Euro 2020 qualifying: Saturday review as Northern Ireland come back v Estonia and Wales lose in Croatia
Scotland and Northern Ireland earned narrow victories but Wales were outplayed by Croatia as we round-up Saturday's Euro 2020 qualifiers.
Results
- Croatia 2-1 Wales
- Iceland 1-0 Albania
- Armenia 3-0 Liechtenstein
- Azerbaijan 1-3 Hungary
- Estonia 1-2 Northern Ireland
- Finland 2-0 Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Moldova 1-0 Andorra
- Russia 9-0 San Marino
- Belarus 0-2 Germany
- Belgium 3-0 Kazakhstan
- Greece 0-3 Italy
- Scotland 2-1 Cyprus
- Turkey 2-0 France
Burke to the rescue for Scotland
Substitute Oliver Burke was the late hero as Steve Clarke's Scotland tenure began with a nervy 2-1 win over Cyprus at Hampden Park.
The pressure was already on the home side after losing 3-0 to Kazakhstan in their opening 2020 European Championship qualifier in Astana opener before beating San Marino 2-0 away in the second of their first double-header, which proved insufficient for Alex McLeish to keep his job.
The goalless first-half under the new head coach was not the blood and thunder often required by the Tartan Army who had to exercise patience.
Skipper Andy Robertson, who celebrated Liverpool's Champions League final win over Tottenham in Madrid last Saturday, thundered in a drive in the 61st minute for his first goal of the season only for defender Ioannis Kousoulous to head level in the 87th minute to stun the Tartan Army.
However, Burke, on for debutant Eamonn Brophy in the 73rd minute, headed a Ryan Fraser cross on to the post and followed up the rebound for his first Scotland goal to claim three valuable points
Magennis the hero as Northern Ireland win in Estonia
Northern Ireland's Euro 2020 qualifying hopes survived a scare as substitute Josh Magennis scored twice in four minutes to snatch a 2-1 win in Estonia.
Konstantin Vassiljev's 25th-minute free-kick looked like being the difference between the two sides as Northern Ireland's struggles in front of goal away from home continued, but Magennis turned it around in Tallinn in the final 15 minutes.
Both goals came via the slightest of touches - the first on Conor Washington's shot and the second enough to divert Jordan Jones' cross into the net - but both could have a major impact for Northern Ireland.
Defeat here would have left their Euro 2020 hopes hanging by a thread with home and away games against Holland and Germany to come later in the year, but victory keeps them top of the group with a maximum haul of nine points ahead of Tuesday's trip to Belarus.
Wales feeling the heat as they lose in Croatia - despite late fightback
Wales suffered a Euro 2020 setback as Croatia beat them 2-1 on a scorching afternoon in Osijek.
A 17th-minute James Lawrence own goal and an Ivan Perisic strike at the start of the second half sealed Wales' fate on a day when the temperature gauge was touching 30 degrees and Croatia were too hot to handle.
Substitute David Brooks gave Wales a lifeline 13 minutes from time with a deflected drive and the Bournemouth forward almost equalised in the final seconds to snatch an unlikely point.
Elsewhere...
World Cup winners France suffered a shock defeat to Turkey in Euro 2020 qualifying group H.
Kaan Ayhan headed the opener and Roma winger Cengiz Under, an influential presence from both set-pieces and open play, gave the hosts a 2-0 interval lead.
Didier Deschamps' side showed little sign of fighting their way back into the game in the second half and could even have lost more heavily but for some good saves by Hugo Lloris.
First-half goals from Nicolo Barella, Lorenzo Insigne and Leonardo Bonucci gave Italy a comfortable 3-0 Euro 2020 qualifying win in Greece.
The Azzurri moved three points clear at the top of Group J after leaving the hosts reeling with three goals in the space of 10 minutes.
Italy have won all three of their first three matches, but defeat saw Greece slip behind Finland, who now occupy second spot.
Leroy Sane's early goal set Germany on their way to a routine 2-0 win away to Belarus.
Sane, controversially left of the the squad for the 2018 World Cup, made it two goals in Germany's opening two Group C matches as Joachim Low's side built on their win away to Holland.
Marco Reus made the points safe in the second half as the visitors continued their rebuilding after last year's miserable World Cup and Nations League campaigns.