``We have a great togetherness, are there for each other and proved we can perform under pressure,'' Gerrard said.
The feel-good story of the night came in Kaunas, where Bosnia-Herzegovina sparked scenes of delirium back in Sarajevo by beating Lithuania 1-0 through Vedad Ibisevic's 68th-minute goal to reach its first World Cup since being granted independence from Yugoslavia in 1992.
For many Bosnians, football has been a rare cause for joy since the country descended into nearly four years of war two decades ago, killing more than 100,000 people and leaving a legacy of poverty, high unemployment and political strife.
The national team had missed out on the last two major tournaments by losing in the playoffs to Portugal both times, but this time Bosnia-Herzegovina got it right.
Almost 10,000 Bosnians jumped, cried and screamed `Vamos Bosnia,' or `go Bosnia' in Portuguese, in the central square in Sarajevo when Ibisevic scored what proved to be the winner after good work by Edin Dzeko, and fans were heading to the airport to wait for their team to arrive in the middle of the night.
Greece defeated Liechtenstein 2-0 but lost out to the Bosnians on goal difference.
Russia only needed a point to guarantee first place in Group F, and drew 1-1 at Azerbaijan. Portugal's 3-0 win over Luxembourg was in vain, leaving Ronaldo's side a point behind, and it must go through the playoffs to reach a major tournament for the third straight time.
It was still a nervy finish for Russia, which opened the scoring through Roman Shirokov in the 15th and was further boosted when Maksim Medvedev was dismissed for Azerbaijan in the 75th. However, the hosts equalized when Vagif Javadov headed home in the 90th but Russia, coached by former England manager Fabio Capello, held on for the point to qualify for a World Cup for the first time since the 2002 tournament.
Silvestre Varela, Nani and Helder Postiga were the goal scorers for Portugal, which was without Ronaldo owing to the Real Madrid forward's booking in the costly 1-1 home draw with Israel on Friday.
Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany had automatically qualified for the finals before Tuesday.
The list of teams going through to the playoffs was also finalized and it proved to be a bittersweet night for Denmark, which beat Malta 6-0 to equal its biggest World Cup qualifying win but still missed out on the two-legged playoffs, which take place on Nov. 15 and 19.
With a population a little over 300,000, Iceland is the surprise name in the playoffs after finishing runner-up in Group E following a 1-1 drawing in Norway. Slovenia could have gone above Iceland but lost 1-0 to the Swiss.
Iceland would be the smallest nation ever at a World Cup if it comes through the playoffs.
Romania pipped Turkey and Hungary to second place in Group D behind the Netherlands courtesy of a 2-0 win over Estonia. The Turks were second heading into the last games but lost 2-0 at home to the Dutch.
On Friday, Sweden became the first country to confirm its place in the playoffs by guaranteeing finishing runner-up to Germany in Group C. The two teams met in their final qualifier, with Germany coming from 2-0 down to win 5-3 as Andre Schuerrle grabbed a second-half hat trick.
Croatia lost 2-0 to Scotland but had already virtually guaranteed a playoff spot through its second place in Group A behind Belgium.
There will be four seeded teams determined by Thursday's FIFA rankings in the draw for the playoffs, and they are likely to be Portugal, Croatia, Greece and Ukraine. It leaves France as the most dangerous opponent among the unseeded countries.
-AP
