Konstantin Zyrianov found Bystrov in the middle of the box, with the hosts’ keeper Jussi Jääskeläinen beaten, but the defenders stopped the Spartak Moscow midfielder from hitting the target.

Meanwhile, most of the Finnish attacking efforts fell victim to Russia’s off-side trap.

The visitors scored a fully-deserved goal on 27 minutes. Arshavin’s pass let Kerzhakov escape the Finnish defense to leave Jääskeläinen with no chance, 1-0. The Dinamo Moscow striker had returned to the team after a long break – he last played for Russia in the Euro 2008 qualifiers.

The rest of the half saw Finland step up their attack on the Russian goal, threatening keeper Igor Akinfeev with several crosses.

Russia regained the initiative after the break. Kerzhakov was the first on the rebound after Bystrov’s shot to score his second of the game, 2-0.

The visitors calmly controlled the course of the game after that, launching devastating counter-attacks from Finland’s desperate attempts to get back into the match.

Konstantin Zyrianov’s solo effort settled the affair – the Zenit midfielder beat Sami Hyppia and shot past Jääskeläinen, 3-0.

Russian-born Finns Aleksey and Roman Eryomenko were unable to make an impact on the night. Roman came into focus just once after he was yellow-carded for a harsh tackle on Bystrov.

The win sees Russia close the gap on leaders Germany to just one point in Group 4 of the World Cup 2010 qualifiers. Guus Hiddink’s men have 15 points after 6 games.

“We had a good game, playing confidently from the first to the 90th minute. It was important for us to score in the first half, and I’m glad it happened. Once the score became 2-0, the game was over. We continued to control the game, dominated possession, which led to the third goal. We proved our class and we are satisfied. That's it,” Andrey Arshavin said to Sport-Express newspaper.

Guus Hiddink confessed he’s “happy” with the result.

“This team can play some amazing football… I first felt it during the weekend,” he stressed.

Other games

Anything other than a home win for Sweden against Malta could effectively end their World Cup hopes. Tre Kroner experienced little problems with the Group 1 outsiders, winning 4-0.

Despite the result, the Swedes still sit a huge seven points adrift of group leaders Denmark, following their defeat to them at the weekend.

Ukraine, meanwhile, have moved back into the World Cup spots after coming from behind to beat Kazakhstan, 2-1. They now share second place in Group 6 with Croatia, with both teams on 11 points.

Group leaders England continued showing their 100% form, thrashing Andorra 6-0.

Andorran defender Ildefons Lima (R) complains to the referee about England's striker Peter Crouch (AFP Photo / Glyn Kirk)

Group 7 toppers brought three points from the Faeroe Islands and increased the gap with second-placed France to eight points.

Two matches were played in Group 9. Macedonia took the better of Iceland 2-0 to go level on points with Scotland in the fight for the second spot, which is for a place in the playoffs.

Netherlands, who have already booked a place in South Africa, entertained their fans by conquering Norway 2-0.

In Asia, Qatar were eliminated from the race despite drawing 1-1 away against Japan, who took a 1-0 lead early in the first half through an own goal, only for Qatari player Ali Yahya to equalize with a 53rd-minute penalty.

Qatar could not find the winner needed to have any chance of claiming the third-place playoff spot in the group.

South Korea and Saudi Arabia played out a 0-0 draw, with the Saudis missing out on a chance to seize second place in Group 2, going into their final match against North Korea.

Finally, Australia, who have already booked their place in the World Cup, got another easy 2-0 win over Bahrain.

Former Liverpool winger Harry Kewell scored a beautiful opener in the 55th minute, and with two minutes to go Jason Culina's bicycle kick bounced back off the woodwork and David Carney reacted first to stab the ball home.

Australia maintain their unbeaten record, while Bahrain need at least a point in their last group match against Uzbekistan to secure a spot in the playoffs.