- Uruguay, Argentina and Colombia qualify for Russia
- Peru earn play-off spot as they chase first World Cup berth since 1982
- Chile and Paraguay miss out on final day
Peru’s hopes of ending their 36-year absence from the World Cup remain alive after they edged into fifth to earn a winner-takes-all two-legged intercontinental play-off against New Zealand.
With five matches played concurrently, the permutations changed on several occasions but ultimately it was Chile and Paraguay who were left heartbroken.
Uruguay opened the day in second and maintained that position with a 4-2 home win over Bolivia.
Argentina jumped into third with a 3-1 victory in Ecuador, though it took all of Lionel Messi’s remarkable powers to help the two-time world champions get over the line. Messi netted a superb hat-trick after Ecuador scored in the opening minute.
Colombia held onto the fourth and the final automatic spot thanks to a nailbiting 1-1 draw in Peru. The home side managed an equaliser with 16 minutes remaining to guarantee fifth place.
Chile’s 3-0 loss in Brazil meant the South American champions miss out on Russia due to goal difference.Paraguay stumbled to a 1-0 home loss against Venezuela, in a match where a win would have been enough to edge Peru out of the play-off.
Portugal leapfrog Switzerland, France qualify
Group winners with an automatic place at Russia 2018
France, Portugal, Germany, Serbia, Poland, England, Spain, Belgium, Iceland
Group runners-up qualified for the play-offs (to be played over home and away legs in November 2017 to determine four additional World Cup places)
Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Croatia, Sweden, Greece, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland
Excluded from the play-offs as the lowest-ranked runner-up
Match of the day
Portugal 2-0 Switzerland
It was always going to be an evening of disappointment for one of the two teams. Either the reigning European champions would fail to secure an automatic place at the World Cup, or the team that had recorded nine consecutive victories would lose out. Ultimately, that was to be Switzerland's fate: despite earning 27 points in their best-ever qualifying campaign they nevertheless failed to cement an automatic World Cup spot. Just before the break and with the game under control, Johan Djourou scored an own goal to hand the lead to Portugal – who needed to win at all costs. Switzerland struggled to create any clear-cut chances in the second half, while at the other end Portugal's Andre Silva finished off a good move in the 57th minute to decide the game.
Elsewhere
Group A
France 2-1 Belarus
Netherlands 2-0 Sweden
Luxembourg 1-1 Bulgaria
Sweden's options were clear going into their match with the Netherlands: they either needed to better France's result against Belarus in order to finish top, or lose by no more than six goals to stay in second place. France may have had a harder time than expected in their 2-1 home triumph, but as Sweden were 2-0 down before half-time in Amsterdam there was never any real cause for concern for the French.
Luxembourg looked to be on course for victory for a long time at home to Bulgaria after Olivier Thill's third-minute goal, but Ivaylo Chochev's equaliser (68') ensured each side took a share of the spoils.
Group B
Portugal 2-0 Switzerland
Hungary 1-0 Faroe Islands
Latvia 4-0 Andorra
With Portugal and Switzerland going head-to-head for the top two places in Lisbon, the group's other matches obviously slipped into the background. Latvia's comfortable win at home to Andorra helped put some distance between the two sides as they finished in fifth place. Hungary were forced to work long and hard for their 1-0 victory over Faroe Islands, needing an 81st-minute goal from half-time substitute Daniel Bode to secure the points.
Group H
Greece 4-0 Gibraltar
Estonia 1-2 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Belgium 4-0 Cyprus
Belgium became the first European team to qualify for next year's World Cup a few weeks ago and were able to round off their campaign with a home win over Cyprus in which Eden Hazard scored twice. Their final goal haul of 43 equalled the European qualifying record set by Germany on Sunday.
There was even an injection of excitement in the race for second place. While Greece were widely expected to beat Gibraltar at home and seal the runners-up spot, they needed half an hour to make the breakthrough in Piraeus thanks to Vasileios Torosidis' strike. And it was not until after the hour mark that the hosts settled the matter with a brace from Konstantinos Mitroglou (61', 63'). That rendered Izet Hajrovic's double (48', 84') in Bosnia and Herzegovina's win in Estonia of little consequence.
Player of the dayArjen Robben (Netherlands) "It's not possible to get such a big win over Sweden," said Arjen Robben prior to kick-off. The Oranje needed to beat the Scandinavians by a seven-goal margin to snatch second place from their opponents. With a penalty and another goal before the break, Robben certainly played his part in their endeavours. While he paved the way for a 2-0 victory over Jan Andersson's side, it was ultimately not enough. After the match Robben announced his retirement from international football, having scored 37 goals in 96 appearances for the Oranje.Group A
France 2-1 Belarus
Netherlands 2-0 Sweden
Luxembourg 1-1 Bulgaria
Sweden's options were clear going into their match with the Netherlands: they either needed to better France's result against Belarus in order to finish top, or lose by no more than six goals to stay in second place. France may have had a harder time than expected in their 2-1 home triumph, but as Sweden were 2-0 down before half-time in Amsterdam there was never any real cause for concern for the French.
Luxembourg looked to be on course for victory for a long time at home to Bulgaria after Olivier Thill's third-minute goal, but Ivaylo Chochev's equaliser (68') ensured each side took a share of the spoils.
Group B
Portugal 2-0 Switzerland
Hungary 1-0 Faroe Islands
Latvia 4-0 Andorra
With Portugal and Switzerland going head-to-head for the top two places in Lisbon, the group's other matches obviously slipped into the background. Latvia's comfortable win at home to Andorra helped put some distance between the two sides as they finished in fifth place. Hungary were forced to work long and hard for their 1-0 victory over Faroe Islands, needing an 81st-minute goal from half-time substitute Daniel Bode to secure the points.
Group H
Greece 4-0 Gibraltar
Estonia 1-2 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Belgium 4-0 Cyprus
Belgium became the first European team to qualify for next year's World Cup a few weeks ago and were able to round off their campaign with a home win over Cyprus in which Eden Hazard scored twice. Their final goal haul of 43 equalled the European qualifying record set by Germany on Sunday.
There was even an injection of excitement in the race for second place. While Greece were widely expected to beat Gibraltar at home and seal the runners-up spot, they needed half an hour to make the breakthrough in Piraeus thanks to Vasileios Torosidis' strike. And it was not until after the hour mark that the hosts settled the matter with a brace from Konstantinos Mitroglou (61', 63'). That rendered Izet Hajrovic's double (48', 84') in Bosnia and Herzegovina's win in Estonia of little consequence.
Cahill the hero as Socceroos see off Syria
- Australia beat Syria 2-1 after extra-time in AFC Play-off
- Tim Cahill scores two headers to move to 50 international goals
- Socceroos qualify for Intercontinental Play-off
The goals in Sydney were the Socceroos captain and all-time leading scorer’s 49th and 50th for his country and set up an Intercontinental Play-off against the fourth-placed team in the CONCACAF Zone.
Australia squeezed through the hard way though, coming from behind and enduring some tense and difficult moments despite dominating much of this epic AFC play-off.
They were behind inside six minutes, in fact, when a stray Mark Milligan pass in midfield set up a Syrian counter-attack. The visitors grasped their opportunity to strike, with Tamer Mohamd sprinting through the heart of the Aussie defence and feeding Omar Al Soma for a left-foot shot that sailed high into the net.
Australia weren’t behind for long, though, and it was no surprise that Cahill was the man to haul them level. It was a superb equaliser too, with the veteran forward heading powerfully home at the end of a slick move on the right wing capped by a glorious Mathew Leckie cross.
From that moment onwards, the game was a tale of complete domination by Australia, who monopolised possession without always being able to find a way through the packed and well-organised Syrian defence. The Socceroos continued to struggle even after Mahmoud Al Mawas was sent off for a second bookable offence following a rash challenge on Robbie Kruse.
It took until extra time for a winner to be found and, again, it was that man Cahill. The Aussie hero completed his half-century of international goals with yet another header, showing off his famous leap to direct home a looping Kruse cross.
Australia will now wait to discover who they will face in that Intercontinental Play-off, with their opponents set to be decided by this evening’s CONCACAF qualifying fixtures. The Aussies will face the fourth-placed side in the 'Hex', with USA, Panama or Honduras all potential opponents for them next month.
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