Three-times European champions Germany needed a 79th minute goal from substitute Max Kruse to edge past Georgia 2-1 yesterday and book their spot at the Euro 2016 finals after another wasteful performance in their final Group D qualifier.
Germany squandered more than a dozen clear scoring chances in the first half alone against their weaker opponents before a 50th minute penalty from Thomas Mueller finally put them ahead.
Georgia, already out of the running, levelled three minutes later with captain Jaba Kankava’s superb 20-metre volley.
Kruse came to the rescue three minutes after coming on by slotting home from a Mesut Ozil pass to make sure the world champions, who had to put celebrations on hold after Thursday’s shock 1-0 loss in Ireland, finished top on 22 points.
Robert Lewandowski condemned Ireland to the play-offs as Poland also booked their ticket for France via Group D.
The Bayern Munich striker’s 15th goal in his last six games for club and country handed the home side a 2-1 victory at the Narodowy Stadium and automatic qualification.
Grzegorz Krychowiak had given the home side a 13th-minute lead which Jonathan Walters cancelled out from the penalty spot three minutes later, but Lewandowski’s intervention as the first-half drew to a close ultimately proved decisive as John O’Shea was sent off for a second bookable offence in injury time.
Albania qualified for the 2016 European Championship finals, their first ever major tournament, when a 3-0 away win over Armenia clinched second place in Group I.
The Albanians finished behind Portugal and ahead of Denmark, who will await their play-off fate, in the final group standings to reach the tournament in France.
An own goal by Armenia’s Kamo Hovhannisyan put Albania in front after nine minutes and they added further goals through defender Berat Djimsiti and striker Armando Sadiku.
Armenia had the first chance when Yura Movsisyan’s powerful free-kick pierced the Albanian wall and was saved by goalkeeper Etrit Berisha.
The opening goal came after midfielder Odise Roshi had a shot deflected by the defence, only to set up Migjen Basha inside the area. His shot came off Armenia’s goalkeeper Gevorg Kasparov and defender Hovhannisyan turned the ball into his own net trying to stop a charging Shkelzen Gashi.
In the 23rd minute, Djimsiti lightly touched a free-kick from Ledian Memushaj into the goal to give Albania a 2-0 half-time lead.
Heckled by their fans at the break, Armenia played better in the second half, launching several dangerous attacks, including a powerful shot from Marcos Pizzelli in the 71st minute.
However, Albania sealed the victory in the 76th when Sadiku shot inside the area from a pass by Odise Roshi.
From the same group, Portugal finished their qualifying campaign on a high note after beating eliminated Serbia 2-1 with a makeshift side missing Cristiano Ronaldo and several other regular starters.
Nani gave the visitors an early lead and substitute Joao Moutinho sealed their win after Zoran Tosic equalised for the Serbians, who had Aleksandar Kolarov and Nemanja Matic sent off for dissent in the closing stages.
A seventh successive win left Portugal top of the section with 21 points from eight games, seven more than second-placed Albania.
Romania qualified for the finals when they comfortably won 3-0 in the Faroe Islands to clinch the second automatic qualifying place in Group F.
The win left unbeaten Romania with 20 points, one behind already-qualified Northern Ireland, who ended their campaign with a 1-1 draw in Finland.
Hungary remained in third place on 16 after losing 4-3 in Greece and will try to reach the finals via the play-offs.
Constantin Budescu, who replaced Claudio Keseru in Romania’s line-up, scored twice before the break and almost grabbed a hat-trick in the second half.
Alexandru Maxim put the result beyond doubt with their third goal eight minutes from time.
Romania, criticised by some pundits for their defensive approach, conceded only two goals in the campaign, fewer than any of the 53 teams in the qualifying competition in Europe.
Northern Ireland took the lead against Finland with a first-half header from centre-back Craig Cathcart before the home side grabbed an equaliser with an 87th minute strike from their centre-back Paulus Arajurri.
Summaries
Group D
Germany 2
Mueller 50 pen; Kruse 79;
Georgia 1
Kankava 53;
Gibraltar 0
Scotland 6
Martin 25; Maloney 39; Fletcher 52, 56, 85; Naismith 90;
Poland 2
Krychowiak 13; Lewandowski 42;
Ireland 1
Walters 16 pen;
Red card: O’Shea (IRE) 90.
Group F
F. Islands 0
Romania 3
Budescu 4, 45; Maxim 82;
Finland 1
Arajuuri 87;
N. Ireland 1
Cathcart 31;
Greece 4
Stafylidis 5; Tachtsidis 57; Mitroglou 79; Kone 86;
Hungary 3
Lovrencsics 26; Nemeth 54, 76;
Group I
Armenia 0
Albania 3
Hovhannisyan 9og; Djimsiti 23; Sadiku 76;
Serbia 1
Tosic 65;
Portugal 2
Nani 5; Moutinho 78;
Red cards: Kolarov (S) 80; Matic (S) 81.
Friendly International
Denmark 1
Sviatchenko 90;
France 2
Giroud 4, 6;
Group A
Playing tomorrow
Latvia vs Kazakhstan - 20.45
Netherlands vs Czech Rep. - 20.45
Turkey vs Iceland - 20.45
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Iceland | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 5 | 20 |
| Czech Rep. | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 12 | 19 |
| Turkey | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 9 | 15 |
| Netherlands | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 11 | 13 |
| Latvia | 9 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 18 | 5 |
| Kazakhstan | 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 18 | 2 |
Group B
Playing tomorrow
Belgium vs Israel - 20.45
Cyprus vs Bosnia - 20.45
Wales vs Andorra - 20.45
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Belgium | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 4 | 20 |
| Wales | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 18 |
| Bosnia | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 14 |
| Israel | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 11 | 13 |
| Cyprus | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 14 | 12 |
| Andorra | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 34 | 0 |
Group C
Playing today
Belarus vs Macedonia - 20.45
Luxembourg vs Slovakia - 20.45
Ukraine vs Spain - 20.45
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Spain | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 3 | 24 |
| Slovakia | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 6 | 19 |
| Ukraine | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 3 | 19 |
| Belarus | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 10 |
| Luxembourg | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 23 | 4 |
| Macedonia | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 18 | 3 |
Group D
Played yesterday
Germany vs Georgia - 2-1
Gibraltar vs Scotland - 0-6
Poland vs Ireland - 2-1
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Germany | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 9 | 22 |
| Poland | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 33 | 10 | 21 |
| Ireland | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 7 | 18 |
| Scotland | 10 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 12 | 15 |
| Georgia | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 16 | 9 |
| Gibraltar | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 56 | 0 |
Group E
Playing today
Estonia vs Switzerland - 20.45
Lithuania vs England - 20.45
San Marino vs Slovenia - 20.45
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| England | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 3 | 27 |
| Switzerland | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 23 | 8 | 18 |
| Slovenia | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 11 | 13 |
| Estonia | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 10 |
| Lithuania | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 15 | 10 |
| San Marino | 9 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 34 | 1 |
Group F
Played yesterday
Faroe Islands vs Romania - 0-3
Finland vs Northern Ireland - 1-1
Greece vs Hungary - 4-3
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| N. Ireland | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 8 | 21 |
| Romania | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 20 |
| Hungary | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 16 |
| Finland | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 12 |
| F. Islands | 10 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 17 | 6 |
| Greece | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 6 |
Group G
Playing today
Austria vs Liechtenstein - 18.00
Russia vs Montenegro - 18.00
Sweden vs Moldova - 18.00
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Austria | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 5 | 25 |
| Russia | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 5 | 17 |
| Sweden | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 9 | 15 |
| Montenegro | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 11 | 11 |
| Liechtenstein | 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 23 | 5 |
| Moldova | 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 14 | 2 |
Group H
Playing tomorrow
Bulgaria vs Azerbaijan - 20.45
Italy vs Norway - 20.45
Malta vs Croatia - 20.45
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Italy | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 21 |
| Norway | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 8 | 19 |
| Croatia (-1) | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 5 | 17 |
| Bulgaria | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 8 |
| Azerbaijan | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 6 |
| Malta | 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 15 | 2 |
Group I
Played yesterday
Armenia vs Albania - 0-3
Serbia vs Portugal - 1-2
International friendly
Denmark vs France - 1-2
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Portugal | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 21 |
| Albania | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 14 |
| Denmark | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 12 |
| Serbia (-3) | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 4 |
| Armenia | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 14 | 2 |