BELGRADE (Reuters) - Belgrade was gripped by anxiety before an overwhelming sense of joy and relief greeted Serbia reaching the World Cup with a nerve-jangling 1-0 home win over Georgia, thanks to substitute Aleksandar Prijovic's 74th-minute goal on Monday. Prijovic grabbed the winner with a fine finish to delight raucous home fans, who lit several flares to celebrate. Serbia piled on the pressure from the offset but Georgia looked more likely to score in the first half and came close in the 17th minute when midfielder Valerian Gvilia forced a good save from Serbia keeper Vladimir Stojkovic. The Serbians carved out their first chance in the 39th minute, as visiting keeper Giorgi Makaridze blocked Dusan Tadic's shot from a tight angle. Jeered off by their supporters at halftime, Serbia came out with renewed purpose after the break and defensive midfielder Nemanja Gudelj fired narrowly over the bar in the 48th minute.

Source: The Star October 09, 2017 21:03 UTC