17 Oct 2012

France grab dramatic draw with World Cup holders

2:51 pm on 17 October 2012

France scored with almost the last touch of the ball to grab a 1-1 draw with holders Spain in their World Cup qualifying match in Madrid.

The draw denied Spain a 25th straight win in major championship qualifiers although they remain top of the group tied with France on seven points from three matches.

Russia and the Netherlands maintained perfect starts with fourth successive wins, Russia beating Azerbaijan 1-0 and the Dutch beating Romania 4-1.

Meanwhile Sweden came from 4-0 down to draw 4-4 with Germany.

Portugal and Northern Ireland drew 1-1.

The England-Poland match was postponed until Thursday because of torrential rain.