World champions Spain went top of Euro 2012 qualifying Group I with a 3-1 win at home to Lithuania on Friday, while Germany beat Turkey 3-0 but Italy were held to a goalless draw in Northern Ireland.
Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente was Spain\'s match-winner, putting them in front early in the second period and then restoring their lead two minutes after Darvydas Sernas had equalised in the 54th minute.
David Silva made doubly sure an upset was avoided with a header 11 minutes from time in Salamanca, as Vicente del Bosque\'s defending champions established a two-point lead in their group.
"They were three important points for us," said Spain coach Del Bosque.
"It\'s what we wanted, six points from two matches. We didn\'t want any surprises."
Boisterous Turkish fans made up almost half of the 74,244-crowd at Berlin\'s Olympic Stadium, but were silenced by an influential performance from Germany\'s Turkish-born midfielder Mesut Oezil.
The 21-year-old Real Madrid playmaker blocked out the jeers to seal his side\'s victory with a 79th-minute goal, after Miroslav Klose had broken the deadlock shortly before half-time.
Klose netted his second in the 87th minute to claim his fifth goal in three qualifying games and his 57th overall in Germany\'s colours -- 11 short of Gerd Mueller\'s all-time record.
"It is impressive how well the team is playing at the moment," said Germany captain Philipp Lahm.
"Nine points from three games and now we have defeated our strongest opponent in the group."
Germany lead Group A by three points from Turkey and Austria, who won 3-0 at home to Azerbaijan and have a game in hand.
Italy dropped their first points of the qualifying games after a dour Group C battle in Belfast.
The four-time world champions enjoyed the lion\'s share of possession and by far the better goalscoring opportunities, but ultimately had to settle for only a point in front of a spirited Windsor Park crowd.
David Healy squandered a gilt-edged chance for the hosts on 30 minutes when he headed wide when unmarked, while the visitors\' best opportunity saw Giampaolo Pazzini misdirect a header four minutes from time.
"We could have been more accurate in the last few metres, but in general I\'m satisfied," said Italy coach Cesare Prandelli.
"We managed to play on a difficult pitch and in a challenging atmosphere, and we competed throughout the 90 minutes."
Italy remain top of their pool by a point from second-placed Estonia, who recorded a superb 3-1 victory over Serbia in Belgrade, but Northern Ireland can go joint top if they beat the Faroe Islands on Tuesday.
Portugal got their campaign back on track with a 3-1 at home to Denmark in new coach Paulo Bento\'s first game in charge.
A quick-fire first-half double from winger Nani set the hosts on their way in Porto, with a late Cristiano Ronaldo strike sealing victory after the Danes replied via a Ricardo Carvalho own goal.
Elsewhere, beaten World Cup finalists the Netherlands opened up a three-point lead in Group E after a 37th-minute strike from Schalke frontman Klaas-Jan Huntelaar secured a 1-0 win in Moldova.
Hungary climbed to third in the standings with an 8-0 mauling of perennial whipping boys San Marino.
Bottom seeds Montenegro extended their 100 percent start in Group G with a 1-0 victory at home to Switzerland that sent them three points clear of England, who welcome the Montenegrins to Wembley on Tuesday.
Armenia produced one of the performances of the night to secure a shock 3-1 win over Slovakia in Group B.
Vladimir Weiss\'s Slovakians, who reached the last 16 at the World Cup, remain level on points at the top of the pool with Russia and the Republic of Ireland, who played out an entertaining game in Dublin that finished with a 3-2 win for the visitors.
France do not play Romania until Saturday, but they had a positive evening as they saw Group D co-leaders Albania and Belarus held to draws by Bosnia-Hercegovina and Luxembourg respectively.
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