CARDIFF, Oct 10: Serbia qualified for the World Cup for the second time since becoming an independent nation in 2006 after beating Georgia 1-0 on Monday, while Ireland won in Wales 1-0 to seal second place and a spot in the playoffs.

At the end of a tense final round of qualifying in Group D, Gareth Bale’s Wales dropped to third place and was out of contention for a place in next year’s tournament in Russia — 15 months after reaching the semifinals of the European Championship.

Fireworks filled the sky after fulltime in Belgrade as Aleksandar Prijovic’s 74th-minute goal ensured Serbia topped the group by two points and was back in soccer’s biggest stage for the first time since 2010.

The Serbs took their second chance to secure qualification, after losing in Austria on Friday.

With Serbia winning, the Celtic showdown between Wales and Ireland in Cardiff was for the prize of a playoff berth in November.

Ireland took it, thanks to James McClean’s 57th-minute goal following a defensive mix-up by the Welsh. Jeff Hendrick robbed Ashley Williams, who failed to clear after receiving an under-arm pass from his goalkeeper, before racing down the touchline and crossing for McClean to shoot first-time into the net.

Defending deeply, and in numbers, and scoring on a counterattack, it was a classic away performance from Ireland against a Wales team that hadn’t lost in Cardiff in four years.

“That last half hour seemed an eternity,” Ireland manager Martin O’Neill said. “We had to withstand pressure but we knew at some stage we would have to try to win the game and we did it.

“The goal was worthy of winning any game.”

The Irish are looking to qualify for the World Cup for a fourth time — and first since 2002. They will not be seeded in the playoffs draw, which takes place in Zurich on Tuesday, and could therefore face European champion Portugal or four-time world champion Italy.

Bale, the Real Madrid star, was absent through injury for a game that might prove to be Wales coach Chris Coleman’s last in charge.

“I’m not thinking about that. We’ll let the dust settle,” Coleman said.

“Right now, the only picture in my mind is the faces of the players in the dressing room and the disappointment. They are inconsolable at the moment.”

Wales, which fell to its only loss in this qualifying campaign, hasn’t played at the World Cup since 1958, its only appearance in the finals.

GENEVA, Oct 8: Cristiano Ronaldo scored and helped Portugal win an eighth straight game in World Cup qualifying on Saturday — and still could fail to qualify.

While Portugal was laboring to beat Andorra 2-0, using its superstar as a substitute, Group B leader Switzerland’s 5-2 win over visiting Hungary ran its own win streak to nine. And the Swiss still could fail to advance.

It set up a showdown game in Lisbon on Tuesday that Portugal must win while the Swiss need only a draw to top the group and avoid the playoffs next month.

“If you win nine out of nine and you can still have fear of not qualifying, it’s anyway a bit complicated,” Switzerland captain Stephan Lichtsteiner said.

France’s third-minute goal in Bulgaria was enough for a 1-0 win to retain the Group A lead by one point from Sweden, which earlier routed Luxembourg 8-0.

The third-place Netherlands need a miracle in its final game at home to Sweden on Tuesday, despite winning 3-1 in Belarus.

Belgium already qualified from Group H last month, and won 4-3 in Bosnia-Herzegovina to dent the home team’s chance of claiming a playoffs place as one of the eight best runners-up in the nine European groups.

GROUP A

France quickly got over the embarrassment of its 0-0 draw last month against Luxembourg, settling the game in Sofia in the third minute.

Blaise Matuidi scored from an Antoine Griezmann pass and Bulgaria failed to reply on a rain-soaked night.

Earlier, Sweden put pressure on the French by routing a now-leaky Luxembourg defense. Marcus Berg got four goals and captain Andreas Granqvist scored from two penalty kicks in an 8-0 rout in Stockholm.

The margin of Sweden’s win effectively ended Netherlands hopes of taking the runner-up spot.

Sweden goes to Amsterdam on Tuesday assured of at least a second-place finish on goal difference unless the Dutch win by seven clear goals.

France will win the group if it beats Belarus at home.

GROUP B

Portugal’s tally of 24 points is enough to lead five of the nine European qualifying groups, but not the one it is in.

With an eye on facing Switzerland on Tuesday, Portugal rested Ronaldo and other players for the trip to 144th-ranked Andorra.

After a drab first half, Ronaldo went on and scored in the 63rd minute, then helped create a second for Andre Silva.

Switzerland took advantage of weak Hungary defending to lead by 3-0 at halftime, set on their way by goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi’s slip in the goalmouth to gift Granit Xhaka an 18th-minute opening goal.

The Swiss cruised to victory but might have concern at poor handling choices by goalkeeper Yann Sommer that let Hungary pull back two second-half goals.

The Faeroe Islands drew at home with Latvia 0-0, and can finish third by winning in Hungary on Tuesday.

GROUP H

Belgium was the first European team to qualify last month and made Bosnia-Herzegovina’s chance even slimmer by winning 4-3 in Sarajevo.

Though Belgium led in the fourth minute, though Thomas Meunier, it trailed twice before Yannick Carrasco scored the decisive goal in the 83rd. Michy Batshuayi and Jan Vertonghen also scored.

Greece rose above Bosnia into the runner-up spot with a hard-earned win at Cyprus 2-1. After trailing, Greece got goals from Kostas Mitroglou and Alexandros Tziolis within two minutes midway through the first half.

Greece hosts Gibraltar on Tuesday, though risks being the lowest-ranked runner-up and missing the playoffs.

Gibraltar, which previously lost at home to star-studded Belgium 6-0, was beaten by the same score by Estonia on Saturday. AP

PARIS, Oct 6: Defending champions Germany clinched a place at next year’s World Cup in Russia with a 3-1 win in Northern Ireland, while England beat Slovenia 1-0 to secure their berth.

Sebastian Rudy and Sandro Wagner struck brilliant first- half goals in Belfast before Joshua Kimmich added a late third as Joachim Loew’s team made it nine wins out of nine in European qualifying Group C yesterday.

The four-time world champions also maintained their proud unbeaten away record in World Cup qualifiers — a run spanning an incredible 47 matches dating back to 1934.

“We’re off to Russia, to tear it up! We want to successfully defend the World Cup title,” said Bayern Munich midfielder Rudy following his first international goal.

Northern Ireland, who grabbed a consolation through Josh Magennis, remain on track to claim a spot in next month’s play-offs as they attempt to reach the World Cup for the first time since 1986.

Harry Kane continued his stunning goalscoring form with a 94th-minute winner as an unimpressive England overcame Slovenia at Wembley.

Gareth Southgate’s side looked utterly bereft of ideas until skipper Kane converted Kyle Walker’s inviting cross to score his 14th goal in nine games for club and country.

It is the sixth time in succession England have qualified for the World Cup, but after making such heavy work of defeating Slovenia, they are unlikely to give the game’s super-powers many sleepless nights.

“It’s not a relief, I always thought we’d achieve the objective (of qualifying),” said Southgate.

“Tonight highlighted where we are.

“We know exactly where we need to improve. We do have players who can score goals. It is a work in progress and when I was given the job the aim was to qualify for the World Cup.”

 RECORD-BREAKING LEWANDOWSKI

Scotland kept alive their hopes of reaching the finals for the first time since 1998 after a last-gasp 1-0 victory at home to Slovakia.

Martin Skrtel’s own goal, just a minute from the end of normal time in Glasgow, leaves Scotland second in Group F, two points ahead of Slovakia and three in front of Slovenia ahead of Sunday’s trip to Ljubljana.

Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick to become his country’s record goalscorer as Poland thrashed Armenia 6-1 in Yerevan.

Poland, who finished third at the 1974 and 1982 World Cups, need a point from their final match at home to Group E rivals Montenegro to assure themselves of a place in the finals.

After Kamil Grosicki’s second-minute opener, Lewandowski curled in a brilliant free-kick to draw level with Wlodzimierz Lubanski, who represented Poland from 1963 to 1980, on 48 international goals.

The Bayern Munich star claimed the outright record when he blasted home an indirect free-kick and completed his treble in the second half as Jakub Blaszczykowski and Rafal Wolski also scored for the visitors.

Lewandowski also broke a European record set in August by Cristiano Ronaldo by increasing his tally in 2018 World Cup qualifiers to 15 goals, one more than the Portugal captain.

Ronaldo is level with former Yugoslavia forward Predrag Mijatovic, who scored 14 goals during qualifying for the 1998 World Cup, but could establish a new mark on Saturday when Portugal visit lowly Andorra.

Christian Eriksen’s 16th-minute goal steered Denmark to a 1-0 win in Montenegro to maintain their hopes of overhauling a three-point deficit to Poland when they host Romania in their final qualifier. AFP