Group D
Hosts Georgia suffered a 3-1 defeat against Serbia while another hosts Austria clinched a 2-1 victory against Moldova. But on the other hand, Wales’ qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup is threatening after holding Republic of Ireland to a goalless draw.
Serbia climbed up on the top of the table after beating the hosts Georgia by 3-1. Nika Kacharava put the hosts ahead on just 5 minutes which was equalised through a penalty by Dusan Tadic (45’) just before the half-time. In the second half, Aleksandar Mitrovic (64′) and Mijat Gacinovic (86′) scored the goals for Serbia which led them to a victory.
Making a goalless draw against the hosts Republic of Ireland, Wales remained at the third position in Group A’s points table with 4 points behind from the top 2 teams. Wales’ defender Neil Taylor was sent off directly on 69 minutes after making a hurtful challenge on the opponent player Seamus Coleman. It was a very serious challenge which was forced Coleman to go off the field with the help of a stretcher. However, later the hosts failed to take that advantage as both the teams disappointed with their shots which mostly went off target.
On the other hand, Republic of Ireland is now standing at the second position due to just the lower goal-difference than Serbia.
In the other game, Austria beat Moldova (by 2-0) with the help of two late goals by Marcel Sabitzer (75′) Martin Harnik (90′).
Brief Scores:
Georgia 1 – 3 Serbia
Republic of Ireland 0 – 0 Wales
Austria 2 – 0 Moldova
Group Standings after the end of Round 5
| Position | Team | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | GD | Points |
| 1 | Serbia | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | +6 | 11 |
| 2 | Republic of Ireland | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | +4 | 11 |
| 3 | Wales | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 7 |
| 4 | Austria | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | +1 | 7 |
| 5 | Georgia | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | −4 | 2 |
| 6 | Moldova | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | −11 | 1 |
(Note: GD = goals differences)