SHEVA HELPS OUT ENGLAND

HERE WE CRO - Andriy Shevchenko celebrates his goal for Ukraine against Croatia

Ukraine draw with Croatia is great for Fabio Capello

06/06/2009

ENGLAND moved a step closer to qualification last night after Group 6 rivals Ukraine and Croatia drew 2-2 in Zagreb.

The result means Fabio Capello's men are SEVEN points clear at the top - with only the pool winners certain of a place at next summer's World Cup finals in South Africa.

Mladen Petric took just two minutes to give Croatia the lead in Zagreb - but Andriy Shevchenko equalised nine minutes later.

And the visitors were ahead nine minutes into the second half thanks to Olexiy Gai.

Croatia were looking lost before Mario Mandzukic's introduction as a substitute gave them the boost they needed.

Tottenham's Luka Modric played a one-two with Mandzukic on the edge of the box and his powerful shot took a deflection on its way in.

Pushover

Petric and Modric both hit the frame of the goal as Croatia pressed for a winner - but the 2-2 draw played right into England's hands.

Andorra showed again they should be a total pushover when England face them at Wembley on Wednesday.

They were trounced 5-1 by Belarus in Grodno to make it 19 goals shipped in their six matches to date.

The Andorran goal, only their second in the World Cup qualifiers, came in the fourth minute of added time from an Ildefons Lima penalty.

The win meant Belarus climbed into third position, although Ukraine expect to pull level with Croatia in second spot when they play their game in hand at home against Kazakhstan on Wednesday.

But England could open up a yawning 10-point gap over the pair by beating Andorra at Wembley the same evening.

Victory

That would mean John Terry and Co would be just one victory away from certain qualification - with games against Croatia, Ukraine and Belarus to come in the autumn.

Hoping for a seventh straight victory against Andorra on Wednesday, boss Capello said: "It would be another big step forward.

"If we win, we will have 21 points - and it's a lot."

HOLLAND became the first European team to qualify for the 2010 World Cup last night.

Manchester City's Nigel De Jong grabbed an eighth-minute goal to put them on the road to a decisive 2-1 win over Iceland in Reykjavik.

That gave the Dutch 18 points from their six games in Group Nine and an unassailable 11-point lead over second-placed Scotland, who have just seven. Mark Van Bommel scored Holland's second.

JAPAN, AUSTRALIA and SOUTH KOREA have also successfully made it to South Africa next summer.

The Japanese were first over the line with a 1-0 win over UZBEKISTAN in Group One of the Asian qualifiers in Tashkent.

A ninth-minute goal from Shinji Okazaki did the trick as the Blue Samurai made it to their fourth successive World Cup. They were also the first nation to qualify for Germany in 2006.

The Aussies made it through from the same group a short time later thanks to a 0-0 draw in QATAR.

Grateful

In Group Two, goals by Park Chu-Young and Ki Sung-Yueng sealed the Koreans' key 2-0 win over the United Arab Emirates in Dubai.

Back in Europe, SLOVAKIA handed out the expected 7-0 Group Three trouncing to SAN MARINO to knock Northern Ireland off top spot.

Chelsea's 19-year-old midfielder Miroslav Stoch hit one of the goals, while West Brom defender Marek Cech did even better by bagging a double.

FINLAND were grateful to two league old boys for their 2-1 Group Four victory over the minnows of LIECHTENSTEIN.

After the Finns had fallen behind to a goal from Mario Frick on 13 minutes, the ex-Chelsea and Birmingham striker Mikael Forssell netted an equaliser.

Former Charlton player Jonatan Johansson, now with Hibs, then hit the winner in the 71st minute.

DENMARK tightened their grip in Group One. They disposed of SWEDEN 1-0 in Stockholm with a Thomas Kahlenberg strike.

Cristiano Ronaldo's PORTUGAL needed a last-minute strike from Bruno Alves to win 2-1 in ALBANIA.

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