First win for Cyprus
In Group 4, Cyprus collected maximum points for the first time thanks to a 3-0 win in the Faroe Islands, despite playing half the match with ten men following Eleftheriou Lufteris’s dismissal.
Held to a frustrating 1-1 draw in Latvia on Wednesday, Russia were nonetheless handed an unlikely reprieve in their bid for a place at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany. Instead of dropping out of the race for places in Group 3 of the European Zone, the surprise goalless draw between second-placed Slovakia and Liechtenstein in Vaduz keeps Russian hopes alive.
Elsewhere, Romania and Finland both picked up victories in a Group 1 dominated by the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. The Finns can be delighted with their excellent 3-0 triumph away to FYR Macedonia.
In Group 2, Kazakhstan slumped to their eighth defeat in as many games at the hands of visitors Georgia, the team one place above them in the standings.
The next two rounds of matches in the European Zone will be held on 3 and 7 September, when all the continent’s big guns return to the fray.
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