ZURICH: The final matchday of the European qualifying campaign for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ saw group winners Bosnia-Herzegovina, England, Russia and Spain join already-qualified Belgium, Italy, Germany, Holland and Switzerland on the plane to Brazil.

The last four available places from the European Zone will be allocated to the teams that emerge victorious from play-offs between the eight runners-up with the best records, namely Croatia, France,Greece, Iceland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and Ukraine.

As the second-placed team with the ninth-best record, Denmark miss out altogether.

Seeding for the play-offs will be determined by teams’ placings in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, which will be unveiled in Zurich on Thursday at 10 am (CET).

Group A

Belgium 1-1 Wales

Scotland 2-0 Croatia

Serbia 5-1 FYR Macedonia

Having already secured their ticket for next year’s festivities, Belgium appeared to take their foot off the pedal somewhat against Wales, but nevertheless ensured that their unbeaten record remained intact.

Les Diables Rouges top the final standings by nine points, following Croatia’s disappointing defeat versus a rejuvenated Scotland.

The Croatians, who put in a listless performance on the night, were slightly fortunate to make the play-offs in the end, finishing just one point better off than the worst-placed runner-up, Denmark.

Group B

Italy 2-2 Armenia

Bulgaria 0-1 Czech Republic

Denmark 6-0 Malta

The Italians will be pleased to have remained unbeaten, but they were made to work hard by a surprisingly resilient Armenian side, who twice led before succumbing to a Mario Balotelli leveller 15 minutes from time.

Elsewhere, Denmark claimed second place in this closely contested pool, courtesy of a resounding victory over Malta. But once their two wins against the group’s weakest team – Malta – were discounted, the Danes were left with just ten points, which was not enough to book them a place in the play-offs.

Group C

Sweden 3-5 Germany

Faroe Islands 0-3 Austria

Republic of Ireland 3-1 Kazakhstan

Despite the top two places having already been decided in this section, the teams in question put in an impressive show on Tuesday. Following on from their spectacular 4-4 draw earlier in the campaign,Sweden, minus Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Germany produced another eight-goal thriller for the enthralled crowd in Solna.

Trailing 2-0 after 42 minutes, the Germans came back into the match through Mesut Ozil and Mario Gotze, before stretching ahead via an Andre Schurrle hat-trick. Consequently, Germany finish eight points ahead of the Swedes, who will now have to contend with the play-off round.

German captain Philipp Lahm played his 103rd international, pulling level with legendary Franz Beckenbauer in sixth place in his country’s all-time appearances chart, and is now just two caps behind Jurgen Kohler. However, the Bayern Munich full-back still has some way to go before he gets within touching distance of record-holder Lothar Matthaus (150 caps).

Group D

Turkey 0-2 Holland 

Hungary 2-0 Andorra

Romania 2-0 Estonia

Holland, who were the first team to earn their ticket for Brazil 2014, registered their ninth success in Turkey, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder doing the damage. During their campaign, the Dutch scored an average of 3.4 goals per match, for only 0.5 conceded.

The Turks’ loss allowed Romania, who overcame Estonia with a Ciprian Marica brace, to slip in and snatch the play-off slot with a total of 13 points, once their two defeats of Andorra were removed from the equation.

Group E

Switzerland 1-0 Slovenia

Norway 1-1 Iceland

Cyprus 0-0 Albania

With seven triumphs, three draws and a seven-point cushion over their nearest challengers,Switzerland can be proud of the way in which they cruised through Group E. Despite having nothing to play for against Slovenia, the Helvetians chalked up another win courtesy of a goal from Granit Xhaka.

Iceland, arguably the revelation of the entire qualifying campaign, picked up the point they required inNorway and guaranteed themselves a historic play-off spot in the process.

Group F

Azerbaijan 1-1 Russia

Portugal 3-0 Luxembourg

Israel 1-1 Northern Ireland

Russia qualified for Brazil, but made their supporters bite their nails in the dying seconds of their match with Azerbaijan. Following a first-half opener from Roman Shirokov, the Russians pressed without managing to build on their lead, before reducing their efforts as the final whistle approached.

Vagif Javadov had not read the script, however, and headed a Mahir Shukurov cross into the net in the last minute for an unlikely Azerbaijani equaliser, much to Fabio Capello’s displeasure.

Second-placed Portugal, meanwhile, shrugged off the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo to see offLuxembourg 3-0, Silvestre Varela, Nani and Helder Postiga getting the goals.

Group G

Lithuania 0-1 Bosnia-Herzegovina

Greece 2-0 Liechtenstein

Latvia 2-2 Slovakia

For around an hour, the Greeks were mathematically qualified, Dimitrios Salpingidis’ early goal having placed severe pressure on the shoulders of the Bosnians, who were having great trouble breaking down Lithuania’s stubborn defence.

Finally, halfway through the second period, Edin Dzeko and Vedad Ibisevic combined to open the scoring and instantly provide relief to the long-suffering fans watching back home.

The Bosnians and Greeks finished on the same number of points, but as the former’s goal difference was three times better than that of their rivals, it is the Balkan side who advance to the World Cup for the first time in their history. Greece will now have to find their way there via the play-offs.

Group H

England 2-0 Poland 

San Marino 0-8 Ukraine

Montenegro 2-5 Moldova

Ukraine acquired the result they needed in San Marino, but England’s win at Wembley consigns them to the play-offs.

Steven Gerrard and his team-mates created numerous chances, but struggled to find a way past an on-song Wojciech Szczesny. The Three Lions dominated possession, but continually left themselves open to threatening counter-attacks that tested the handling skills of Joe Hart.

It was Wayne Rooney who finally made the difference, burying a powerful header just before the break. There was no let-up in the intensity of the encounter in the second half, as England recorded no fewer than 27 shots on goal, but they had to wait until the 88th minute to seal the points, Gerrard setting a captain’s example by racing through and poking the ball into the net.

Group I

Spain 2-0 Georgia

France 3-0 Finland

France continued their fine run by beating Finland comfortably in Paris, but will still have to negotiate the play-offs if they wish to perform on South American soil next summer.

World Champions Spain did what was required of them, winning the group and conserving their unbeaten record by defeating Georgia via goals from Alvaro Negredo and Juan Mata.

 FIFA.com

 

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