Group seven leaders grind out draw
LONDON, England -- Spain's World Cup qualifying hopes are in the balance after being held to a goalless draw by Group Seven rivals Serbia and Montenegro in Belgrade.
The result left the home side on top of the group with 11 points, two more than Spain who are ahead of third-placed Lithuania, who were held 1-1 by Bosnia in Sarajevo, on goal difference.
Serbia came closest when Chelsea's Mateja Kezman struck the post.
Spain were expected to display their full technical repertoire but Serbia-Montenegro, with Igor Duljaj outstanding in midfield, were able to contain the threats posed by superstar striker Raul.
The home side, coached by Ilija Petkovic, had the best half-chances early on but Asier Del Horno came close for Spain with goalkeeper Dragoslav Jevric equal to the task.
Spain suffered a setback at the break when Carles Puyol was injured and replaced by Juan Gutierrez Moreno Juanito while coach Lui Aragones surprisingly took off Raul who was replaced by Ivan De la Pena.
Kezman, released by Dejan Stankovic, was then unlucky not to break the deadlock in the 53rd minute when his powerful drive beat Iker Casillas in goal but not the post.
Red-carded
Marius Stankevicius scored the equalizer in the 61st minute Wednesday to help Lithuania earn a 1-1 draw with host Bosnia in another key Group Seven match played on Wednesday.
Stankevicius, who was red-carded four minutes after scoring, headed in a free kick to level, but was ejected after hitting Bosnia's Mirsad Beslija.
Elvir Bolic had given Bosnia the lead in the 21st minute at Kosevo stadium when he sent a 25-meter shot past Lithuania goalkeeper Zydrunas Karcemarkas.
Bosnia thought it had scored the match-winner in the 88th minute, but the referee disallowed the goal and gave Zlatan Bajramovic a yellow card for using his hand to score.
Lithuania attacked throughout the first half but failed to threaten Bosnia goalkeeper Kenan Hasagic.
On the other side, Bosnia had several good chances to score but failed to convert.
Belgium struggled to a 2-1 win at San Marino in the final group match on Wednesday with a 64th minute goal from Daniel Van Buyten earning them three points.
The Belgians took the lead in the 19th minute when Timmy Simons converted a penalty after Thomas Buffel was brought down by Simone Bacciochi.
But San Marino pulled a goal back four minutes before the break for their first tally in the qualifiers when striker Andy Selva fired home a left-foot volley after hesitation in the Belgian defence.
Although Belgium enjoyed plenty of possession they were unable to create many chances but they managed to avoid becoming only the second side to fail to beat San Marino in a World Cup qualifier when Van Buyten struck.
It was only Belgium's second win in five matches but it keeps them in with a mathematical chance, at least, of qualifying from a tightly bunched section.
