A dominant performance from Terry Campese has helped Italy to a 62-14 win over Serbia in European qualifying, putting them just one game away from a 2017 Rugby League World Cup berth.
Italy will now take on Wales on Saturday with the winner guaranteed a place in Pool C of the 2017 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Ireland captain Liam Finn was also highly influential in bringing his nation to within one game of the World Cup with a commanding performance at halfback in his side's 46-6 win over Spain.
Ireland will clash with Russia on Sunday with the winner guaranteed a place in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup in Pool C.
The final place in the World Cup will be decided by a play-off between the second ranked team in each group.
2017 World Cup Draw
World Cup pool breakdown
10 must-see World Cup events
How the European Qualifying works
There are two qualifying groups, each with three teams, with the winner of each group advancing to the World Cup to join PNG in Pool C.
The runner-up in each group will play off for the final World Cup spot with the play-off winner to join Fiji and USA in Pool D.
Group A: Wales, Serbia, Italy
Group B: Russia, Ireland, Spain
Qualifying Results:
Wales 50 vs Serbia 0
Russia 40 vs Spain 6
Serbia 14 vs Italy 62
Spain 6 vs Ireland 46
Qualifying Fixtures:
Italy vs Wales - 29 Oct, Monza, Italy
Ireland vs Russia - 30 Oct, Bray, Ireland
Playoff - 2A vs 2B - 5 Nov, Leigh Sports Village, UK
The World Cup groups
Pool C: PNG, EQ1, EQ2
PNG will be overwhelming favourites to win their way to the quarter-finals with three pool matches at home, but we still do not know who will join them in Pool C.
The Kumuls have been disappointing in their last few tournaments, but had a morale boosting win over Fiji in their mid-year Test to show signs they may be back on the rise.
There is only one team that advances from this Pool and they'll take on the team that finishes second in Pool A in the quarter-finals.
Pool D: Fiji, USA, EQ3
Fiji have made the semi-finals of the last two World Cups and they'll be keen to stretch that record to three in a row.
USA surprised many in the 2013 tournament to advance to the quarter-finals before they ran in to a red hot Australian team.
The third team in this pool will come from European qualifying.
The winner of Pool D will take on the second placed team from Pool B in a quarter-final showdown.
For more information, visit RLWC2017.com
