Romelu Lukaku’s goal allowed Belgium to become the first European nation to clinch qualification for the 2018 World Cup on Sunday as much-fancied France was held to an embarrassing goalless draw by Luxembourg.
Manchester United striker Lukaku headed in a Thomas Meunier cross in the 74th minute in Piraeus for the decisive goal in a 2-1 Belgium win that guaranteed it top spot in European qualifying Group H.
Belgium joins Brazil, Iran, Japan, Mexico and host Russia in guaranteeing a place at next year’s finals.
In the battle for second place and a spot in November’s two-legged play-offs, Bosnia is now a point ahead of Greece and four clear of Cyprus, beaten 1-0 in Estonia.
Three days after a 4-0 destruction of the Netherlands in which it showcased its frightening array of attacking talent, France proved itself unable to break down minnows Luxembourg, the nation lying 136th in the world rankings.
Didier Deschamps’ side, with Kylian Mbappe starting after coming off the bench to score against the Dutch, had more than 70% possession and over 30 attempts on goal in Toulouse but failed to find a way through and the final whistle was greeted with a chorus of boos from home fans.
The results:
Group A: At Amsterdam: The Netherlands 3 (Propper 7, 80, Robben 67) bt Bulgaria 1 (Kostadinov 69); At Borisov: Belarus 0 lost to Sweden 4 (Forsberg 18, Nyman 24, Berg 57, Granqvist 84-pen); At Toulouse: France 0 drew with Luxembourg 0.
Group B: At Torshavn: Faroe Islands 1 (Sorensen 31) bt Andorra 0; At Riga: Latvia 0 lost to Switzerland 3 (Seferovic 9, Dzemaili 55, Rodriguez 58-pen); At Budapest: Hungary 0 lost to Portugal 1 (Andre Silva 48).
Group H: At Tallinn: Estonia 1 (Kait 90+2) bt Cyprus 0; At Faro-Loule: Gibraltar 0 lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 (Dzeko 35, 85, Kodro 65, Lulic 83); At Piraeus: Greece 1 (Zeca 73) lost to Belgium 2 (Vertonghen 70, Lukaku 74) .
