Italy lose as Germany cruise

Germany's Dzsenifer Marozsan and Fanndis Fridriksdóttir of Iceland both registered eye-catching hat-tricks as the UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship second qualifying round got under way, with holders Italy soundly beaten by Switzerland.

Group 1
Fanndis Fridriksdóttir was in imperious form as Iceland twice came from behind to surprise Denmark 3-2, all the goals coming in the opening 45 minutes. Fridriksdóttir, the joint-top scorer at the 2007 finals, cancelled out goals from Linette Andreasen and Katrine Veje before completing her hat-trick in first-half added time. There was no way back for Denmark. Sweden drew 0-0 with Poland in the day's other game.

Group 2
Finalists 12 months ago, Norway suffered an early scare against Ukraine as they fell behind on nine minutes but soon recovered, goals from Hege Hansen (2), Trine Lund and Cecilie Pedersen (2) earning a 5-1 win. They will go through with a game to spare on Saturday if they beat Belgium, who spent much of their match with Austria on the back foot but made their one genuine chance count eleven minutes before half-time to claim the points.

Group 3
Azerbaijan enjoyed a dream start to life at this level as Ana Atayeva and Narmina Rzayeva scored inside the opening half-hour to set up a 2-0 victory against section hosts Portugal. A shock looked on the cards in the other game too, as Wales took the lead against France midway through the first half. It was still 1-0 with 15 minutes remaining before Léa Rubio levelled from the penalty spot and Pauline Crammer swiftly put France in front. Further goals from substitutes Fanny Tenret and Marine Pervier earned a misleading 4-1 scoreline.

Group 4
Germany are ever-presents in final tournaments and took a giant step to continuing that record with a 4-0 victory against Russia. The 1. FFC Frankfurt-bound Marozsan did most of the damage in front of 2,380 spectators in Heilbronn with a hat-trick in 15 minutes either side of half-time, before Sylvia Arnold made it four. Maren Meinert's side beat Russia 8-3 at this stage 12 months ago. On Saturday Germany will take on a Slovakia side reeling from a 3-1 defeat by the Republic of Ireland, Susan Ronan's side coming from behind thanks to goals from Louise Quinn and substitutes Susan Hackett and Zoe Doherty.

Group 5
The Netherlands claimed the biggest winning margin of the day as they overwhelmed Romania 8-0 with Lisanne Grimberg, Suzanne de Kort and Renate Jansen all contributing two goals apiece. Yet it was Switzerland who took the headlines as they all but ended Italy's title defence. Goals from Ramona Bachmann and Chantal Fimians put Yannick Schwéry's team 2-0 up inside 26 minutes, Ana Maria Crnogorcevic sealing the points with her 19th goal in 25 appearances at this level before the hour.

Group 6
Finalists in each of the last two seasons, England and Spain both opened their accounts with comfortable victories. England brushed aside section hosts Hungary 4-0 while for Spain, two second-half goals from Nekane Díez, saw off Finland.