Wayne Rooney puts England ahead in Podgorica.

A second-half goal by Pedro gave Spain a 1-0 away win against France last night as the world champions recaptured first place in qualifying Group I with three matches left in the campaign.

Pedro tapped in a Nacho Monreal cross in the 58th minute after which Spain controlled a pulsating match as France ended with 10 men after Paul Pogba was shown a red card in the 78th.

Spain, who were overtaken at the top of the group by France last Friday following a 1-1 home draw against Finland, now have 11 points from five games and lead Les Bleus by one point.

France, who grabbed a 1-1 draw against Spain in Madrid last October and beat Georgia 3-1 at home last Friday, next play Georgia away in September while Spain travel to Finland.

A spirited second-half comeback from Montenegro earned them a 1-1 draw with England to keep the tiny Balkan country in charge of Group H.

Wayne Rooney’s sixth-minute header gave England a deserved lead and they could have been further in front as Montenegro failed to fire before half-time.

However, the tables were turned after the break with the home side, roared on by their raucous fans, laying siege to England’s goal before substitute Dejan Damjanovic poked home a 76th-minute equaliser after a goalmouth scramble.

It was the third draw between the two countries after both matches in Euro 2012 qualifying ended all square.

Montenegro stayed top with 14 points from six games, two more than Roy Hodgson’s England who they must still face at Wembley.

In Nuremberg, Germany hit three goals in eight minutes on the way to a 4-1 romp over Kazakhstan that kept them in control of Group C.

Borussia Dortmund trio Marco Reus, Mario Goetze and Ilkay Guendogan scored in the first half and Reus added a fourth goal in stoppage time at the end of the game as group leaders Germany won for the fifth time in six qualifiers.

The Germans, who also hit the woodwork six times in a one-sided encounter that at times looked more like a friendly, played without a recognised striker just as they did in Friday’s 3-0 victory in Kazakhstan.

Rafael van der Vaart scored early and Robin van Persie struck a second-half double as Netherlands sealed a comfortable 4-0 home win against Romania to close in on qualification.

The Dutch are top of Group D with a maximum 18 points from six matches while Romania are third on 10.

Denmark’s chances of qualifying suffered a fresh blow when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Group B rivals Bulgaria.

The home team, who have won just one of their five qualifiers, controlled possession in the first half and failed to make the most of their domination.

With Ajax playmaker Christian Eriksen pulling the strings, the Danes could have been out of sight by half-time but the final ball often let them down.

Content to sit back, Bulgaria were dangerous on the break throughout and went ahead early in the second half with a classic counter-attack as midfielder Stanislav Manolev swept the ball home at the end of a flowing move.

Andreas Cornelius was then clumsily brought down by defender Ilia Milanov after 63 minutes and Denmark captain Daniel Agger stroked in the resulting spot-kick.

In another Group B match, Petr Cech marked his 100th cap by keeping a clean sheet and Matej Vydra scored twice as Czech Republic coasted to a 3-0 victory over Armenia.

South America
Bolivia vs Argentina - 1-1
Ecuador vs Paraguay - 4-1