Germany Wins Qualifier

German Captain Michael Ballack opened the scoring at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff after 11 minutes. Ballack's powered the ball home with his right foot from 30 metres out after a throw-in which the Welsh thought was theirs.

Then an own goal by Ashley Williams, following some good work by forward Mario Gomez, made it two nil just after the half time break. Gomez, however, failed to get on to the scoresheet himself; the young striker has failed to score in his last fourteen matches for Germany.

Russia beat Liechtenstein by one goal to nil their match, keeping them hot on Germany's heels in the bid to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Germany lead Qualifying Group Four by four points, with Finland, Wales, Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein competing the group standings. Only the winner of each group qualifies automatically for the 2010 World Cup.