Serbians beat Romania to top Group 7

Serbia remain in first place in Group 7 of the European World Cup qualifiers, following a hard-fought 2-3 win in Romania

Milan Jovanovic put the Serbians in the lead on 17 minutes and an own goal from Dorel Stoica doubled the away side’s advantage just before the break.

Ciprian Marica got one back in the 50th minute but Branislav Ivanovic made it 1-3 nine minutes later. Stoica did score one back in the 74th minute to make up for his earlier mistake, but the guests held on to their lead to secure three valuable points.

Serbia top group 7 with 12 points from five matches. Romania are less likely to feature at next year’s World Cup with four points from four games.