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World Cup qualifiers: Spain win over Sweden, Portugal draw with Ireland

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Spain, Portugal and Croatia put in a single match to secure a World Cup qualification, and Sweden’s hopes took a heavy blow on Thursday with a stunning loss.

Spain beat Greece 1-0 thanks to a penalty by Pablo Sarabia to beat Sweden, and lost 2-0 to an already eliminated Georgia. Spain will host Sweden in one of the three matches that will take all the winners on Sunday to decide their place in the World Cup.

Another decisive match was put by Portugal against opponent Cristiano Ronaldo’s team after a 0-0 draw against Ireland. Croatia and Russia also face off against a Qatari standings, each with a big win on Thursday.

Only the winners of the team qualify automatically, and the teams in second place advance to the playoffs in the Nations League along with the two teams selected in their record. The 12 teams in the playoffs will be fighting for three places at next year’s World Cup in Qatar, in parentheses for four teams.

GROUP A

Portugal’s goalless draw in Dublin wasn’t impressive, but it was enough.

Portugal’s points against Ireland eased the lead against Serbia, who are rivals in the standings. This means that a draw will be enough for Portugal to automatically qualify when they take on Serbia in Lisbon on Sunday. They drew 2-2 in the previous game of the qualifying round.

The match was bittersweet for veteran defender Pepe, who was the oldest player to start the match in Portugal at the age of 38, but was knocked out by two cards and will be penalized in a decisive match against Serbia.

Serbia beat host Qatar at the World Cup next year 4-0 in a friendly, their seventh consecutive unbeaten game and their third straight game without conceding a goal.

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Qatar is playing home and away friendlies against Group A teams along with the qualifying tournament without much success. If Qatar’s results were to be included in the group table, it would be ranked fifth out of six teams, just above Azerbaijan, with 20 goals scored by the team’s worst defensive record.

GROUP B

Sweden had its fate in the standings, and it escaped.

Twenty-year-old winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia Rubin Kazan may be little known outside of the Russian league he usually plays in, but he had a big impact on surprising Sweden with two goals in the second half.

This allowed Spain to beat Sweden and take advantage before Sunday’s decisive match against the Swedes.

Spain had to work hard to beat Greece 1-0, sealed on penalties, but Sweden advanced one point. Spain must avoid defeat against Sweden in Seville. The same city drew 0-0 at the European Championships this year.

The defeat against Spain ensured that Greece could not.

GROUP H

Russia and Croatia won a great match against paired opponents in matches that were just a warm-up to decide the standings. Croatia will host Russia on Sunday, and the winner will automatically qualify for the World Cup if Russia draws.

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Russia put Cyprus ahead 6-0, and Croatia responded with a 7-1 hammer from Malta with two goals from Lovro Mayor. Malta’s goal also came from a Croatian player, as Marcelo Brozovic made it 2-1 in the first half.

If Croatia, the 2018 World Cup runners-up, are automatically qualified for next year’s tournament in Qatar, they will have to be the first team to win Russia under the guidance of new coach Valery Karpin. His team has only conceded once in six games to Karpin.

GROUP J

Germany have already qualified for the World Cup, and managed to win 9-0 against Liechtenstein in the early concern of midfielder Leon Goretzka when one of his opponent’s shoes hit him in the head and neck.

Goretzka was well, and the incident brought Liechtenstein an early red card, and a penalty kick to start. Leroy Sané and Thomas Müller finished with two goals, and there were two.

Northern Macedonia are vying for the knockout stages after a 5-0 win over Armenia and will finish second to Iceland on Sunday. Romania’s qualifying hopes drew 0-0 against Iceland.

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