体坛英语新闻：Russia beat Azerbaijan 1-0 in World Cup qualifier

MOSCOW, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Thanks to a late penalty, Russians secured a 1-0 victory over Azerbaijan in qualifying for the 2014 World Cup on Tuesday, maintaining a 100-percent win record in all their previous four games.

In the first half, the Russian team, under its new coach Fabio Capello, dominated the possession in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, but failed to hit the target.

The hosts continued to struggle up front in the second half until Roman Shirokov scored the only goal of the whole game from the penalty spot on 84 minutes, when Azeri Ali Gokdemir fouled Russia's Vladimir Bystrov on the edge of the box.

After beating Portugal 1-0 on last Friday, Russia's victory over Azerbaijan ensured the country remain on top of Group F with 12 points, a five-point lead of the second placed Israel. While Azerbaijan, coached by Germany Berti Vogts, ranked the last with one point.

Russia won a 2-0 over Northern Ireland and a 4-0 victory over Israel in last month.