Davis was restored to the Northern Ireland lineup in place of the suspended Damien Johnson in Warsaw but although he helped shore up a leaky defence, his side went down to a late Maciej Zurawski header and their Group 6 campaign is now over. An almost identical fate befell Wales in Austria as four days after defeating Wales 2-0 with two late goals in Cardiff, the home side repeated the trick thanks to an 87th-minute René Aufhauser effort. Delaney’s side remain second-from-bottom in the section with no chance of qualification.
A second-half strike from Andriy Voronin was enough to seal victory for Group 2 leaders Ukraine in Kiev and leave opponents Denmark's own qualification hanging in the balance. Thomas Sø renson could do nothing to keep out Voronin’s close-range strike and the result leaves his side fourth, eight adrift of their opponents and five adrift of second-placed Greece. Martin Laursen missed the trip with injury.
AC Milan striker Herná n Crespo scored to give Argentina a hard-fought 1-0 win over ten-man Colombia who, without Juan Pablo Angel with injury, could not respond. They nevertheless remain in the pack of teams scrambling for a top-four finish, which guarantees a place at the 2006 World Cup, or fifth place and a playoff against the Oceania region winners.
As do Nolberto Solano’s Peru after Claudio Pizarro’s second-half strike earned the side a 2-2 draw against third-placed Ecuador in Lima. Paolo Guerrero had given the home side a perfect start with a goal inside 60 seconds but a rare strike from Villa right-back Ulises De La Cruz gave his side parity. Antonio Valencia then edged the visitors ahead before Pizarro’s 58th-minute equaliser.