Croatia's hopes of winning Group 8 and qualifying directly for the FIFA World Cup finals in Germany 2006 were struck a blow on Wednesday as they were held to an unexpected 1-1 draw by a determined and well organised Maltese side.

Needing three points to consolidate top position in the group, Croatia paid a high price for a sloppy performance at Malta's National Stadium. They have now moved on to 20 points with two matches to play.

A moment of brilliance from Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the second minute of injury time gave Sweden a 1-0 win over Hungary on Wednesday and propelled them to the top of Group 8.

In the dying moments of a match which Hungary dominated and should have won, the Juventus striker strolled through the opposition's defence and unleashed a fierce shot that found the top left corner of the net.

"When you have a world-class player like Zlatan Ibrahimovic to score such a goal, you can always win, even if you don't play well" Sweden coach Lars Lagerback told reporters, "Perhaps a draw would have been the fairest result, but that is football."

For Hungary, with 13 points and who play Croatia at home on the 12th of October, the campaign is over. "I am still in a state of shock. we did not get the result we deserved," said Hungary coach Lothar Matthaus.

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