Spain, Portugal and Croatia all fell one game away from qualifying for the World Cup, while Sweden’s hopes were dashed.

Pablo Sarabia beat Sweden 2-0 to beat Georgia 2-0 Spain beat Greece 1-0 on penalties. Sweden host Spain in one of the three winner-take-all matches to determine the World Cup berth on Sunday.

Another crucial match between Portugal and Serbia after Cristiano Ronaldo’s disappointing 0-0 away draw against Ireland. Russia and Croatia will battle it out for a place in Qatar on Thursday after a stellar victory.

Only group winners qualify automatically, with runner-up teams advancing to the playoffs along with two teams selected from their League of Nations record. The 12 teams in the qualifiers will compete for three places within the brackets of four teams at next year’s World Cup in Qatar. Portugal’s goalless draw at GROUP Dublin was not impressive, but it was enough. Portugal’s points against Ireland made life easier for group rivals Serbia on goal difference. When Serbia hosts Lisbon on Sunday, it means a draw will be enough for Portugal to qualify themselves. In the final match of the qualifying round, they drew 2-2. It was a bitter match for veteran defender Pepe, who became the oldest player to start a match for Portugal at the age of 38, but will be suspended from the decisive match against Serbia after being sent off twice. Qatar, who will host next year’s World Cup, lost 4-0 to Serbia in a friendly, their seventh in a row and their third in a row. Qatar has played friendly matches at home and abroad against teams from Group A, along with tournament qualifiers, but without significant success. If Qatar’s result is included in the leaderboard, it will be fifth in the six teams, just ahead of Azerbaijan, with the worst defensive record in the group, conceding 20 goals.

The second Swedish group failed in the qualifying round, allowing it to slip.

Rubin Kazan’s 20 – year – old Khavisha Quartz may not be well known outside the Russian league, where he often plays, but he made a huge impact in the second half to beat Sweden.

With this, Spain had a chance to beat and gain Sweden before the decisive match against Sweden on Sunday.

Spain had to work hard to win 1-0 against Greece, but one point was clear to Sweden despite receiving a penalty. Spain need only avoid defeat to Sweden in Sevilla. They drew 0-0 in the same city at this year’s European Championships.

The defeat to Spain ensured that Greece did not qualify. Russia’s and Croatia defeated their rivals in a match that was only a preparation for victory in qualifying. Russia, who host Croatia on Sunday, will automatically qualify for the World Cup and Russia will play in a draw.

Russia set a milestone by beating Cyprus 6-0, with Croatia beating Malta 7-1 thanks to two goals from Lovro Mager. Malta’s goal was also scored by the Croatian, with Marcelo Brozovic scoring an own goal in the first half to make it 2-1.

If Croatia, the 2018 World Cup runners-up, are to qualify for next year’s tournament in Qatar, they will need to become the first team to beat Russia under new coach Valerie Karp. His team has suffered only once in six games under Carp.

The German group qualified for the World Cup with a 9-0 win over Liechtenstein after initial concerns about midfielder Leon Goretzka when his opponent’s boot hit his head and neck. Goretzka did not put up a good performance and as a result of this incident Liechtenstein received a red card and a penalty kick to start the score. Leroy Sane and Thomas Mുള്ളller scored two goals apiece, while two separate goals were scored. Macedonia advanced to the qualifying round with a 5-0 victory over Armenia, beating Iceland on Sunday to secure second place. Romania’s qualifying hopes were dashed when they drew 0-0 with Iceland.

(This story was not edited by the Devadiscourse team, but was automatically created from a shared feed.)