Mario Balotelli scored
the winner as Italy came from behind to beat the Czech Republic 2-1 to
seal Group B, while the Dutch had a pair of Robin van Persie goals to
thank for a 2-0 win in Andorra to wrap up Group D of European
qualifying.
Roy Hodgson's England
battled to a goalless draw to maintain their leadership of Group H, one
point clear of Ukraine and Montenegro with two rounds of matches
remaining.
It was an unconvincing
performance and visiting goalkeeper Joe Hart was the busier goalkeeper
in a match of few clear cut chances, but Frank Lampard, making his 100th
appearance for England nearly grabbed the winner with a headed effort
in injury time.
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Italy fell behind to a
19th minute Libor Kozak volleyed strike in Turin, but the Azzurri struck
back through Giorgio Chiellini in the 51st minute before Balotelli
stepped up to hit the winner past Petr Cech from the spot three minutes
later to set the four-time champions on the road to Brazil.
Milan's Balotelli had a
mixed night, wasting several chances to put his side firmly in control,
before winning the penalty as he was crudely fouled by Theodor Gebre
Selassie.
To complete an ultimately disappointing night for the Czechs, Daniel Kolar was given his marching orders near the end.
"We've qualified and we're really satisfied," said Italy coach Cesare Prandelli.
"Tonight there were
spells in which we suffered physically but we also played some quality
football. This squad has a lot of quality," he told AFP.
Fellow powerhouses Germany need
just a single point from their final two matches to join them after a
3-0 win in the Faroe Islands, with Per Mertesacker, Arsenal new boy
Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller scoring the goals.
Sweden
still have a mathematical chance of overhauling the Group C leaders
after Zlatan Ibrahimovic's first minute goal in the 1-0 win in
Kazakhstan, but the Germans can seal qualification next month when they
play the Republic of Ireland.
Switzerland
are also all but assured of a finals place, five points clear of
Iceland in Group E as a pair of Fabian Schar goals saw off Norway 2-0.
France revived their hopes by breaking a scoring drought which had lasted 526 minutes in a fighting 4-2 win in the Belarus.
Franck Ribery canceled
out a Egor Filipenko opener for the hosts and then equalized for the
second time after Timofei Kalachev's effort.
Samir Nasri and Paul
Pogba grabbed vital late goals to clinch victory for the French, who
draw level with world champions Spain on points in Group I.
Spain,
who have played a game less, were salvaging a 2-2 draw with Chile in a
friendly in Geneva, equalizing for the second time in added time through
Jesus Navas.
Eduardo Vargas netted twice for the South Americans, with Tottenham striker Roberto Soldado canceling out his first effort.
Wales' 3-0 home defeat to Serbia in Group A was notable for the appearance of Real Madrid's new world record signing Gareth Bale, who played for half an hour as a second half substitute and almost scored with a late free kick.
Bale has not played since a pre season friendly for his former side Tottenham, nursing a foot injury.
Earlier, Jordan
won a marathon penalty shootout 9-8 with hosts Uzbekistan to qualify
for an intercontinental playoff, with the winners reaching next year's
finals.
They will play South America's fifth placed team after a topsy turvy contest in Tashkent.
The home side went ahead
through Anzur Ismailov and dominated much of the first half, only for
Saeed Murjan to level with a stunning half volley strike just before the
interval.
Despite several chances
for either side, the match went into extra time, which was delayed for
18 minutes by a floodlight failure.
The penalty drama was intense until the unfortunate Ismailov failed to convert his effort to leave the visitors celebrating.
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