Czechs seize U-21 initiative

The Czech Republic's 3-0 win against the Netherlands was the outstanding result of Friday's UEFA European Under-21 Championship action.

Title credentials
The reigning European U21 champions demonstrated their title credentials with a devastating Group 3 victory in Den Bosch. David Kobylik opened the scoring after 17 minutes, and FC Baník Ostava striker Václav Sverkos - currently top scorer in the Czech top flight - added a second four minutes into the second half. To complete a great night for coach Werner Licka, his son Mario completed the rout with a goal in the 66th minute.
 
Four in four
France, meanwhile, have four wins in four after a strike on the stroke of half-time from Habib Bamago and a 69th-minute Lionel Mathis effort gave Raymond Domenech's side a 2-0 win against Malta in Lille. In the other Group 1 game, Cyprus strengthened their position with a 2-0 win against Israel in Larnaca.

Italy win
Italy won top spot in Group 9 with a 1-0 win against morning leaders Finland in Sicily, with Gaetano D'Agostini scoring the only goal, to keep them ahead of Wales, who won 1-0 against Azerbaijan thanks to a seventh-minute goal from David Pipe.

Portugal rampant
Turkey remain on top in Group 7 after their nearest rivals, England, were beaten 4-2 in Portugal. Hélder Postiga gave the home side the lead after seven minutes only for Shola Amoebi to equalise for England two minutes later before a Gareth Barry own goal two minutes after that put Portugal on top again. Amoebi - later sent off for two bookable offences - equalised after 33 minutes, only for second-half goals from Carlos Martins and Cristian Ronaldo to settle the tie in the hosts' favour.

Germany triumph
Iceland are still without a point in Group 5 as Shaun Maloney's 69th-minute goal gave Scotland a 1-0 win in Cumbernauld. Germany remain top of the group with two wins in two games, although it took an added-time goal from Mike Hanke to give Jürgen Kohler's side a 1-0 win against Lithuania.

Blatnjak on target
In Group 2, Bosnia-Herzegovina moved level at the top with Norway with a 1-0 win at home against Luxembourg thanks to a 68th-minute Dragan Blatnjak penalty, and Denmark are also in contention after Tommy Bechmann's goal gave them a 1-0 win in Romania.

Spain draw
Poland are three points clear at the top of Group 4 after a late goal from Lukasz Madej gave them a 3-2 win against Hungary in an enthralling tie in Opole. Elsewhere, a 2-0 win against Northern Ireland in Yerevan saw Armenia join the chasing pack behind group leaders Greece in Group 6. They are now level on points with Ukraine and Spain after those two sides shared a goalless draw in Kyiv.

Croatia thwarted
In the evening's only Group 8 encounter, Croatia were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against Belgium, despite taking the lead after just two minutes of their qualifying game in Zagreb. Finally, Georgia and the Republic of Ireland earned their first points of their Group 10 campaign as they shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw in Tbilisi.