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Switzerland booked their place in next year's World Cup finals as they earned a 0-0 draw at home to Israel in Basel to finish top of qualifying Group 2.

The Swiss had most of the possession but their inaccurate finishing combined with some good defending from Israel saw them hanging on nervously for the point they needed.

Israel's few chances came mainly on the counter-attack but they hardly troubled Swiss goalkeeper Marco Woelfli in the cold conditions in Basel.

Israel were reduced to 10 men in the 59th minute when defensive midfielder Avihay Yadin was sent off for a second yellow card but the Israelis continued defending resolutely to the end.

Greece secured a place in the play-offs by claiming a 2-1 victory over 10-man Luxembourg in Athens.

Two headed goals in three minutes just after the half-hour mark from Vasilis Torosidis and Theofanis Gekas put the Greeks on their way in front of a sparse crowd of 13,932 at the Olympic Stadium.

Two goals by Andrejs Rubins and one from Kristaps Grebis gave Latvia a token 3-2 win over Moldova in Riga.

Latvia's hopes of clinching second place in the group and progressing to the play-offs were ended by Greece's win

Moldova opened the scoring with a neat volley from Gheorghi Ovseannicov after 25 minutes but the tide turned when visiting captain Serghei Lascencov was sent-off for deliberate handball five minutes later.

Rubins powered home the resulting free-kick and scored again 12 minutes later. Grebis made it 3-1 to Latvia before substitute Veaceslav Sofroni netted in the 89th minute for Moldova.

Latvia finished third in the group and Moldova were bottom.

Group 1

Portugal made light of the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo to seal a place in the play-offs by thrashing Malta 4-0 in Guimares.

Nani set Portugal on their way with a left-foot drive and further goals from Simao Sabrosa, Miguel Veloso and Edinho saw them clinch second place with 19 points, two points adrift of winners Denmark but one point ahead of Sweden.

The result completed the first stage of a qualifying comeback for Portugal, who had looked down and out at one stage after winning just one of their first five qualifiers.

With World Player of the Year Ronaldo out injured, Portugal relied on another of their wingers, Nani, to drive them forward.

Having had a thunderous shot blocked in the third minute, Nani opened the scoring 10 minutes later, collecting a pass from Deco just outside the box and giving the keeper no chance.

Malta were unable to build a single attack in the first half and a second goal looked inevitable, with Simao, Nani and Liedson all going close in the space of five minutes.

Just before half-time, Simao secured the second goal. Deco's pass from midfield was deflected but still reached Simao, who curled it in.

Miguel Veloso added Portugal's third on 52 minutes with an easy tap-in from a Nani cross, and substitute Edinho completed the rout in the 90th minute by running on to a Simao through ball and rounding the keeper.

Sweden thrashed Albania 4-1 but missed out on a play-off place.

Defender Olof Mellberg netted twice in the first half for the Swedes, who have qualified for the last five international championships but had to settle for third place in the group.

Former captain Mellberg fired past keeper Samir Ujkani following a corner by Kim Kallstrom after six minutes.

Substitute Marcus Berg took advantage of some sloppy Albanian defending to make it 2-0 and Berg then set up Mellberg to score again from close range just before halftime.

Hamdi Salihi grabbed one back for the visitors with a header in the 57th minute before midfielder Anders Svensson scored Sweden's fourth goal with a superb solo effort two minutes from time.

Group winners Denmark lost for the first time in this qualifying campaign, going down 1-0 at home to Hungary in Copenhagen.

Eliminated Hungary grabbed the only goal in the 35th minute when midfielder Akos Buzsaky beat goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen with a low shot.

Denmark went close to an equaliser with five minutes to go but keeper Gabor Babos punched an effort from Michael Silberbauer over the bar.

Group 5

Alvaro Negredo scored twice as European champions Spain cruised to a 5-2 victory in Bosnia to make it 10 wins out of 10 in World Cup qualifying.

Vicente del Bosque's side had already secured their place in the finals with two matches to spare and Bosnia were sure of a place in the play-offs thanks to Saturday's 2-0 win over Estonia.

After Spain came under early pressure, Gerard Pique rose to glance in a header from Xabi Alonso's floated free-kick on 13 minutes and David Silva raced clear a minute later to beat onrushing goalkeeper Nemenja Supic.

Negredo picked up Silva's pass in the centre of the area just after the break and sent Supic the wrong way with a low shot and the Sevilla striker was at the far post to steer Albert Riera's cross into the net from close range five minutes later.

Juan Mata struck the fifth for Spain before Edin Dzeko and Zvjezdan Misimovic pulled two late goals back for Bosnia.

Goals from Halil Altintop and Servet Cetin earned Turkey a 2-0 victory against Armenia in Bursa, small consolation after they failed to qualify for next year's finals.

Halil put Turkey in front with a header in the 16th minute and Servet doubled their lead 12 minutes later, rounding a defender and firing in a shot beyond the Armenian keeper.

The game was of little footballing significance, with both teams having already failed to qualify for next year's finals.

However, it had great diplomatic significance after the two countries signed a peace accord at the weekend aimed at ending a century of animosity between them.

New coach Dick Advocaat watched his Belgium team suffer a surprise 2-0 defeat by Estonia in Tallinn.

With both sides out of contention for a place in the finals, Estonia opened the scoring with a header from Raio Piiroja in the 30th minute after good work by Konstantin Vassiljev.

Vassiljev then pounced on a cross from Joel Lindpere to make it 2-0 in the 67th minute.

Group 7

Two penalties gave Lithuania a 2-1 win over group winners Serbia in Marijampole.

Lithuania, who have not qualified for next year's finals, gave their fans something to cheer about in sub-zero temperatures against a below-par Serbian team.

The Serbians sealed their berth with a 5-0 rout of Romania on Saturday and looked as if they were going through the motions on a rain-soaked pitch.

Midfielder Mindaugas Kalonas fired Lithuania ahead with a 20th-minute penalty after Neven Subotic brought down Ignas Dedura and the home side missed numerous chances as they dominated the first half.

Half-time substitute Zoran Tosic equalised against the run of play on the hour when he raced through several defenders and steered the ball home after rounding the goalkeeper.

Aleksandar Lukovic's clumsy challenge on Kalonas shortly afterwards gave the Lithuanians a second spot kick which Marius Stankevicius blasted into the roof of the net.

Lithuania twice scrambled the ball off their line in the closing stages, while Stankevicius came close at the other end with a long-range effort.

France warmed up for their play-off by beating Austria 3-1 at Stade de France.

Forward Karim Benzema opened the scoring with a diving header from Florent Malouda's cross on 17 minutes and captain Thierry Henry doubled the advantage from the penalty spot after defender Rod Fanni was blocked in the box.

Striker Marc Janko reduced the deficit for the visitors from close range early in the second half before substitute striker Andre-Pierre Gignac sealed France's win with a superb angled shot on 66 minutes.

The former world and European champions looked sluggish at first and survived a scare when Hugo Lloris did well to save a powerful shot from 20 yards by Stefan Maierhofer.

Gradually, however, the home side moved on top of opponents certain to finish third in the group whatever the outcome and the two goals midway through the first half put them in control.

Henry, holding his thigh, limped off early in the second-half, with his replacement Gignac making an instant impact.

There was a moment of confusion in the closing stages when two spectators invaded the pitch and had to be removed by security.

Romania ended a disappointing campaign with a 3-1 win against the Faroe Islands in Bucharest.

Midfielder Iulian Apostol netted the opening goal in the 16th minute with a low shot and striker Gheorghe Bucur headed the second after half-time.

Egil Bo pulled a goal back on 84 minutes by heading home from an indirect free-kick but Romania grabbed a third goal a minute from time through substitute Ionut Mazilu.

Romania, with morale low after a 5-0 drubbing by group winners Serbia on Saturday, found it difficult to create chances against a Faroes side that defended in numbers throughout the game.

Romania finished fifth in the six-team group, with 12 points from 10 matches.

Reuters