WCQ 2010: In and Out at Europe final qualifying match round-up

Portugal got the win they needed to confirm a place in the play-offs, while Sweden and Hungary also posted victories.

Portugal beat minnows Malta after Manchester United ace Nani hit a 16th minute screamer into the top corner, before Simao added a second on the stroke of half-time.

Third-placed Sweden finished an agonizing point behind the Portuguese following a 4-1 home victory over Albania. Hungary finished three points behind the Portuguese in fourth after a 1-0 victory against group winners Denmark.

Switzerland grabbed the point they needed against Israel to secure their place at the World Cup finals.

The Swiss were three points ahead of Greece going into the final game of their Group 2 campaign.

Greece have to make do with a play-off spot as they secured second-place with a 2-1 win over Luxembourg in Athens. Israel’s draw meant Latvia were given the chance to finish third and they made no mistake with a 3-2 win against Moldova.

Slovakia booked a place in the World Cup finals for the first time after sealing a 1-0 win in Poland.

The Slovaks needed to get something from the match in Chorzow in order to fend off Slovenia’s challenge.

Slovenia could have snatched top spot if Slovakia had slipped up in Poland, as they beat San Marino 3-0.

Group Four winners Germany claimed a last-gasp home draw with Finland, while Russia were held in Azerbaijan.

Germany boss Joachim Low had Lukas Podolski to thank after the striker scored a late leveller against Finland.

Meanwhile, second-placed Russia were held to a 1-1 draw in Azerbaijan. Wales finished their qualification campaign on a high after beating Liechtenstein 2-0 with goals in either half from David Vaughan and Aaron Ramsey.

Spain made it 10 wins out of 10 to qualify for South Africa with a 100 per cent record after a 5-2 away victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Having already qualified for next year’s tournament, the Spaniards took the lead in the first half thanks to a goal on 13 minutes from Barcelona defender Gerard Pique.

Elsewhere, Turkey secured a 2-0 win over Armenia in Istanbul in coach Fatih Terim’s last game in charge of the national team. Estonia nicked a 2-0 win over Belgium in the final game of the group, although the win was not enough to alleviate them from finishing second-bottom.

Ukraine booked their place in the World Cup qualifying play-offs after demolishing Andorra 6-0.

England had already won Group 6, but Ukraine have managed to take second spot. Indeed Croatia only just managed to overcome Kazakhstan.

France go into the World Cup play-offs on the back of a win after they saw off Austria 3-1 in Paris.

With top and second place already decided before the last round of fixtures in Group 7, the pressure was off for Les Blues and they ran out comfortable winners in the end.

Group-toppers Serbia had already booked their place in South Africa and complacency set in as they went down 2-1 in Lithuania. Elsewhere, Romania finished off their poor campaign on a high with a 3-1 win over group minnows the Faroe Islands.

Italy completed their qualifying campaign in less than convincing fashion, despite a 3-2 win over Cyprus in Parma.

Italy and Republic of Ireland had already sealed the top two spots in Group 8, prior to the final set of fixtures.

Bulgaria signed off in spectacular fashion as they beat Georgia 6-2.