Hamburg  - Konstantin Zyrianov on Wednesday scored the only goal of the match to keep Russia in the hunt for a place at the 2010 World Cup finals with a 1-0 victory against minnows Liechtenstein, while Bulgaria closed in on leaders Italy and Ireland in Group 8.

In Vaduz Zyrianov scored in the 38th minute against the underdogs to secure a victory that sees the Russians move to within a point of the leading Germans in Group 4. Both teams have played five games.

Germany, who are on 12 points, can extend their lead at the top though with a victory in Wales later Wednesday.

In Sofia Ivelin Popov and Dimitar Makriev scored the goals for the Bulgarians against Cyprus to allow the home side continue their unbeaten run in the qualifying campaign, but have just seven points from their five matches after drawing their opening four games.

Italy and Ireland, who clash in a later game in Bari, head the group with 13 and 11 points respectively.

Bulgarian coach Stanimir Stoilov said after the game that he was happy with the result. "It's a very important win for our team as we boosted our chances to reach the finals."

In another group game played in Tbilisi Georgia and Montenegro played to a goalless draw.

In a Group 5 game played in Tallinn Sander Puri scored the only goal of the game for Estonia against the visiting Armenia with just seven minutes to go.

The result, which was somewhat against the run of play, took Estonia to five points from their six games, while Armenia are on one point.

Belarus, who are still hoping for a second place finish in Group 6, came from behind to trounce Kazakhstan 5-1 in Almaty.

Renat Abdulin opened the scoring for the home side early on and then held on to the lead for the remainder of the first half, before a powerful Belarus team scored five times in the second half.

The goals for the visitors were scored by Aleksandr Hleb, Ihar Stasevich, Vitali Rodionov and a brace by Timofei Kalachev.

Belarus are currently fourth in the group with six points, six behind leaders England, but just one behind the second placed team Ukraine.

In Group 2 Latvia beat Luxembourg 2-0 in Riga through goals by Maris Verpakovskis and Jurijs Zigajevs to move second in the group with ten points from their six games.

Greece and Switzerland, who both have played a game less and are in action later Wednesday, are also on ten points.

In Copenhagen goals by Leon Andreasen, Soren Larsen and Christian Poulsen gave Denmark a 3-0 victory at home against Albania in their Group 1 game.

In the other group game on Wednesday Zoltan Gera, Roland Juhasz and Tamas Hajnal scored for Hungary in Budapest. The win sees the Hungarians stay second in the group, equal on 13 points with Denmark who have played five games.

The Hungarians have played six games. Surprisingly Portugal, who have played five games, are only third in the group with seven points.

The group winners and the best second-placed team advance directly to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the other eight number two teams determine four further qualifiers in a playoff round. (dpa)