Germany survive, Spain suffer

The other leading countries emerged unscathed from the final internationals of the season except Spain, whose 0-0 draw in Northern Ireland five days after a home defeat by Greece left them struggling to secure automatic qualification for next year's tournament.

Miroslav Klose spared German blushes in Torshavn with an 89th-minute opener and Fredi Bobic scored two minutes into stoppage time to deny the Faroes their most noteworthy result since beating Austria 1-0 13 years ago.

The result put Germany two points clear at the top of Group Five on 11 points. Iceland, who won 3-0 in Lithuania, are second on nine points, followed by Scotland on eight.

Turkey had to come from behind twice before beating Macedonia 3-2 in Istanbul and England fought back from a goal down to beat Slovakia 2-1 in Middlesbrough, skipper Michael Owen scoring two goals in his 50th international.

Those results left Turkey top of Group Seven on 15 points, two clear of England, who are seven points ahead of third-placed Slovakia.

There was another significant win for Greece in Group Six, just five days after beating Spain, as they defeated Ukraine 1-0 in Athens thanks to an 86th-minute winner from Angelos Haristeas.

If Greece win in Armenia on September 6 and beat Northern Ireland at home on October 11 they will secure their place in next year's tournament in Portugal.

Spain, the long-time group leaders, were held to a 0-0 draw by Northern Ireland in Belfast, the 10th straight game in which the Irish have failed to score. Greece have 12 points, Spain 10 and Ukraine nine.

EXPECTED WINS

Elsewhere, there were expected wins for most of the countries chasing places in Portugal.

Denmark consolidated their position at the top of Group Two after goals from Claus Jensen and Thomas Gravesen gave them a 2-0 win in Luxembourg.

Denmark are top with 13 points from six games ahead of Norway, who have 11 points after a 1-1 draw with Romania in Oslo. Third-placed Romania have 10 points.

There were two big wins in Group Three with the Czech Republic crushing Moldova 5-0 and Austria recovering from the shock of losing to Moldova on Saturday by beating Belarus 5-0.

The Czechs, who also missed a penalty, moved on to 13

In Group Four, Sweden scored a convincing 3-0 win over Poland and Hungary won 5-0 in San Marino to occupy first and second places, pushing Latvia down from first to third.

But it is a tight squeeze with Sweden on 11, Hungary on 11 and Latvia on 10 points.

It is also tight in Group Eight where Bulgaria, who did not play, remained top on 11 points. Croatia's 1-0 win over Estonia and Belgium's 3-0 stroll against Andorra mean the top three teams -- Bulgaria (11), Croatia (10) and Belgium (10) are separated by just one point -- with Estonia not yet out of it on eight.

SPIRITED FINLAND

Italy closed the gap on surprise Group Nine leaders Wales after goals from striker Francesco Totti (32) and Alessandro Del Piero (73) gave them a 2-0 win over a spirited Finland side in Helsinki.

Italy moved to 10 points from five matches, two behind Wales who have 12 points from four matches. Finland are now all but out of contention with six points from six games.

Also out of the running is Dejan Savicevic who resigned as coach after his Serbia and Montenegro side conceded two goals in the last two minutes to lose 2-1 to Azerbaijan in Baku.

Ireland continued their climb up the Group 10 standings with a second home win in five days. They followed up Saturday's 2-1 victory over Albania with a 2-0 success against Georgia thanks to goals from Gary Doherty and Robbie Keane.

With Switzerland beating Albania 3-2 in Geneva, the Swiss stayed top on 12 points, followed by Ireland on 10 and Russia (7).

Defender Bernt Haas put Switzerland in front with a header from Hakan Yakin's corner after 10 minutes only for Altin Lala to level for Albania after 23 minutes.

Alexander Frei, who scored both goals in Switzerland's 2-2 draw with Russia on Saturday, put the hosts back in front shortly after the half-hour mark, with midfielder Ricardo Cabanas adding a third after 72 minutes before an Ervin Skela penalty four minutes from time set up a tense finale.