Serbia secures World Cup berth; Ireland advances to play-offs

Aleksandar Prijovic's late winner against Georgia ensured Serbia's place in Russia next summer for the 2018 World Cup.

With first place in Group D up for grabs heading into Monday's contest, Serbia's automatic berth was still very much in question before Prijovic's sliding effort to open the scoring in the 74th minute.

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Serbia will now prepare to compete in its first World Cup since 2010 after missing out in 2014. It will also be the country's second time advancing to the World Cup as an independent nation.

Serbia joins Iceland as the only nations to qualify for the competition from Europe following Monday's slate of matches.

Related: Iceland becomes smallest nation in World Cup history

Meanwhile, the long wait for Wales to qualify for the World Cup continues after the Republic of Ireland's 1-0 win in Cardiff.

Ireland's dreams of competing in Russia next summer were kept alive when James McClean, who was competing in his first match since serving a suspension, converted from close range to help Martin O'Neill's side move on to the play-off round.

"There's no better feeling in football," McClean told reporters, courtesy of BBC Sport. "We will enjoy tonight."

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The victory also ensured that the Republic of Ireland ended the group-stage qualifiers unbeaten away from home.

The Republic of Ireland's place in the play-offs comes a day after neighbour Northern Ireland also secured a place in the next phase of qualifying. However, it's very unlikely that the two will meet in next month's two-legged play-off unless Northern Ireland is among the four seeded nations.