Australia made sure of their involvement next summer with a scoreless draw against Qatar.

All they needed to progress was one point from the match but almost got three through Tim Cahill, whose scoring effort came off the woodwork.

Meanwhile, Russia's opponents this Wednesday – Finland – have kept up their bid to reach the finals with a 2-1 win over Liechtenstein. The Finns are now third in the group, two points behind Russia.

Elsewhere in Group Four, Wales bagged a 1-0 win in Azerbaijan.

Sweden saw their dismal run continue. A 1-0 loss at home to Denmark left their chances of qualifying from Group One all but over.

Portugal grabbed a vital injury-time winner over Albania, also in that group.

In Group Three, the top side thrashed the bottom, as Slovakia put seven past San Marino.

And, in Group Six, England maintained their 100 percent record with a victory over Kazakhstan.

It's still wide open as to who'll finish behind them. Belarus scored a big win over Androrra and closed the gap on Croatia, who drew with Ukraine.

Croatia were given the perfect start in Zagreb, with a goal after just two minutes. But Andrey Shevchenko equalized for Ukraine shortly afterwards. Then Oleksy Gai gave the visitors the lead. But Luka Modric found an equalizer with 25 minutes left.

Although Croatia hit the woodwork a couple of times after that, they had to settle for a draw.

In Group Seven, Serbia are at the top, now five points clear of France, following their victory over Austria.

In group Eight, Bulgaria and the Republic of Ireland are both still in the race for qualification, following their 1-1 draw.

Italy lead this group, with second place still a battle between the Irish and Bulgarians.

Meanwhile, there's plenty to celebrate for the Argentinian fans. Their heroes got a crucial 1-0 victory over Colombia and edged a step closer to the World Cup. Daniel Alberto Diaz scored after the break to put them through, after what coach Diego Maradona said was a disastrous first half.