Slovenia shock Russians

Slovenia beat Russia 1-0 in Maribor to dump Guus Hiddink's Russia out of the World Cup on the away goals rule, 2-2 on aggregate.

Nejc Pecnik 89th minute away goal in Moscow proved to be crucial in the end, as Russia put in a desperately disappointing performance in Slovenia and fall out of contention, meaning that Andrei Arshavin and Yuri Zhirkov will be among the top players to miss out on...

Bosnian dreams shattered

The dream is over for Bosnia-Herzegovina, as they crashed 1-0 at home to Portugal, for a 2-0 aggregate defeat. Portugal, semi-finalists in 1966 and 2006, qualify for their fifth World Cup.

Carlos Queiroz' side could have taken the lead just before half-time but Bosnia-Herzegovina keeper Kenan Hasagic made an excellent stop from Jose Raul Meireles after excellent build-up play from the...

France crawl into World Cup finals

Raymond Domenech's France gave yet another lacklustre performance at the Stade de France against the Republic of Ireland, losing 1-0 in the 90 minutes thanks to Robbie Keane's goal, but stuttered their way to a World Cup berth after Williams Gallas 103rd minute goal in extra time sealed the fate of Trapattoni's men.

The Republic of Ireland took the lead 32 minutes in, to stun the Paris crowd...

Greece qualify for second World Cup

Greece qualified for only their second ever World Cup after an excellent performance at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk saw them snatch a 1-0 win over Ukraine, to win by the same score on aggregrate.

Ukraine have now lost in the playoffs for a major championship on four occasions, after Croatia in 1998, Slovenia in 2000 and Germany in 2002, and now the Greeks for the 2010 World Cup.

The...

Bosnia-Herzegovina out to make history

Miroslav Blazevic's Bosnia-Herzegovina side will be looking to make history in Zenica on Wednesday night as they look to overturn a 1-0 deficit against Portugal and thus secure qualification for their first major tournament as an independent nation.

A Bruno Alves' goal just before half-time in Lisbon gave Portugal a slender lead, but Bosnia-Herzegovina will be heartened by the fact that they...

France looking to finally seal qualification

Raymond Domenech and 2006 runners-up France could put an unimpressive qualifying campaign behind them if they can defend their 1-0 lead from the first leg at the Stade de France on Wednesday night as they face the Republic of Ireland.

Nicolas Anelka's late deflected strike has made France favourites for the tie, although Giovanni Trapattoni's Republic of Ireland side should not be...

One more chance for Hiddink?

In perhaps the most delicately poised of all the playoffs in Europe, Slovenia will be looking to overturn a 2-1 deficit as they take on Guus Hiddink's Russia. Having dominated most of the game in Moscow on Saturday night, Nejc Pecnik's 89th minute header left a sour taste in Russian mouths, after Dinyar Bilyaletdinov had scored twice to put the hosts 2-0 up.

Slovenia, who were the surprise...

Crunch time in Donetsk

After a dull stalemate in Athens on Saturday, both Ukraine and Greece will have to adopt more attacking outlooks in the return contest in Donetsk.

The 0-0 draw means that the tie is still wide open going into the second leg, as the 2006 World Cup quarter-finalists take on the Euro 2004 champions.

Despite their incredible victory in the European Championships in 2004, Greece have only ever...

Bosnians bruised not beaten

Portugal fought hard to earn a 1-0 win in the first leg of their play-off against Bosnia-Herzegovina at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon, although Bosnia-Herzegovina will still feel encouraged ahead of the second leg in Zenica on Wednesday night.

The Portuguese had the better of the first half, as Miroslav Blazevic's Bosnian side looked a little overawed by this tumultuous occasion, as Bosnia...

France in pole position

Nicholas Anelka put France within touching distance of the finals as they grabbed a priceless 1-0 win to take back to Paris with them ahead of the second leg on Wednesday night.

Giovanni Trapattoni's Republic of Ireland came within a whisker of taking the lead on 28 minutes, French keeper Hugo Lloris doing well to smother Robbie Keane's shot before Liam Lawrence's rebound was somehow...

Stalemate in Athens

Otto Rehhagel's Greece were left frustrated as they were held to a 0-0 draw by a well-disciplined Ukraine side in the home leg of their play-off.

In a cagey contest of very few clear cut chances, the Greeks will look back at two golden opportunities at the end of either half which would have given them an advantage as they travel to Donetsk for Wednesday night's return leg.

After 44...

Slender lead for Russia

In Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, two strikes either side of half-time from Everton's Dinyar Bilyaletdinov for Russia and a late away goal from Nejc Pecik for the Slovenia meant that Guus Hiddink's side take a narrow 2-1 lead into Wednesday's second leg in Maribor.

On 39 minutes the home side went ahead, Bilyaletdinov spinning skilfully just inside the penalty box before firing past an off-guard...

Second time's a charm for Portugal

Just like France, Portugal are another big hitter that failed to perform during the group stages of World Cup qualification. Despite the wealth of big names, which should on paper at least be a match for any team in the world, the Portuguese were only able to muster a disappointing five wins in ten games for finish two points adrift of Denmark in Group 1.

The play offs offer Portugal a second...

Tricky tie for Greece

Euro 2004 champions Greece were hot favourites for direct qualification in World Cup Group 2. However, a single point was eventually the difference between them and Switzerland leaving Otto Rehhagel's side ruing their 2-0 defeat in Basel at the start of September. They now face the Ukraine in what could be the closest of the four play off ties.

An impressive home record throughout the season...

Ireland's best chance

The play-offs offer the Republic of Ireland a massive opportunity to qualify for the World Cup. But in order to do that they must first overcome a French side which failed to impress during the group stages.

Giovanni Trappattoni's side exceeded all expectations during a magnificent run in Group 8 which saw Ireland win four and draw six to finish second behind the holders Italy. Ireland will be...