Norway finish second with win

Norway beat Macedonia 2-1 in Oslo to finish second in Group Nine after Scotland lost at home to Holland.

Egil Olsen's side now face wait for play-off fate

Norway beat Macedonia 2-1 in Oslo to finish second in Group Nine after Scotland lost 1-0 at home to the Netherlands. A goal in the opening minutes from Thorstein Helstad set Norway on their way in the Ullevaal Stadion and Roma defender John Arne Riise doubled the lead in the first half, giving themselves a chance of a play-off place. Macedonia's Boban Grncarov pulled one back with 10 minutes to go, giving Norway fans a nail-biting end to the game, but they held on for the win. Blackburn's Morten Gamst Pedersen crossed from the left for Helstad to head into an empty net after just two minutes, to set up a great start for Norway. With one eye on the score at Hampden Park, the home side did not sit back and they were rewarded for their efforts soon after. Riise made it 2-0 in the 25th minute when he curled a free-kick around the wall and past goalkeeper Tome Pacovski. It was Riise's third goal with a free-kick in as many games for his country. Norway finish in second place with 10 points and a superior goal difference to Scotland, and they must now wait to see if they are one of the eight best second-place teams that go into the two-legged play-offs. Had Eljero Elia not found the back of the net late on for the Dutch, the Norway result would have proved irrelevant, but they now face a wait to see if they have done enough for a place in the play-offs in November.