France suffered defeat to an impressive Turkey side but Belgium, Germany and Italy were convincing winners on Saturday.
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Estonia 1-2 Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland made it three wins from three in Group C as substitutes Conor Washington and Josh Magennis scored in the final 15 minutes to engineer a turnaround in Tallinn. Home captain Konstantin Vassiljev had curled in a precise free-kick, and struck the bar with a long-range effort before the visitors rallied.
Belarus 0-2 Germany
Strikes from Leroy Sané and Marco Reus maintained Germany’s perfect start with a routine win that condemned Belarus to a third straight defeat. Manuel Neuer produced two close-range saves at 1-0, and Sané’s glancing header hit the post late on.
GROUP E
Croatia 2-1 Wales
Ivan Perišić was the star as Croatia bounced back from March’s shock defeat in Hungary. The Internazionale midfielder’s 17th-minute cross was diverted into his own net by James Lawrence, Perišić scoring the second just after the interval. David Brooks set up a frantic finish but Wales suffered a first defeat in the group.
Azerbaijan 1-3 Hungary
Hungary extended their perfect record against Azerbaijan to six games. Willi Orban’s early header and post-interval tap-in silenced Baku before Mahir Emreli responded with Azerbaijan’s first goal in this fixture in UEFA competition. Debutant Dávid Holman struck a fierce third to keep Hungary top of the section.
GROUP H
Iceland 1-0 Albania
Johann Gudmundsson’s brilliant solo effort edged Iceland to their second win from three group outings. The midfielder weaved his way past three Albania players before sweeping in a composed low finish to settle a tight contest in Reykjavik.
Moldova 1-0 Andorra
Moldova broke their duck at the third time of asking thanks to a close-range header from Igor Armaş. The hosts had to play almost all of the second half with ten men after captain Artur Ioniţa was dismissed for two bookings but Andorra – still seeking their first point – could not capitalise.
Turkey 2-0 France
Turkey made it three wins from three in Group H as they stunned world champions France. Kaan Ayhan and Cengiz Ünder netted in the first half as the hosts beat Les Bleus, who offered little and dropped to second in the standings, for the first time in their history.
GROUP I
Russia 9-0 San Marino
Artem Dzyuba scored four times as Russia earned their record victory. After Michele Cevoli’s own goal opened the scoring, Dzyuba’s penalty and first international goals for Fyodor Kudryashov and Anton Miranchuk made it four at the break. Dzyuba grabbed three more after the interval, including following up after his penalty was saved, and Fyodor Smolov also netted.
Scotland 2-1 Cyprus
Steve Clarke looked set for a frustrating debut as Scotland manager until captain Andy Robertson – a UEFA Champions League winner seven days ago – drilled in from range a minute past the hour. Ioannis Kousoulos was left unmarked to head an 87th-minute equaliser, but two minutes later Scotland substitute Oliver Burke snatched a dramatic victory.
Belgium 3-0 Kazakhstan
Dries Martens took centre stage in Brussels, converting an Eden Hazard centre to make an early breakthrough then delivering the cross from which Timothy Castagne headed his first international goal. Mertens struck the post early in the second period, Romelu Lukaku tapping in the rebound, with Kevin De Bruyne also denied by the woodwork as Belgium stayed top of the group with maximum points.
GROUP J
Finland 2-0 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Having scored 30 goals for Norwich City this season, Teemu Pukki capped a prolific season with both here. His first was a solo strike after hesitant defending from the visitors with the second an expertly-taken chip. Bosnia and Herzegovina stay on four points, two below their hosts.
Armenia 3-0 Leichtenstein
Armenia eased to their first points in the section, helped by two goals in the opening 18 minutes. Gevorg Ghazaryan slid in an early opener before Aleksandre Karapetyan pounced on a rebound to add the second. Tigran Barseghyan’s late clincher ensured Liechtenstein remain without a point or goal in the group.
Greece 0-3 Italy
Three goals in ten minutes gave Italy a comfortable win. Nicolò Barella and Lorenzo Insigne with their feet and Leonardo Bonucci with his head helped Italy to a third victory in three group games. Vasilis Barkas made two fine late saves but Greece slipped five points behind the leaders.
