Last berths claimed by trio

Opening win
Group 4 hosts Israel reached the finals last season, and coach Avraham Bahar has similar hopes for this year's generation. His team suffered a hiccup 19 minutes into their opener in Herzliya as Denis Radionov gave Azerbaijan the lead, but within seven minutes Ben Sahar had scored a penalty and another goal to put Israel in control, and their opponents were reduced to ten men on 38 minutes when Andrey Frolov was sent off. In the second half substitute Mahmoud Hojazi, Omar Damari and another replacement, Liroy Zhairi, all contributed to a 5-1 victory.

Substitutes strike
It was a similar story in Rishon Le-Zion as Russia defeated Armenia 4-0. Sergey Morozov struck for Russia in the 12th minute, and they held that one-goal advantage until the last ten minutes, when Alexander Prudnikov scored twice either side of a goal from another substitute, Alexander Bebkyh.

Russia held
However, it was not so easy two days later for Russia against Azerbaijan in Rishon Le-Zion. Bavhtiyar Soltanov put Azerbaijan ahead five minutes before half-time and although Prudnikov, again as a substitute, equalised in the 62nd minute, just after Azerbaijan's Tural Narimanov had been dismissed, the points were shared. Israel also fell behind in their game against Armenia in Herzliya, but that match had a different outcome.

Israel through
Henrik Mkhitaryan scored in the 18th minute, yet within seconds Sahar had repeated his first-day equaliser. Omar Damari then made it 2-1 to Israel only for Hayk Chilingaryan to level on the stroke of half-time. Sahar, though, restored Israel's advantage in the 49th minute, and ten minutes later Chilingaryan was sent off and Victor Mare converted a penalty. Against the ten men Israel really rallied, and in the last ten minutes Armenia conceded three goals, to Yehuda Huta and substitutes Zhairi and Hojazi, giving the hosts a 7-2 victory and an Elite round place with a game to spare.

Qualification complete
A point against Israel in their last match was all Russia needed, and Prudnikov's 32nd-minute penalty gave them a 1-0 win that saw them pip their opponents to top spot. Azerbaijan ended in third position with a 3-0 success against Armenia in Rishon Le-Zion, Bavhtiyar Soltanov scoring late in each half either side of a 50th-minute Emin Mustafayev goal, but their record against the top two was not enough to pip Ukraine in the race to finish as the best third-placed side from across the 12 groups. Ukraine, like Israel and Russia, will therefore enter the Elite round draw on 30 November in Cyprus.