England's European Championship qualification hopes received a double boost after chief rivals Croatia and Russia played out a goalless draw in Zagreb.
Russia weathered sustained pressure to escape the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb with a vital point in Group E.
Coupled with England`s 3-0 win in Estonia, it means Steve McClaren`s men are now only three points behind leaders Croatia.
Israel joined Croatia at the top of the group with a 2-0 victory over Andorra at a rain-drenched Estadi Comunal.
Goals from Toto Tamuz and Roberto Colautti either side of half-time handed the visitors a second win in four days - the first a 2-1 victory over FYR Macedonia in Skopje.
France remain three points clear of Scotland in Group B as Samir Nasri`s first-half goal proved enough to see off Georgia in Auxerre.
Playmaker Nasri, viewed as the long-term successor to Zinedine Zidane, stroked home a neat finish in the 33rd minute to earn Les Bleus a 1-0 victory and keep them two points clear of Italy in the standings.
Two first-half goals from Fabio Quagliarella gave Italy a 2-0 victory over Lithuania to keep them a point clear of Scotland.
The Sampdoria striker scored the opener on 31 minutes before adding his second on the stroke of half-time.
Northern Ireland lost the leadership of Group F after Sweden routed Scandinavian rivals Iceland 5-0.
Goals from Marcus Allback (two), Anders Svensson, Aston Villa defender Olof Mellberg and Markus Rosenberg did the damage for the hosts, who move two points clear of Nigel Worthington`s new side.
They also drop below Spain after two clinical David Villa strikes earned his country their second victory in a matter of days after seeing off Liechtenstein.
Villa netted twice in the opening 15 minutes to put the visitors on their way to a 2-0 win in Vaduz, but the Valencia striker missed the chance for his hat-trick after blazing a late penalty against the crossbar.
Dennis Rommedahl inspired Denmark to victory in Latvia to keep Morten Olsen`s men in contention in the same group.
He opened the scoring after 15 minutes and added a second two minutes later.
Germany moved closer to a place at Euro 2008 with a win over Slovakia in Hamburg.
The Group D leaders went ahead after just 10 minutes when Jan Durica put through his own goal.
Another own goal, this time from Germany`s Christoph Metzelder, allowed Slovakia to draw level 10 minutes later, but after Thomas Hitzlsperger put the hosts ahead two minutes before the break the result was rarely in any doubt.
Poland missed the chance to extend their lead at the top of Group A after slipping to a 1-0 defeat against a battling Armenia side at the Republican Stadium.
Hamlet Mkhitaryan`s 64th-minute free-kick flew past Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc into the top-left corner of the net.
Fourth-placed Finland improved their qualifying chances with a 2-0 victory over 10-man Belgium.
Goals from former Charlton striker Jonatan Johansson and Aleksei Eremenko were enough for the hosts at the Olympiastadion, while Marouane Fellaini`s dismissal early in the second half made the task for Rene Vandereycken`s men a near impossible one.
In the same group, Ruslan Baltiyev`s goal salvaged a 1-1 draw for 10-man Kazakhstan at home to Azerbaijan after defender Maksim Zhalmagambetov was sent off.
The midfielder`s goal cancelled out Vugar Nadyrov`s first-half strike to leave the Azerbaijan side with one point when they should have had three.
European champions Greece extended their lead over Turkey at the top of Group C to five points thanks to Nikos Liberopoulos` injury-time strike in a hard-fought victory over Moldova.
Angelos Charisteas netted with a typical header in the first half for Otto Rehhagel`s men before Viorel Frunza powered home a surprise equaliser with 10 minutes left.
Bosnia-Herzegovina moved ahead of Turkey and up to second on goal difference after a 1-0 win over a stubborn Malta side.
A goal in the sixth minute from striker Zlatan Muslimovic put Fuad Muzurovic`s men on 13 points, having played one more game than Turkey.
Norway kept their qualification hopes on track with a 4-0 win over Hungary.
Former Tottenham striker Steffen Iversen got the ball rolling in the first half before substitute Daniel Braaten and two goals from Aston Villa forward John Carew made certain of the victory to move the Scandinavians level on points with second-placed Turkey.
Romania maintained their two-point lead at the top of Group G after completing the double over Slovenia with a 2-0 win in Timisoara.
Victor Piturca`s side won 2-1 in Celje on Saturday and rounded off an excellent few days thanks to goals from Adrian Mutu and Cosmin Contra.
Second-placed Bulgaria came from a goal down to claim a 2-1 win over Belarus to boost their qualification hopes.
Roman Vasiluk opened the scoring with a fifth-minute penalty but Martin Petrov`s free-kick hauled the home side level five minutes later.
Chavdar Yankov completed the turnaround before half-time.
Albania climbed to fourth in the group with a 3-0 victory over Luxembourg.
A brace from Edmond Kapllani added to Ervin Skela`s opener sent Otto Baric`s team to a second victory in four days over their opponents, following Saturday`s 2-0 triumph in Tirana.Labels: footbal result, football fc, football news, news |
