After over a year of matches across Europe, we have finally finished the road -- well almost all it since we still have the playoff round. N...
After over a year of matches across Europe, we have finally finished the road -- well almost all it since we still have the playoff round.
Nine teams -- Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Russia, Bosnia, England and Spain -- have claimed automatic berths for next summer's World Cup in Brazil and another four will join them after a playoff round of games in November.
Here's a recap of all the results from the final day of World Cup qualifying across Europe
Group A
Belgium 1-1 Wales
Aaron Ramsey late strike cancelled out Kevin De Bruyne’s opener to earn Wales a stunning point in their World Cup qualifier against Belgium on Tuesday night. Belgium didn't need to do anything on the final day of qualifying and it showed as they drew with Wales.
Scotland 2-0 Croatia
Croatia finished second and will be in the playoff round despite a poor showing against Scotland.
Serbia 5-1 Macedonia
Aleksander Kolarov was among the goal scorers as Serbia hammered last place Macedonia, securing a third placed finish in the group.
Group B
Italy 2-2 Armenia
A late Mario Balotelli goal earned Italy a draw against European minnows Armenia in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday evening.
Armenia, ranked 55th in the world, twice took the lead against the fourth-ranked Italians and came agonizingly close to pulling off a famous victory.
Bulgaria 0-1 Czech Republic
Borek Dockal's goal early in the second half ended Bulgaria's already slim hopes of qualifying for the playoff round.
Denmark 6-0 Malta
Daniel Agger scored a brace as Denmark belted Malta on the final day of qualifying, but it wasn't enough as despite finishing in second place and will have to go through via the playoffs.
Group C
Sweden 3-5 Germany
André Schürrle bagged a hat-trick as Germany recovered from a two-goal deficit to finish their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 5-3 win over Sweden.
Joachim Loew’s men had already secured first place in Group C and a spot in the World Cup, while Sweden had clinched a play-off berth by beating Austria in the previous round.
Mesut Özil and Mario Götze also scored for Germany while Sweden's Tobias Hysen scored two and Alexander Kacaniklic netted one.
Although Ozil who celebrated his birthday with a goal limped off with a knee injury towards the end, he should be fit to play on Saturday. Arsenal fans can breathe a sigh of relief! Both teams put on a display of clinical finishing but sloppy defending in Stockholm, with Germany controlling possession but looking vulnerable at the back.
Faroe Islands 0-3 Austria
Goals from Andreas Ivanschitz, Sebastian Prödl and David Alaba helped Austria end their campaign with a win finishing in 3rd place.
Republic of Ireland 3-1 Kazakhstan
Ireland overturned an early one goal deficit to earn a final day victory over Kazahkstan.
Group D
Turkey 0-2 Netherlands
Turkey fell out of second place and will not get a shot at going to Brazil in the playoff round after falling against the Dutch.
Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder struck at the start of either half to give the already qualified Oranje a 2-0 victory. Turkey needed to match or better Romania's victory against Estonia in order to clinch a playoff place. As a result, they'll watch next summer's World Cup on TV.
Romania 2-0 Estonia
Ciprian Marica was the hero for Romania as his brace not only gave his nation the victory over Estonia, it also secured Romania a place in the playoff round.
Hungary 2-0 Andorra
Two second-half goals, one from Nemanja Nikolic and an own-goal from Ildefonso Lima fired Hungary to a final day victory over Andorra. The win moves Hungary up to third in the group while Andorra finishes on the bottom.
Group E
Switzerland 1-0 Slovenia
Granit Xhaka's late goal helped the Swiss (who had already qualified for Brazil) finish their campaign on a positive note with a win. For Slovenia, they're left sitting in third place, one point behind Iceland for the playoff spot.
Norway 1-1 Iceland
Kolbeinn Sigthorsson put Iceland in front in the 12th minute and despite an equalizer in the 30th minute from Daniel Braathen, Iceland held on for the point. Thanks to Slovenia's loss against the Swiss, Iceland finished second in the group and will enter the playoff round.
Cyprus 0-0 Albania
The qualifying campaigns of both Cyprus and Albana came to a close with a drab scoreless draw.
Group F
Azerbaijan 1-1 Russia
Russia needed a point and got a point as they won Group F and booked their place in Brazil.
Portugal 3-0 Luxembourg
Portugal's convincing victory wasn't enough to get them ahead of Russia as they'll have to settle for a date in the playoff round. Team captain Cristiano Ronaldo missed out but wasn’t missed as Varela, Nani and Postiga secured the victory.
Israel 1-1 Northern Ireland
Steven Davis' late equalizer helped Northern Ireland earn a final day draw against Israel. Neither side had anything official to play for today.
Group G
Greece 2-0 Liechtenstein
Greece rolled past Liechtenstein behind goals from Dimitris Salpingidis and Giorgos Karagounis, but they still had to settle for second in the group and a spot in the playoff round.
Lithuania 0-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
For the first time since their formation in 1992, Bosnia have qualified for the World Cup thanks to a lone strike from Wolfsburg forward Vedad Ibisevic.
Latvia 2-2 Slovakia
Martin Jakubko and Kornel Salata gave Slovakia a two-goal lead at halftime, but Latvia stormed back in the second half thanks to goals from Velerijs Sabala and Renars Rode to earn a draw.
Group H
England 2-0 Poland
The Three Lions booked their place at the World Cup thanks to a 2-0 victory over Poland on a tense night at Wembley.
Roy Hodgson's men knew that only a victory would guarantee their ticket to Brazil and their attacking approach was rewarded in the 41st minute when Wayne Rooney guided a header past Wojciech Szczesny from Leighton Baines' left-wing cross.
Poland played their part in an open and exciting game and England had to withstand some anxious moments, before a fabulous solo goal from Captain Steven Gerrard after 88 minutes finally put the result beyond doubt and secured top spot in Group H ahead of Ukraine.
Montenegro 2-5 Moldova
Moldova scored five goals!
San Marino 0-8 Ukraine
Due to England's win, the best the Ukraine could do is secure a spot in the playoff round and they did just that with an emphatic thumping of lowly San Marino who finished the group without a point after conceding 57 goals!
Group I
France 3-0 Finland
Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery gave France an early lead as they sought to win their game and hope that Georgia could upset World Champions Spain.
Ribery’s effort was spectacular, cutting inside and unleashing a shot that flew in the corner of Finland’s goal. The French pushed to double their lead with Mathieu Valbuena and Olivier Giroud both going close.
France eventually made it two through an own goal. Joona Toivio was unfortunate to direct Giroud’s header into the net. Late substitute Karim Benzema add some panache to the result with a third just before the whistle.
France will have to qualify for the tournament in Brazil next summer through the play-offs after Spain beat Georgia.
Spain 2-0 Georgia
Spain needed a single point to secure their spot in Brazil, but they went ahead and just won anyway.
The world and European champions knew a victory would ensure their place in Brazil and they dominated from the off.
Jesus Navas saw an early effort cleared off the line, before Alvaro Negredo headed over after a fine Andres Iniesta cross.
Georgia struggled to cope with the home side’s attacking movement throughout the first half and Negredo opened the scoring in the 26th minute with a tidy close-range finish after another superb delivery from Iniesta.
The Manchester City star should have doubled his tally on the stroke of half-time, but could only smash his effort against the post with the goal gaping.
Spain continued to dominate at the beginning of the second half and made it 2-0 on 58 minutes.
Juan Mata, introduced for Pedro, latched onto a loose ball and fired home to ensure he and his team-mates will defend their title at the Samba showpiece next year.
Before you leave,if you have been enjoying my articles, Kindly take some seconds to vote for my blog for the OYAA awards. Voting will end very soon! Click Here. Thank you as you do so!
