Portugal manager Carlos Queiroz could afford to breathe a sigh of relief after his team completed a remarkable World Cup recovery by overcoming Bosnia yesterday to reach next year's finals. Like in their patchy group stage campaign, Portugal looked unconvincing and wobbly at times in the two-legged playoff but, despite the absence of injured winger Cristiano Ronaldo, they were good enough to secure a 2-0 aggregate win over the plucky Bosnians.

"As I have always said, marathons only finish at the end, when the final whistle has gone," Queiroz told reporters after a 1-0 second leg win in the cauldron of Zenica's Bilino Polje crammed stadium. "It was a long journey from the beginning to here in this final stage, with some hiccups on the way, but always with the conviction and the certainty that we were moving in the right direction.

A place in the 2010 finals looked way beyond Portugal's reach a few months ago. After starting their Group One campaign with a win over Malta they lost at home to Denmark then produced three successive goalless draws including at home to Albania.

The Bosnians hit the woodwork twice in the final minute of the first leg in Lisbon and were left to rue those misses, as they never looked like overturning the deficit despite the support of their fanatical 15 000 fans behind them in Zenica. Midfielder Raul Meireles crowned Portuguese domination of the match with a crisp finish after a flowing team move and said the nervy moments his team had endured would take a back seat to the joy of qualifying for next year's finals.

In other qualifiers

A controversial goal in extra time by defender William Gallas sent France to next year's World Cup with a 2-1 aggregate playoff win over Ireland yesterday. Uruguay qualified for next year's World Cup finals when they drew 1-1 with Costa Rica in the second leg of their playoff in Montevideo. Slovenia upset nine-man Russia 1-0 in a frantic World Cup playoff second leg on Wednesday to clinch a place at next year's finals at the expense of Guus Hiddink's team.

Greece qualified for next year's World Cup finals when they beat Ukraine 1-0 in the second leg of their playoff in Donetsk yesterday. Meanwhile, Sudan staged a security clampdown yesterday as Algerian fans celebrated victory in a tense match against Egypt which clinched Africa's last place in the 2010 World Cup finals. Thousands of Egyptian and Algerian fans flew in for the play-off in Khartoum which Algeria won 1-0. - Reuters