Frank Lampard celebrates after converting a penalty against Austria at Old Trafford on Saturday. (Reuters)

Manchester: Ten-man England ground out a precious 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over Austria on Saturday despite a red card for captain David Beckham. Frank Lampard converted a 25th minute penalty to put England’s Group VI campaign back on track.

Beckham, famously red-carded at the 1998 World Cup against Argentina, became the first England player to be sent off twice with a second yellow at Old Trafford after what looked like a dive by Andreas Ibertsberger following a booking for elbowing the same Austrian midfielder minutes earlier.

England held on for a victory, which means they can top the group by beating leaders Poland in Wednesday’s final qualifier.

They would also qualify later on Saturday as one of the two best runners-up if The Netherlands beat the Czech Republic away in Group I.

When towering England striker Peter Crouch knocked the ball down, Austrian defender Paul Scharner tugged Owen back as he tried to swivel round.

Spanish referee Luis Medina Cantalejo pointed to the spot and Lampard, who has replaced Beckham as penalty-taker after three consecutive misses by the captain, steered his shot into the bottom left-hand corner.

Meanwhile in Moscow, Russia blitzed Luxembourg 5-1 in their penultimate World Cup qualifier to keep alive their hopes.

Marat Izmailov and Alexander Kerzhakov put the hosts 2-0 ahead after just 18 minutes as the Russians threatened to open the floodgates in a match played on a cool Moscow night.

Luxembourg’s Claude Reiter cut the deficit with a 52nd-minute penalty after Dmitry Sennikov was called for a handball inside the box.

However, the Russians, who needed to win to keep pace with Slovakia in second place, quickly restored order with two goals in the next 22 minutes.

Spartak Moscow striker Roman Pavlyuchenko made it 3-1 with a fine volley in the 65th minute after a Vasily Berezutsky cross and fellow substitute Dmitry Kirichenko put the result beyond doubt with a diving header nine minutes later.

Kirichenko, the Russian league’s top scorer this season, completed the rout with a clinical finish in the last minute.

The Angolans danced, cheered and wept with joy in Luanda after their national soccer team made history on Saturday by sealing a spot in the World Cup Finals with a 1-0 victory over Rwanda.

The capital literally erupted into an impromptu party as fans poured into the streets, singing and tooting car horns after Fabrice Akwa’s goal 10 minutes from the final whistle guaranteed their place in soccer’s biggest tournament for the very first time.

In Sofia, Bulgaria eased to a 2-0 victory at home to Hungary in their Group VIII World Cup qualifier on Saturday.

Neither side can qualify for next year’s finals. Bulgaria are third with 14 points while Hungary are a point behind.

Meanwhile in Bratislava, Peter Hlinka’s goal 14 minutes from time gave Slovakia a 1-0 victory over Estonia in their World Cup qualifier on Saturday.

The Slovakians remained neck-and-neck with Russia.