A first-half strike from Thomas Rosicky was enough for the Czech Republic to see off a determined effort from Norway and seal their first-ever appearance in the World Cup finals.

Norway had to chase a 1-0 deficit from the first leg and pushed forward from the outset but were unable to forge enough clear-cut openings, and when they did, they were denied by home goalkeeper Petr Cech.

And Rosicky punished the visitors with a 35th-minute strike to cement the Czech Republic's advantage from Oslo and seal the play-off win.

Norway had the better of the opening stages as they attempted to level the tie early on and within three minutes, Morten Gamst Pedersen delivered a corner from the left.

That resulted in a goalmouth scramble and a shooting opportunity for John Carew, but two Czech defenders managed to turn the ball wide.

The home side broke in the 17th minute with a right-wing cross from Karel Poborsky finding the unmarked Vladimir Smicer, but the goalscorer from the first leg scuffed his shot.

Norway responded with Steffen Iversen putting a volley inches over the crossbar in the 33rd minute from near the penalty spot, but moments later the Czechs took a crucial lead.

Striker Milan Baros laid the ball off for Rosicky and the Borussia Dortmund midfielder gave Thomas Myhre no chance with a first-time drive - his 15th international goal and his seventh of the qualifying campaign.

Norway almost managed to claw themselves back into contention before the break, with Pedersen putting in four corners in quick succession, one of which caused confusion in the Czech box and Iversen's shot was turned wide by defender Zdenek Grygera.

The visitors then threw everything at the Czechs in a bid to fight back, and although they controlled the second period, they could only fashion a handful of scoring chances.

Jan Gunnar Solli, a half-time substitute for Iversen, crossed from the right to Carew in the 52nd minute and Cech had to be at full stretch to palm away the Lyon striker's header.

John Arne Riise should have done better with 21 minutes remaining when he blasted over a free-kick from a promising position, and three minutes later it was clear that Norway were not going to get back into the game when Cech pulled off a stunning save.

Carew headed goalwards through a cluster of Czech defenders and, despite being unsighted for the initial header, Cech was able to dive low to his right and deny the Norway hitman.

Poborsky had a goal ruled out with 10 minutes remaining and with his side's World Cup hopes in tatters, Riise showed his frustration following a clash of heads with Grygera in the closing stages.