World Cup: Luxembourg hold France, Belgium qualify

Luxembourg have pulled off one of the biggest shocks in European World Cup qualifying history after holding France to a 0-0 draw.

The French attacking force included Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Alexandre Lacazette and Paul Pogba but they could not break down the Luxembourg defence despite firing 34 shots towards goal.

Luxembourg even had a chance to win the match with 11 minutes to spare but Gerson Rodrigues’s shot hit the post.

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Belgium have become the first European team to qualify for the World Cup after a 2-1 win against Greece secured first place in Group H.

Jan Vertonghen opened the scoring before Zeca equalised but Romelu Lukaku netted the winner 16 minutes from time to confirm Belgium’s qualification.

Group A

Sweden briefly led Group A after a 4-0 win over Belarus earlier in the evening.

Goals from Emil Forsberg, Christoffer Nyman, Marcus Berg and Andreas Granqvist put Sweden up on goal difference for a few hours but France’s draw saw them lead by a point at the end of the evening.

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The Netherlands have kept their World Cup qualification hopes alive with a 3-1 win over Bulgaria.

They sit three points behind second-placed Sweden after a brace from Brighton midfielder Davy Propper and a goal from Arjen Robben.

Group B

Switzerland have continued their sensational World Cup qualifying campaign with a 3-0 win in Latvia.

An own goal by Andris Vanins opened the scoring before second-half goals by Blerim Dzemaili and Ricardo Rodriguez took the Swiss to an eighth successive win.

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Portugal sit just three points behind Switzerland after beating 10-man Hungary 1-0.

Tamas Priskin was sent off for violent conduct after 30 minutes and Andre Silva’s goal secured the victory.

Faroe Islands continued their good campaign with a 1-0 win over Andorra. They have now avoided defeat in four of their eight games.

Group H

Belgium’s win over Greece saw them take an unassailable eight-point lead.

Attention now turns to the battle for the play-off place, with Bosnia & Herzegovina, Greece and Cyprus all in with a chance with two games remaining.

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Bosnia & Herzegovina leapfrogged Greece into second with a 4-0 win over Gibraltar, Edin Dzeko netting twice, while Cyprus missed the chance to put pressure on the two teams after losing 1-0 to Estonia.

Greece sit just one point behind Bosnia & Herzegovina, with Cyprus three points further back.

Cover Photo: FIFA World Cup 2014 by Mariya Butd used under license by CC BY 2.0.

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