Russian ticket for Spain
Serbia made to wait after losing qualifier 2-3 against Austria
Paris, Oct. 7: Heavyweights Spain qualified for the 2018 World Cup with a routine 3-0 home win over Albania, but Serbia must wait to seal to their place following a 2-3 loss in Austria.
Rodrigo, Isco and Thiago Alcantara all scored inside the first 30 minutes in Alicante as the 2010 world champions locked up top spot in Group G as Italy were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw by Macedonia in Turin.
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique was greeted with a mixture of jeers and applause on his 92nd international appearance just days after voting in a referendum on Catalan independence deemed illegal by the Spanish government and blighted by police violence.
“We had to concentrate solely on football,” coach Julen Lopetegui told Spanish TV station Teledeporte.
“It has been a difficult, complicated week and fortunately we managed to do that in a very, very good first 30 minutes.”
Serbia missed out on a chance to wrap up qualification from Group ‘D’ with a match to spare as Louis Schaub struck a minute from time to give Austria victory in Vienna.
Serbia, who could have sealed a spot in Russia with victory, led through an early Luka Milivojevic goal but fell behind as Austria replied through efforts from Guido Burgstaller and Marko Arnautovic.
Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic had levelled on 83 minutes before Schaub’s winner, but Serbia can still advance by defeating Georgia in their final qualifier in Belgrade on Monday.
Tom Lawrence scored his first international goal to earn Wales a vital 1-0 victory in Georgia and keep them firmly in the hunt to seal a final berth
The Derby County forward rifled in the winner four minutes after halftime in Tbilisi as Chris Coleman’s team stayed a point clear of third-placed Republic of Ireland.
The Irish squad brushed Moldova aside with a dominant 2-0 goals in Dublin through a firsthalf brace from Daryl Murphy.
Ireland will now face Wales at home in a final-round showdown with first place in the group still in play
Meanwhile, Iceland took a huge step towards a maiden World Cup appearance with an impressive 3-0 win over Turkey