Belgium edges past Greece to qualify for 2018 World Cup

Belgium booked its ticket to Russia on Sunday with a 2-1 win over Greece to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

It took the visitors 70 minutes to break the deadlock, but eventually Jan Vertonghen's powerful shot crept under Orestis Karnezis from long range. Zeca brought Greece level three minutes later before Romelu Lukaku headed home the winner to conclude a frantic, goal-filled four minutes of action.

Belgium joins Russia (host), Brazil, Iran, Japan, and Mexico as nations to qualify for next summer's tournament.

It's the 13th time the Belgians have qualified for the World Cup, a mark only eight other countries have surpassed.

Belgium's berth, however, was far from guaranteed Sunday against a stubborn Greek side that did well to keep the Red Devils off the scoresheet at Karaiskakis Stadium despite a plethora of chances.

Greece had several chances to stun the Belgians, but the visitors dominated possession and looked far more threatening before Vertonghen's strike temporarily ended the stalemate.

Greek midfielder Zeca brought an end to celebrations thanks to some poor marking as he volleyed in the equaliser shortly after Vertonghen's strike.

But it was the Premier League's joint-top scorer who fired his side into the World Cup. Lukaku turned in a late header to bring his tally to 10 goals during the qualifying round.