Germany are sitting pretty after Kazakh win

Second-half goals from Miroslav Klose, Mario Gomez and Lukas Podolski have given Germany a 3-0 win against Kazakhstan.

Second-half goals from Miroslav Klose, Mario Gomez and Lukas Podolski gave Germany a 3-0 win against Kazakhstan last night for their fourth straight victory in Group A Euro 2012 qualifying.

Klose, who scored twice against Turkey on Friday, opened the scoring minutes after the restart before substitute Gomez put Germany in control with a goal in the 76th minute. Podolski, who provided both his compatriots with their earlier efforts, them helped himself to one as his powerful, left-foot shot five minutes from time gave Joachim Loew's side maximum points from four games.

In the group's other match, Rashad Sadygov struck in the first half against Turkey to deliver Azerbaijan their first points. Armenia scored three goals in the first half and added one more after the break to secure a 4-0 win over Andorra. Gevorg Ghazaryan, Henrik Mkhitaryan and Yura Movsisyan made it 3-0 at half time. Marcos Pizzelli hit the target from long range to seal the win seven minutes after the break.

The win puts Armenia top of Group B with seven points, although Russia, Slovakia and the Republic of Ireland each have six points and a game in hand. In Group C, Kyle Lafferty spared Northern Ireland a humiliating defeat by the Faroe Islands when he struck a 76th-minute equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw. Christian Lamhauge Holst gave the home side a shock lead in the 60th minute. Northern Ireland, who held 2006 World Cup winners Italy to a 0-0 draw last Friday, missed several chances to win.

The draw gives the Faroes - made up of a group of islands in the north Atlantic - their first point in qualifying. Balazs Dzsudzsak scored an injury-time winner to give Hungary a 2-1 victory over Finland in Budapest. Mikael Forssell's 86th-minute goal looked to have earned Finland their first point in qualifying, but Dzsudzsak scored five minutes into added time. Adam Szalai opened the scoring for Hungary in the 50th minute.

South Korea and Japan, two of Asia's World Cup representatives last summer, fought out a 0-0 draw in a blood-and-thunder friendly lacking only goals to mark a pulsating clash between the Asian rivals. Japan, who stunned Argentina 1-0 last week in their first match under Alberto Zaccheroni, the former AC Milan coach, pushed South Korea hard. * Agencies For the rest of last night's international results, log on to www.thenational.ae/sport