More than a year ago, UEFA began the process of deciding which teams would qualify for the 2014 World Cup and which would face an additional playoff game to earn a place. After Friday’s matches, we’re left with just one match day left on Tuesday for the process to finally be complete.
UEFA World Cup 2014 qualifying: Multiple teams clinch spots for Brazil with one round left
Several teams claimed automatic qualifying spots for next summer’s World Cup while others secured spots in the playoff round.
While several groups have already been wrapped up, there’s still going to be some interesting games next week, as several playoff spots will be up for grabs. Lets take a look at all of Friday’s results across Europe.
Group A
Belgium booked a place in the World Cup thanks to Romelu Lukaku’s first-half brace.
Wales 1-0 Macedonia
Wales escaped the bottom of Group A thanks to Simon Church's goal midway through the second half. Aaron Ramsey missed a penalty in stoppage time that would have doubled the lead, but it ultimately didn't matter.
Group B
Armenia 2-1 Bulgaria
Bulgaria's loss against Armenia opened the door for Denmark to jump over them into Group B's playoff spot. Since the Danes are playing Italy, there are good odds Bulgaria will remain in second, but it at the very least sets up an interesting final match day on Tuesday. Two Bulgarian players were shown red cards in the match, but Armenia still needed an 87th minute winner from Yura Movsisyan to secure the victory. The win also gives Armenia an outside shot of moving into second, as well.
Malta 1-4 Czech Republic
The Czechs hammered Malta behind goals Tomás Hubschman, David Lafata, Václav Kadlec and Tomas Pekhart, but it hardly matters as both sides have already been eliminated from qualification contention.
Denmark 2-2 Italy
Italy overcame a brace from Nicklas Bendtner thanks to a stoppage time goal from Alberto Aquilani to earn a draw against the Danes.
Group C
Faroe Islands 1-1 Kazakhstan
The two bottom teams in Group C shared a point as the Faroe Islands earned their first point of qualifying.
Germany will be traveling to Brazil next summer after a painless 3-0 defeat of Ireland.
Sweden needed a late goal from Zlatan Ibrahimovic to defeat Austria. The win clinches second place and a spot in the playoff round for the Swedes.
Group D
Andorra 0-4 Romania
Romania stayed in the hunt for a playoff spot thanks to a big win over Andorra. They’re even on points with second-place Turkey and could move past them on the final match day if they can earn a better result than Turkey.
Estonia 0-2 Turkey
Umut Bulut and Burak Yilmaz fired Turkey into second place in the group going into the final match day on Tuesday.Turkey, who are ahead of Romania on goal differential, will have their work cut out for them as they face the Netherlands, while Romania plays Estonia.
Netherlands 8-1 Hungary
Despite the absolutely ridiculous scoreline that knocked them out of second place, Hungary still have a chance to claim a playoff spot on the final day. They’ll need to defeat Andorra and hope the Dutch can take care of Turkey and that Estonia defeats Romania.
Group E
Albania 1-2 Switzerland
Switzerland took care of Albania behind goals from Xherdan Shaqiri and Michael Lang and clinched their spot in next summer's World Cup.
Iceland 2-0 Cyprus
Iceland stayed one point in front of Slovenia for second place in Group E with their victory over Cyprus. They’ll need only to match or better Slovenia’s result of the final match to claim a spot in the playoffs.
Slovenia simultaneously kept their hopes of playoff qualification alive and severely damaged Norway’s hopes with a 3-0 win over the Norwegians.
Group F
Azerbaijan 2-0 Northern Ireland
Rufat Dadaşov first half goal gave Azerbaijan a lead they would not relinquish as they defeated Northern Ireland. Mahir Shukurov added a second five minutes into stoppage time on a free kick setup by a Jonathan Evans foul that earned him a second yellow card and a sending off.
Luxembourg 0-4 Russia
Russia needed a win to stay ahead of Portugal in Group F, and they got just that on Friday.
Portugal 1-1 Israel
Portugal’s chances of qualifying directly for the World Cup evaporated when Rui Patricio gave away a goal to Israel late in the second half.
Group G
Lithuania 2-0 Latvia
Fedor Chernykh and Saulius Mikoliunas scored to give Lithuania the victory over Latvia. Neither side has a chance of earning either an automatic spot or a place in a playoff game.
Bosnia-Herzegovina 4-1 Liechtenstein
Bosnia-Herzegovina stayed ahead of Greece at the top of the group on goal differential thanks to a big win over Liechtenstein. They’ll just need to match Greece’s result on Tuesday to claim an automatic spot in next summer’s World Cup.
Greece weren't particularly impressive on Friday against Slovakia, riding an own-goal from Martin Skrtel to victory. The results keeps Greece tied on points with Bosnia-Herzegovina, but they remain well behind on goal differential. If they can get a better result on Tuesday, they can avoid the playoff round.
Group H
Moldova 3-0 San Marino
A second half surge propelled Moldova past San Marino, as Viorel Frunza scored and was followed by a brace from Eugen Sidorenco.
Ukraine 1-0 Poland
Andriy Yarmolenko's 64th minute goal was enough for the Ukraine to earn three points against Poland. Despite the win, Ukraine remains in second thanks to England's win over Montenegro though that result does help Ukraine all but claim second place in the group.
England 4-1 Montenegro
Montenegro were in the match at halftime, but fell apart in the second half as England pulled away behind goals from Wayne Rooney, Andros Townsend and Daniel Sturridge.
Group I
Spain 2-1 Belarus
It wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done for La Roja. They’re still in good position to qualify directly for the World Cup.
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