World Cup qualifier round-up:Mesut Ozil scored twice as Germanybegan their Group C campaign with a predictable 3-0 win over a defensive disciplined but extremely limited Faroe Islandsin Hanover on Friday.
There was early drama as Faroes goalkeeper Gunnar Nielsen kept the hosts at bay for almost half an hour and a hint of desperation was creeping into the Germans' play before Mario Goetze broke through.
After that Germany relaxed, stroked the ball around, often at walking pace, and completed the win with two Ozil goals in the second half to go top of a group that also includes the Republic of Ireland.
England
set off on the long road to Brazil at sprinting pace with an emphatic 5-0 defeat of
Moldova
in Chisinau.
Frank Lampard’s penalty after three minutes silenced the crowd and England had their first three Group H points in the bag before half-time with Lampard heading a second and Jermain Defoe’s shot underlining the gulf in class between the sides.
England's tempo dropped after the break as Moldova enjoyed a little more of the ball but the hosts conceded two more goals as James Milner grabbed his first for his country and Leighton Baines’s free kick found the net with the help of a deflection.
Ten-man
Wales
kicked off their campaign with a 2-0 defeat as goals from Vincent Kompany and Jan Vertonghen gave
Belgium
victory in Cardiff.
Injury-hit Wales had made a solid start against the Group A favourites but their good work was undone when James Collins was shown a straight red for a reckless lunge on Guillaume Gillet after 25 minutes.
Manchester City skipper Kompany capitalised to give the visitors the lead with a header three minutes before the break, with Vertonghen sealing the three points with an unstoppable free-kick late on.
Goals by Viktor Faizulin and Roman Shirokov gave Fabio Capello's
Russia
a winning start with a 2-0 victory over
Northern Ireland
in Moscow.
Faizulin, appearing in only his second international after making his debut in last month's friendly against Ivory Coast, put the home side ahead with a fine strike on the half-hour in Italian coach Capello's first competitive match in charge.
Russia dominated the match but only stretched their lead when Shirokov calmly slotted home a penalty in the 78th minute to wrap up the points for the home side after defender Craig Cathcart was harshly judged to have pushed Alexander Kokorin.
The visitors, ranked 116 positions below 13th-placed Russia by FIFA, rarely got out of their half and had only one effort on goal – a Gareth McAuley header that was cleared off the line.
