UEFA World Cup qualifying
Spain dropped two priceless points in their World Cup qualifying campaign as they were held to a shock draw with Finland at the El Molinon stadium in Gijon.
GettyImagesTeemu Pukki stuns Spain by scoring a leveller for Finland
Sergio Ramos gave Vicente Del Bosque’s side the lead shortly into the second half but Teemu Pukki made the most of a rare chance for the visitors to draw level on 78 minutes.
The result means the World Cup holders slipped to second place in Group I and need to beat leaders France in Paris next Tuesday if they are to reclaim their place at the top of the group.
France took control of the group as they eased to a 3-1 victory over Georgia in Paris thanks to goals from Olivier Giroud, Mathieu Valbuena and Franck Ribery.
England recorded their biggest win since 1987 as they thumped San Marino 8-0 to set the Three Lions up nicely for their trip to Montenegro in Group H next week.
Jermain Defoe scored twice to head a lengthy list of scorers that also included Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and substitute Daniel Sturridge, who netted his first international goal.
Ten-man Montenegro maintained their two-point lead at the top of Group H after Mirko Vucinic’s goal was enough to win at Moldova.
After a poor first half from Montenegro, Milorad Pekovic saw red early in the second half, but Moldova could not hold out.
Ukraine claimed their first victory in World Cup qualifying Group H by beating their Euro 2012 co-hosts Poland 3-1 on a thrilling night in Warsaw.
The visitors had failed to win a competitive game since beating Sweden at last summer’s tournament but a double salvo from Andriy Yarmolenko and Oleg Gusev put them on the right track.
Two goals in three first-half minutes helped Germany to pick up three more points on their way to qualifying for the 2014 World Cup as they won 3-0 in Kazakhstan.
Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mario Gotze’s quickfire goals in the 20th and 22nd minutes unlocked the game for Joachim Low’s men before Thomas Muller wrapped up victory for the Germans.
Kazakhstan tried to make a game of it, particularly in the second half, but the third goal knocked the stuffing out of them in Astana to remain on one point in qualifying Group C.
The Republic of Ireland maintained their fine away record under Giovanni Trapattoni to keep their World Cup dream alive with a goalless draw in Sweden.
GettyImagesWayne Rooney curled home a fine free-kick against San Marino
The Irish tired after a superb opening 20 minutes but held firm in a tight Group C encounter at Stockholm’s enclosed Friends Arena to claim a valuable point.
Austria cruised to their second win of the World Cup qualifying campaign by crushing the Faroe Islands 6-0 in Vienna. Philipp Hosiner (two), Andreas Ivanschitz, Zlatko Junuzovic, David Alaba and Gyorgy Garics grabbed the goals.
Croatia claimed a comfortable 2-0 win over Serbia as their World Cup qualifier in Zagreb ended in handshakes.
For such a potentially incendiary fixture, bust-ups and bone-crunching challenges were conspicuous by their absence as players and staff alike kept their heads.
Mario Mandzukic put Croatia in front midway through the first half and Ivica Olic made it two at the break, with Serbia offering more in the second half but ultimately coming up short.
Belgium lead the way in Group A on goal difference after a comfortable 2-0 win in Macedonia.
Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard with a penalty were on target for the visitors, who are now on 13 points from five matches and a goal better off than Croatia.
Wales came from behind to beat Scotland 2-1 in their 2014 World Cup qualifier at a blizzard-bound Hampden Park as both sides ended the game with 10 men.
Netherlands recorded their 13th consecutive World Cup qualifying win to further improve their chances of reaching the finals in Brazil with a 3-0 victory over Estonia in Amsterdam.
After a frustrating opening half substitute Rafael van der Vaart opened the scoring on 47 minutes before Robin van Persie and substitute Ruben Schaken sealed victory.
Turkey breathed life back into their fading World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-0 victory over minnows Andorra, as Selcuk Inan and Burak Yilmaz scored first-half goals.
Alexandru Chipciu’s goal in the third minute of stoppage time earned Romania a valuable 2-2 draw in their World Cup qualifying clash in Hungary.
The Steaua Bucharest player, on as an 86th-minute substitute, grabbed the visitors’ second leveller of the match to keep his side level on points with Hungary in second place in Group D.
Three second-half goals guided Denmark to a comprehensive 3-0 victory over the Czech Republic as they claimed the first win of their World Cup qualification campaign.
Denmark’s superiority was rewarded with goals by Andreas Cornelius, Simon Kjaer and Niki Zimling moving them on to five points in Group B, the same as their hosts although still five behind leaders Italy.
APBastian Schweinsteiger opened the scoring for Germany against Kazakhstan
Aleksandar Tonev scored a hat-trick as Bulgaria strengthened their position in second place in Group B by hitting Malta for six in their World Cup qualifying clash in Sofia.
Tottenham midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson scored both goals to sink Slovenia 2-1 and keep Iceland’s hopes of World Cup qualification alive.
The three points take Iceland on to nine in Group E and they were a just reward for their perseverance after a niggly match littered with fouls.
Norway have slipped to fourth place in World Cup qualifying Group E after suffering a narrow home defeat to Albania this evening. Hamdi Salihi’s 67th-minute strike proved to be the only goal of the contest in Oslo.
Real Madrid’s Fabio Coentrao’s last-minute goal earned Portugal a face-saving point in Tel Aviv as they played out a six-goal thriller with Israel.
Portugal are renowned for making hard work of supposed lesser teams in qualification and this Group F clash followed suit, with Paulo Bento’s men recovering from a 3-1 deficit to stay on level terms with their hosts in the group.
Luxembourg remain rooted to the bottom of Group F after a goalless draw with fellow World Cup qualifying minnows Azerbaijan at the Stade Josy Barthel.
Edin Dzeko scored twice as Bosnia-Herzegovina brushed aside Greece 3-1 in their top-of-the-table clash in Zenica to move three points clear in World Cup qualifying Group G.
Latvia missed a penalty as Liechtenstein claimed their first point in World Cup qualifying Group G.
Lithuania ground out a creditable draw in Zilina Slovakia to deny a share of second place in World Cup qualifying Group G.