With another round of qualifiers out of the way, it seems almost certain that none of the Baltic states will be taking part in next summer's World Cup tournament in Germany.
Latvia earned a creditable 1-1 draw against Slovakia when the two teams met in Riga on Sep. 7, preventing the Slovaks from narrowing the gap with group leaders Portugal, who were held to a 0-0 draw with third placed Russia.
Latvia started the game well, knowing that they needed a win to have any hope of making the play-offs and Imants Bleidelis and Andrejs Rubins both got in early efforts on goal.
Rubins might have put Latvia ahead in the 27th minute but his shot came off Slovakia defender Roman Kratochvil.
Slovakia took the lead shortly after that when full-back Vratislav Gresko crossed to Robert Vittek who headed the ball past Latvian keeper Aleksandrs Kolinko.
The second half was a closely fought affair with little between the teams. Vladimirs Zavoronkovs shot over the crossbar from the edge of the area, while Arturs Zakresevskis missed a chance from close range for the hosts.
Latvia scored a deserved equalizer after winning a free-kick for time-wasting by Slovakia goalkeeper Kamil Contofalsky. Juris Laizans squeezed the ball through the Slovakian wall from the edge of the area to put the score at 1-1. But the draw wasn't enough for Latvia, which had to win to have any hope of qualifying for its first ever World Cup finals.
Estonia is still in with a chance of securing a second place spot in Group Three, but while mathematically feasible, it would take something of a miracle for it to happen as both Slovakia and Russia would have to lose their remaining fixtures.
Russia is still in a good position to qualify even after drawing 0-0 with group leaders Portugal in Moscow on Sep. 7. It should brush aside its next opponents Luxembourg when the two teams meet on Oct. 8, while Slovakia will have to overcome Estonia. Russia and Slovakia are currently tied on points, but Slovakia is in second place due to a slightly superior goal difference.
Lithuania, meanwhile, will have to continue to find sporting pride and solace in basketball after a miserable showing throughout its qualifiers in Group Seven. It has won only two of its eight games so far and is second from bottom in the group after losing 1-0 to Bosnia-Herzegovina on Sep. 7.
However, its awful showing can be excused to some extent since Group Seven is extremely tight with talent. Serbia and Montenegro, Spain, Belgium and Bosnia-Herzegovina are all vying for top spot, with just five points separating top-placed Serbia and Montenegro and fourth-placed Belgium. o
Final World Cup qualifiers:
Oct 8:
Slovakia - Estonia
Lithuania - Serbia and Montenegro
Oct 12:
Luxembourg - Estonia
Portugal - Latvia
Lithuania - Belgium
