italy made it 35 games unbeaten to equal the European record run set by Spain but were ultimately disappointed as they were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Bulgaria in their World Cup Group C qualifier on Thursday.

In their first match since winning the European Championship in July, Federico Chiesa wasted no time in putting Italy ahead, arrowing home a fine finish with 16 minutes on the clock. Atanas Iliev struck an equaliser against the run of play five minutes before the break.

New Germany coach Hansi Flick got his reign off to a winning start as Timo Werner and Leroy Sane scored in a 2-0 win over Liechtenstein in their Group J qualifier.

Sweden recovered from a goal down to hand Spain their first World Cup qualifying defeat for 28 years with a shock 2-1 victory. Alexander Isak and Viktor Claesson produced sumptuous finishes to cancel out Carlos Soler’s early goal and move Sweden top of Group B.

Romelu Lukaku scored twice as Belgium overcame an early scare to crush Estonia 5-2 away and solidify their position at the top of Group E.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on Fifa on Friday to take action over what he described as “disgraceful” racist abuse aimed at England players by Hungary fans during the qualifier.

“It is completely unacceptable that England players were racially abused in Hungary last night,” he wrote on Twitter. England won the match 4-0.

Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto posted on Facebook a video of England fans booing the Italian national anthem at the Euro 2020 final in July.

Brazil win

Everton Ribeiro came off the bench to score the goal that gave Brazil a barely deserved 1-0 win over Chile.

Argentina extended their unbeaten run to 21 games with a comfortable 3-1 win over Venezuela in Caracas.

Lionel Messi started his first match since the final of the Copa America on July 10 and his flicks and jinks frequently ended with him being fouled as Venezuela struggled to contain him.