Which ever team winds up in second will have to play in a playoff to earn a trip to the World Cup.
Russia's precarious one point lead over Portugal in Group F means that both sides will be under heavy pressure in their final two World Cup qualifiers.
For Fabio Capello's Russia side the job is made a bit simpler by just needing to keep winning. In fact, a win over Luxembourg on Friday combined with a Portugal loss against Israel would send the Russians on to Brazil. The Russians really can't worry about what the Portuguese are up to though and would be better served to just win their two remaining games, which would also guarantee qualification no matter what Portugal does.
Russia easily defeated Luxembourg 4-1 in their first meeting back in September.
Match Date/Time: 8:30 p.m. local, 2:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
