Ecuador - 1 Croatia - 0GROUP G: It looks as if the ticketing problems which kept Japanese stadiums half empty early in this competition have been resolved: more than 65,000 turned up for a fixture not exactly oozing glamour. It must be hoped they were fans of calculus rather than football because there was lots of the former, not much of the latter.

Not since Scotland were last involved in the World Cup have so many permutations shrouded a final group game.

Ecuador, without a point or a goal, were still able to qualify should more ifs than could be found in an election manifesto coincide in their favour.

Clearly the Ecuadorian players did not have much faith in improbable circumstances as they applauded their fans before kick-off - a nice gesture as the country's first World Cup was an adventure they had shared but it did suggest they thought this was already over.

For Croatia the arithmetic was less extreme but what was clear was that both teams had to win. So it was odd how little they attacked each other in the dreariest first half of the tournament.

Only in the 48th minute, after Edison Mendez shot across the Croatian goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa to score his country's first ever finals goal, did the game come alive.

Italy were losing to Mexico. Suddenly Ecuador needed only another three goals and they were through.

More to the point, all Croatia needed was an equaliser. Word must have reached the pitch because they both went for it.

They tried everything, though Mario Stanic's appearance as a last throw of the dice will have raised a smile among Chelsea supporters. True to form his major contribution was to head a lovely curling cross from Rapaic back the way it came.

In the 86th minute, Milan Rapaic floated over an inviting corner, Alen Boksic headed on and Alex Aguinaga brilliantly cleared off the line.

By a twist of football fate, almost at that moment Italy equalised and Croatia were finished. At the whistle Ecuador cheered as if they had won the competition itself while the Croatian supporters trudged sullenly home to Melbourne.

Thus was justice, of a sort, served in Yokohama: they took a convoluted route but the right country went through in the end.

SUBSTITUTIONS: ECUDAR - Aguinaga for Obregon, 40 mins; Kaviedes for Tenorio, 75. CROATIA - Stanic for Saric, 67; Vugrinec for Simic, 51; Vranjes for Kovac, 58.

Booked for Ecudar: Chala. Booked for Croatia: Tomas, Simunic.