Slovakia reach World Cup finals, Slovenia in play-offs

Slovakia qualified for their first World Cup finals on Wednesday after a 1-0 win against Poland secured their place as Group Three winners and a slot in South Africa next year.

An own-goal from Polish defender Seweryn Gancarczyk after just three minutes inside a virtually deserted stadium set Slovakia on the way to their first major finals since the country’s split with Czechoslovakia in 1993.

Slovakia had slumped to a 2-0 home defeat to closest rivals Slovenia at the weekend to pile on the pressure ahead of their trip to southern Poland, a fixture made even tougher by the absence of suspended Radoslav Zabavnik, Jan Durica, Martin Skrtel and Miroslav Stoch.

But Poland, with no hope of qualifying for the finals, were dispirited opposition with their cause not helped by a boycott of the match staged by their own fans.

Only 3,000 people watched the game in the 40,000-capacity stadium, the majority of whom were Slovakians.

Slovenia saw off San Marino 3-0 in their last match on Wednesday to make sure of a play-off spot.