2014 World Cup Qualifying Round - Europe 16 Oktober 2012
Germany threw away a four-goal lead as a late Sweden comeback earned them a point on Tuesday.
Miroslav Klose got the hosts off to a brilliant start as he netted two early goals, putting him two strikes away from equalling Gerd Muller's record of 68 goals for the national team.
Per Mertesacker added another before the break and soon after the restart Mesut Ozil gave Joachim Loew's side a comfortable lead.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mikael Lustig got the comeback under way in the 62nd and 64th minutes. Johan Elmander brought them back to within a goal with 14 minutes left to play anf the stage was then set for Rasmus Elm to grab an equaliser in the third minute of stoppage time to earn Sweden a precious draw and silence the Olympiastadion at the end of one of the most dramatic evenings in the stadium's history.
Olivier Giroud's header deep into stoppage time salvaged a deserved 1-1 draw for France against world champions Spain in Madrid and ended the hosts' run of 24 consecutive qualifying victories. Spain were left to rue Cesc Fabregas' missed penalty just before half-time as the visitors took control of the game after the break.
Northern Ireland were ten minutes away from a famous victory over Portugal but still managed to spoil Cristiano Ronaldo's big day with a battling 1-1 draw in Porto. Ronaldo and his illustrious team-mates dominated possession and chances but had to wait until the 80th minute for Helder Postiga to turn home a scrappy equaliser.
Italy beat Denmark 3-1 despite playing virtually the entire second half with ten men. Riccardo Montolivo and Daniele De Rossi had them 2-0 up eight minutes before the break, although Denmark got a goal back in first-half injury time through William Kvist Jorgensen. Pablo Osvaldo was shown red for violent conduct after an incident involving Denmark's Nicolai Stokholm. However, Cesare Prandelli's team, largely unimpressive in their World Cup qualifying campaign so far, did not let that throw them off their stride as Mario Balotelli - making his first appearance for Italy since Euro 2012 - fired in a third in the 54th minute.
In group D Turkey's hopes of World Cup qualification receded even further as they slumped to a 3-1 defeat in Hungary. Mevlut Erdinc put them ahead midway through the first half, but Vladimir Koman levelled before the break. Other goal came from Adam Szalai and Zoltan Gera from the penalty spot eight minutes later.
Netherlands assumed control of Group D with a thumping 4-1 win over Romania in their top-of-the-table clash in Bucharest. Jeremain Lens, Bruno Martins Indi and Rafael van der Vaart were all on target before the break to ensure the visitors were on course despite a fine individual effort from Ciprian Marica in reply for the hosts.
A fine performance from Scotland goalkeeper Allan McGregor kept Belgium at bay until the 69th minute, but two goal goals from Christian Benteke and Vincent Kompany secured the three points. A goal from Mario Mandzukic former Arsenal forward Eduardo is enough to defeat Wales 2-0 in Osijek.
Macedonia beat Serbia 1-0 courtesy of an Agim Ibraimi penalty after Serbia's Nenad Tomovic was sent off. It was their their first win in World Cup qualifying. The result leaves Serbia six points behind Group A pace-setters Belgium and Croatia.
Dejan Damjanovic struck in first-half injury time as Montenegro claimed a magnificent 1-0 win over Ukraine in Kiev. The result leaves Montenegro on seven points, level at the top of Group H with England, whose game against Poland had to be rescheduled for Wednesday due to adverse weather conditions in Warsaw.
A late goals from Serghei Dadu and Alexandru Epureanu helped Moldova build on last week's goalless draw with Ukraine with a 2-0 win in San Marino. An 84th-minute penalty by Roman Shirokov was enough for Russia to maintain their 100% record in their campaign as they finally managed to see off a dogged Azerbaijan side 1-0 in Moscow.
Israel kept alive their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 3-0 victory over Luxembourg courtesy of first-half goals from Tomer Hemed and Eden Ben Basat, and a second from Hemed early in the second half.
Republic of Ireland claimed a 4-1 victory away to Faroe Islands. Marc Wilson and Jonathan Walters put them into a 2-0 lead before the hosts responded through substitute Arnbjorn Hansen with a 68th-minute header, but Pol Justinussen's own goal and an 88th-minute Darren O'Dea header dashed any hopes of a comeback.
Also in Group C, Marc Janko scored twice as a completely dominant Austria enjoyed a 4-0 win over Kazakhstan in Vienna. The other goal was scored by David Alaba and Martin Harnik in injury-time to complete the win.
Czech Republic and Bulgaria cancelled each other out as they played out a drab goalless draw in their Group B clash in Prague.
Renan Bressan inspired Belarus to a comfortable 2-0 win over Georgia in Minsk as they opened their account in Group I. Bressan, who scored in BATE Borisov's shock Champions League win over Bayern Munich earlier this month, opened the scoring against Georgia inside six minutes and set up the second goal for Stanislav Dragun.
Estonia won the battle of the bottom two sides in Group D after edging past Andorra 1-0 thanks to a second-half header from Andres Oper.
Bosnia-Herzegovina continued their fine start in Group G with a straightforward 3-0 victory over Lithuania thanks to first-half goals from Vedad Ibisevic, Edin Dzeko and Miralem Pjanic.
Greece moved level with Bosnia-Herzegovina as they won 1-0 away to Slovakia. A Dimitris Salpingidis goal in the 63rd minute move them above their opponents into second spot.
Latvia grabbed their first points of the campaign with a 2-0 win at home to ten-man Liechtenstein courtesy of goals either side of the break from Vladimir Kamess and substitute Edgars Gauracs.
Switzerland scored twice in the final 25 minutes to extend their lead in Group E with a 2-0 victory over Iceland. Tranquillo Barnetta broke the deadlock on 65 minutes before Mario Gavranovic clinched a win that moved the Swiss three points clear of the chasing pack after four games.
Norway scored two late goals as they came from behind to beat Cyprus 3-1 and boost their hopes of reaching Brazil. The visitors trailed to a 42nd-minute goal from Efstathios Aloneftis, but the hosts could not hold out until half-time as Brede Hangeland quickly levelled. Tarik Elyounoussi put the visitors in front ten minutes from time with a penalty and substitute Joshua King made the points safe three minutes later.
Also in Group E, Odise Roshi's 37th-minute goal was enough to earn Albania a 1-0 victory over Slovenia that keeps them in the picture for qualification.
Miroslav Klose got the hosts off to a brilliant start as he netted two early goals, putting him two strikes away from equalling Gerd Muller's record of 68 goals for the national team.
Per Mertesacker added another before the break and soon after the restart Mesut Ozil gave Joachim Loew's side a comfortable lead.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mikael Lustig got the comeback under way in the 62nd and 64th minutes. Johan Elmander brought them back to within a goal with 14 minutes left to play anf the stage was then set for Rasmus Elm to grab an equaliser in the third minute of stoppage time to earn Sweden a precious draw and silence the Olympiastadion at the end of one of the most dramatic evenings in the stadium's history.
Olivier Giroud's header deep into stoppage time salvaged a deserved 1-1 draw for France against world champions Spain in Madrid and ended the hosts' run of 24 consecutive qualifying victories. Spain were left to rue Cesc Fabregas' missed penalty just before half-time as the visitors took control of the game after the break.
Northern Ireland were ten minutes away from a famous victory over Portugal but still managed to spoil Cristiano Ronaldo's big day with a battling 1-1 draw in Porto. Ronaldo and his illustrious team-mates dominated possession and chances but had to wait until the 80th minute for Helder Postiga to turn home a scrappy equaliser.
Italy beat Denmark 3-1 despite playing virtually the entire second half with ten men. Riccardo Montolivo and Daniele De Rossi had them 2-0 up eight minutes before the break, although Denmark got a goal back in first-half injury time through William Kvist Jorgensen. Pablo Osvaldo was shown red for violent conduct after an incident involving Denmark's Nicolai Stokholm. However, Cesare Prandelli's team, largely unimpressive in their World Cup qualifying campaign so far, did not let that throw them off their stride as Mario Balotelli - making his first appearance for Italy since Euro 2012 - fired in a third in the 54th minute.
In group D Turkey's hopes of World Cup qualification receded even further as they slumped to a 3-1 defeat in Hungary. Mevlut Erdinc put them ahead midway through the first half, but Vladimir Koman levelled before the break. Other goal came from Adam Szalai and Zoltan Gera from the penalty spot eight minutes later.
Netherlands assumed control of Group D with a thumping 4-1 win over Romania in their top-of-the-table clash in Bucharest. Jeremain Lens, Bruno Martins Indi and Rafael van der Vaart were all on target before the break to ensure the visitors were on course despite a fine individual effort from Ciprian Marica in reply for the hosts.
A fine performance from Scotland goalkeeper Allan McGregor kept Belgium at bay until the 69th minute, but two goal goals from Christian Benteke and Vincent Kompany secured the three points. A goal from Mario Mandzukic former Arsenal forward Eduardo is enough to defeat Wales 2-0 in Osijek.
Macedonia beat Serbia 1-0 courtesy of an Agim Ibraimi penalty after Serbia's Nenad Tomovic was sent off. It was their their first win in World Cup qualifying. The result leaves Serbia six points behind Group A pace-setters Belgium and Croatia.
Dejan Damjanovic struck in first-half injury time as Montenegro claimed a magnificent 1-0 win over Ukraine in Kiev. The result leaves Montenegro on seven points, level at the top of Group H with England, whose game against Poland had to be rescheduled for Wednesday due to adverse weather conditions in Warsaw.
A late goals from Serghei Dadu and Alexandru Epureanu helped Moldova build on last week's goalless draw with Ukraine with a 2-0 win in San Marino. An 84th-minute penalty by Roman Shirokov was enough for Russia to maintain their 100% record in their campaign as they finally managed to see off a dogged Azerbaijan side 1-0 in Moscow.
Israel kept alive their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 3-0 victory over Luxembourg courtesy of first-half goals from Tomer Hemed and Eden Ben Basat, and a second from Hemed early in the second half.
Republic of Ireland claimed a 4-1 victory away to Faroe Islands. Marc Wilson and Jonathan Walters put them into a 2-0 lead before the hosts responded through substitute Arnbjorn Hansen with a 68th-minute header, but Pol Justinussen's own goal and an 88th-minute Darren O'Dea header dashed any hopes of a comeback.
Also in Group C, Marc Janko scored twice as a completely dominant Austria enjoyed a 4-0 win over Kazakhstan in Vienna. The other goal was scored by David Alaba and Martin Harnik in injury-time to complete the win.
Czech Republic and Bulgaria cancelled each other out as they played out a drab goalless draw in their Group B clash in Prague.
Renan Bressan inspired Belarus to a comfortable 2-0 win over Georgia in Minsk as they opened their account in Group I. Bressan, who scored in BATE Borisov's shock Champions League win over Bayern Munich earlier this month, opened the scoring against Georgia inside six minutes and set up the second goal for Stanislav Dragun.
Estonia won the battle of the bottom two sides in Group D after edging past Andorra 1-0 thanks to a second-half header from Andres Oper.
Bosnia-Herzegovina continued their fine start in Group G with a straightforward 3-0 victory over Lithuania thanks to first-half goals from Vedad Ibisevic, Edin Dzeko and Miralem Pjanic.
Greece moved level with Bosnia-Herzegovina as they won 1-0 away to Slovakia. A Dimitris Salpingidis goal in the 63rd minute move them above their opponents into second spot.
Latvia grabbed their first points of the campaign with a 2-0 win at home to ten-man Liechtenstein courtesy of goals either side of the break from Vladimir Kamess and substitute Edgars Gauracs.
Switzerland scored twice in the final 25 minutes to extend their lead in Group E with a 2-0 victory over Iceland. Tranquillo Barnetta broke the deadlock on 65 minutes before Mario Gavranovic clinched a win that moved the Swiss three points clear of the chasing pack after four games.
Norway scored two late goals as they came from behind to beat Cyprus 3-1 and boost their hopes of reaching Brazil. The visitors trailed to a 42nd-minute goal from Efstathios Aloneftis, but the hosts could not hold out until half-time as Brede Hangeland quickly levelled. Tarik Elyounoussi put the visitors in front ten minutes from time with a penalty and substitute Joshua King made the points safe three minutes later.
Also in Group E, Odise Roshi's 37th-minute goal was enough to earn Albania a 1-0 victory over Slovenia that keeps them in the picture for qualification.
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