Serbia opened the door to Group D’s automatic spot, while Spain clinched the 11th berth in Russia thanks to another big win and a shocking draw between Italy and Macedonia.
Tom Lawrence of Derby County stepped up with a goal in the absence of Gareth Bale, as Wales made sure to put pressure on Serbia with the first result of the day.
Austria 3-2 Serbia
Crystal Palace man Luka Milivojevic scored in the 11th minute to put Serbia on the precipice of Russia, but Guido Burgstaller knotted it up 14 minutes later.
It stayed 1-1 until Stoke City’s Marko Arnautovic scored only to find an answer for Serbia in the form of Manchester United’s Nemanja Matic.
Yet Louis Schaub scored just before stoppage time to provide an intriguing final day to qualifying.
Republic of Ireland 2-0 Moldova
Daryl Murphy scored twice in the first 19 minutes to set up a massive final match at Wales on Monday
Matches and scenarios:
Monday Wales vs. Ireland
Serbia vs. Georgia
Moldova vs. Austria
The read: Serbia can still advance automatically by holding serve against Georgia, but a draw would open the door to Wales or Ireland and Georgia proved no pushover for Wales on Friday. The Welsh can ensure no worse than second at home by beating Ireland, while either winner would pass a losing Serbia.
GROUP G
Italy 1-1 Macedonia
Giorgio Chiellini darted into the heart of the six to pass home a goal which sealed Italy’s place in the playoffs, though it was Aleksandar Trajkovski’s 78th minute goal which assured the Italians would not catch Spain.
Rodrigo, Isco, and Thiago Alcantara all scored before the match was a half-hour old to stylishly insure a spot in Russia.
Liechtenstein 0-1 Israel
Eitan Tibi’s 21st minute goal was the lone marker.
Scenarios: Spain wins group. Italy will head to the playoffs. Imagine, as it stands, the possibility of Italy vs. Portugal over two legs for a World Cup berth.
GROUP I
Turkey 0-3 Iceland
Johann Gudmundsson (Burnley), Birkir Bjarnason (Aston Villa), and Kari Arnarson (Aberdeen) scored to banish Turkey from qualification and put Iceland in the driver’s seat for a trip to Russia.
Kosovo 0-2 Ukraine
It was a second half own goal that kept Ukraine’s World Cup hopes alive, and set up a critical final day between Ukraine and Croatia in Kiev.
Croatia 1-1 Finland
Mario Mandzukic broke through in the 57th minute, but Pyry Soiri scored in stoppage time to score a fine result for Croatia and put Iceland in the Group I driver’s seat.
Matches and scenarios:
Monday
Ukraine vs. Croatia
Iceland vs. Kosovo
Finland vs. Turkey
The read: Iceland is through to Russia with a win. There are other scenarios to send Iceland through, including with a loss (That would require a Ukraine-Croatia draw).
Croatia can advance to Russia with a win and an Iceland draw or loss, and would currently finish second if it draws Ukraine.
Ukraine can finish first if it beats Croatia and Iceland loses to Kosovo, or if Iceland draws and Ukraine beats Croatia by more than a goal. Other scenarios exist, but are more complicated.
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) Wales beat Georgia 1-0 away without injured star Gareth Bale on Friday to keep alive its chances of qualifying automatically for next year’s World Cup in Russia.
Tom Lawrence scored the winning goal for the 2016 European Championship semifinalists in the 49th minute, when he spun his marker and sent in a low shot from 20 meters that proved too powerful for the goalkeeper to keep out.
Wales moved a point behind Serbia, which plays Austria later Friday and can guarantee first place in Group D with a win in Vienna.
Third-placed Ireland must beat Moldova at home to stay within a point of Wales, ahead of a meeting between the two Celtic rivals in Cardiff on Monday in the final round of qualifiers.
If the Serbs fail to beat Austria, they can clinch qualification with a win at home to Georgia on Monday.
Bale was missing for the Welsh at Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi because of a calf muscle strain, sustained while playing for Real Madrid. He will also miss the match against Ireland.
The group winner qualifies automatically for the finals in Russia. The best eight second-place finishers from the nine groups in the European zone advance to the playoffs.
Others, like Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, and Thomas Lemar, did not move at all.
Then there were the intra-league moves that happened or didn’t. As of post time, there are no new homes for Alexis Sanchez, Riyad Mahrez, and Diego Costa.
So who did move? Below are all the deals for each club via PremierLeague.com.
There are plenty of replays on tap after deadlocks dotted the landscape of the FA Cup’s third round.
Six Premier League sides are out, with four more headed for replays. Advancing to the next round are Manchester United, Leicester City, Watford, and Hull City.
West Ham fell to Man City 5-0 on Friday, a result which gives the PL five sides in the next round.
— Darren Bent and Tom Ince found the back of the net for Derby County when the Rams upended West Brom at the Hawthorns. Matty Phillips scored for the hosts.
— Bournemouth went out, too, at the hands of Shaun Cummings, Steve Morison, Shane Ferguson, and Millwall. USMNT mid Emerson Hyndman got a rare start for the Cherries in the loss.
Wolves beat Stoke (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
— Stoke City was bounced at home by Wolverhampton, as Helder Costa and Matt Doherty scored for Wolves.
— Ahmed Musa is having a day, scoring twice in five minutes when Leicester City erased a 1-0 deficit at the hands of Everton.
— Hull City topped fellow relegation strugglers Swansea City 2-0. Watford handled Burton Albion by the same score.
— Lincoln City also got a brace, this one from Theo Robinson, as the National League side built a lead at Ipswich Town. Ex-Man Utd man Tom Lawrence twice scored equalizers.
— Burnley and Sunderland finished 0-0, giving the clubs a replay they likely prefer a bit less than a loss. Crystal Palace and Southampton also needs replays after drawing second tier sides.
— Arsenal advanced with a win in the late game behind more Olivier Giroud heroics, and three more sides play Sunday: Liverpool, Chelsea, and Spurs.
FA Cup third round results
West Ham United 0-5 Man City — RECAP
Manchester United 4-0 Reading
Everton 1-2 Leicester City
Ipswich Town 2-2 Lincoln City
Sunderland 0-0 Burnley
Bolton 0-0 Crystal Palace
Norwich City 2-2 Southampton
Queens Park Rangers 1-2 Blackburn Watford 2-0 Burton Albion
West Brom 1-2 Derby County Millwall 3-0 Bournemouth
Birmingham City 1-1 Newcastle United Wigan Athletic 2-0 Nottingham Forest
Bristol City 0-0 Fleetwood Town Hull City 2-0 Swansea City
Blackpool 0-0 Barnsley
Stoke City 0-2 Wolves Huddersfield Town 4-0 Port Vale Brighton 2-0 MK Dons. Brentford 5-1 Eastleigh Accrington Stanley 2-1 Luton Town Wycombe 2-1 Stourbridge
Rotherham 2-3 Oxford United
Barrow 0-2 Rochdale
Sutton United 0-0 AFC Wimbledon
Preston North End 1-2 Arsenal
Sunday fixtures Cardiff City vs. Fulham — 6:30 a.m. EDT
Liverpool vs. Plymouth Argyle — 8:30 a.m. EDT
Chelsea vs. Peterborough United — 10 a.m. EDT
Middlesbrough vs. Sheffield Weds. — 10 a.m. EDT
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Aston Villa — 11 a.m. EDT
Monday Cambridge United vs. Leeds United — 2:45 p.m. EDT
With a big summer upcoming for Wales at the UEFA European Championship, the nation’s biggest star has been left off their roster for two upcoming friendlies.
Wales will host No. Ireland on March 24, before heading to Ukraine four days later.
“It was a joint decision and Real Madrid have been absolutely first class,” said Coleman. “Both parties think it is best that he stays where he is. He will benefit from that between now and the end of the season. Since he has been at Real Madrid, what has he scored – seven goals in 10 games? It has been his best form for us.”
In addition to Bale’s absence, Wales will also be without Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey. The 25-year old is currently nursing a calf injury, but Gunners manager Arsene Wenger believes the the Welshman could make his Premier League return after the international break.
Here’s the full rundown of Wales’ squad ahead of their upcoming friendlies:
Goalkeepers: Wayne Hennessey (Crystal Palace), Danny Ward (Liverpool), Owain Fon Williams (Inverness CT).
