Lacklustre Italy assured of World Cup play-off spot after Bosnia's slip-up

Bosnia and Herzegovina's heartbreaking 4-3 defeat Saturday to Belgium guaranteed Group G runner-up Italy will take part in the play-off round next month.

Despite dropping points Friday to Macedonia, the Azzurri managed to sneak into the backdoor of the qualifying phase. That's because neither Bosnia nor Greece - who are vying for second in Group H with just one match remaining - can catch Italy in the play-off standings.

Only eight of the nine runners-up advance to the next round.

Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Wales, and Croatia still have varying chances of finishing atop their respective groups.

Greece, meanwhile, leapfrogged Bosnia with a 2-1 win over Cyprus later in the day.

FIFA discounts results against each group's last-placed team when ranking the nine runners-up. Considering Greece faces bottom-feeder Gibraltar next Tuesday, for example, it cannot finish with more than 13 points in these standings.

Italy was well positioned to claim a play-off berth despite last month's embarrassing loss to Spain. Not even a disappointing 1-1 draw Friday with Macedonia could derail Giampiero Ventura's side.

The first leg of the play-off phase will take place from Nov. 9-11, with the reverse fixtures set for the following week.