Euro WC qualifiers: Scotland handed lifeline, Spain and Switzerland win

Euro WC qualifiers: Scotland handed lifeline, Spain and Switzerland win

Scotland lose despite spirited comeback

Second placed Scotland had to try and come back from 3-0 down after 63 minutes against Greece, having gone into half time a goal down after Anastasios Bakasetas seventh minute opener.

Ben Doak pulled one back in the 65th minute for his first international goal before Ryan Christie reduced the deficit to one goal after scoring his header from Andy Robertson's cross.

Greece captain and opening goalscorer Bakasetas was sent off after receiving a second yellow card as the Scots pushed for an equalizer.

Greek goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos produced two big saves late in the match as he kept out Scott McTominay's attempt with his leg before denying George Hirst a tap in from six yards out to help his side claim the win.

Scotland will now face Denmark in a winner takes all clash in their final Group C clash.

Belarus hold Denmark to shock draw

Denmark took the early lead through Mikkel Damsgaard in the 11th minute as the home side dominated the opening half and looked set to consolidate top spot in Group C.

However, Belarus hit back with two quick goals withing three second half minutes after goals by Valery Gromyko and Nikita Demchenko handed the visitors a shock lead to put the Danes automatic qualification in jeopardy.

Gustav Isaksen levelled the score in the 79th minute from a Patrick Dorgu assist but the Belarusians held firm to collect their first point of the qualifiers.

Denmark will need a victory or a draw against Scotland to claim top spot in the group.

Switzerland hammer hapless Sweden

The Swiss made a dominant start to the match and were rewarded when Breel Embolo scored from a Dan Ndoye cross to give the home side an 13th minute lead before Sweden equalized through Benjamin Nygren.

Switzerland were handed a penalty in the 60th minute with Granit Xhaka converting to take the lead before Ndoye went on a fanstastic run to put the hosts 3-1 up with 15 minutes remaining.

Subsitute Johan Manzambi scored in injury time to give Switzerland an emphatic 4-1 win and move within one point of automatic qualification.

Spain breeze past Georgia

The World's number one ranked team took an 11th minute lead through Mikel Oyarzabal before Martin Zubimendi doubled the lead after a neat pass from Fabian Ruiz.

Ferran Torres added a third before half-time before Oyarzabal completed his brace in the 63rd minute to help Spain to a convincing 4-0 victory.

The results leave Spain needing only a draw to qualify for the World Cup unless they lose and Turkey can score 14 unanswered goals in the final Group E clash.

Belgium held to frustrating draw by Kazakhstan

Belgium fell behind after just nine minutes when Kazak teenager Dastan Satpayev opened the scoring with his near post-strike squeezing past Matz Sels in goal.

The Red Devils drew level shortly after half time when captain Hans Vanaken headed in from a Timothy Castagne cross.

Kazakhstan held on for the draw despite Islam Chesnokov's 77th-minute red card, leaving the hosts needing a victory in their final match against Liechtenstein to qualify automatically.

Wales beat Lichtenstein to keep hopes alive

Wales midfielder Jordan James scored the only goal of the match around the half hour mark to claim a 1-0 victory over bottom of group C side Lichtenstein.

The result keeps the Welsh in the hunt for an automatic qualifying berth as they lie two points behind group leaders Belgium ahead of the final round of fixtures.

Austria defeat Cyprus to edge closer to qualification

A first half penalty and a 55th minute goal from veteran Austrian forward Marko Arnautovic was enough to hand the visitors a comfortable 2-0 victory against Cyprus.

The Austrians only need to win or draw their final Group H fixture against second placed Bosnia and Herzegovina, to qualify for their eighth FIFA World Cup title.