Joachim Low's side raced into a three-goal lead within 28 minutes with Mesut Ozil scoring twice - though Miroslav Klose attempted to claim the first - and Lukas Podolski also on target.

Marko Arnautovic pulled a goal back for Austria just before the break, but Ozil made it four just after the interval.

Martin Harnik again reduced the arrears, but further goals from Andre Schurrle and Mario Gotze completed the rout.

Atletico Madrid's Arda Turan scored a dramatic 95th-minute free-kick to send Turkey into second place as they eventually got the better of Kazakhstan 2-1.

Guus Hiddink's men looked to be headed for a night of frustration as Ulan Konysbayev cancelled out Burak Yilmaz's opener, with Yilmaz also missing a penalty.

Having wasted a number of chances, Turkey lost their cool and Selcuk Inan was sent off late on, but seconds later Turan hit the winner.

Rauf Aliyev earned Azerbaijan a 1-1 draw against Belgium in Baku to dent their visitors' hopes of finishing runners-up to Germany.

The Belgians dominated the match but had only Timmy Simons' penalty to show for it when Aliyev found the target five minutes from time.

World number one team Holland ran up double figures in Eindhoven against San Marino, who share last place in FIFA's rankings.

Robin van Persie made the most of his break from Arsenal's early-season struggles, scoring four goals, and Wesley Sneijder and Klaas Jan Huntelaar added two each.

John Heitinga, Dirk Kuyt and Georgino Wijnaldum were also on target as Group E minnows San Marino's goal difference slipped to -43 after eight games.

Hungary drew level on points with second-placed Sweden after snatching a late winner over the Scandinavian side in Budapest.

The clash had looked set to finish in a draw after Christian Wilhelmsson's 60th-minute goal cancelled out Imre Szabics' opener for Hungary just before half-time.

However, there was to be a late twist as Hungary, who missed an early penalty through Tamas Hajnal, claimed a 2-1 victory thanks to Gergely Rudolf's 90th-minute clincher.

Kasper Hamalainen scored twice as Finland cruised to a 4-1 triumph over Moldova in Helsinki.

Mikael Forssell's penalty and Igor Armas' own goal put the result beyond doubt long before Serghei Alexeev's late consolation.

Wayne Rooney hit the goal trail once more as England took a significant stride towards Euro 2012 with an impressive 3-0 defeat of Bulgaria.

The Manchester United striker will approach Tuesday's Wembley meeting with Wales in fine fettle after grabbing a brace in Sofia to add to Gary Cahill's well-taken opener.

Goals from Steve Morison and captain Aaron Ramsey gave Wales a 2-1 win over Montenegro in Cardiff - their first win of the qualifying campaign.

Montenegro pulled a goal back through Stevan Jovetic but they could not find a leveller and now trail England by three points with two games to play.

Antonio Cassano scored the only goal for Italy tonight as they moved a step closer to the finals with a 1-0 away win over the Faroe Islands in Group C.

A horror back-pass from Steven Davis condemned Northern Ireland to a 1-0 defeat in Serbia, the Rangers midfielder gifting Marko Pantelic a 67th-minute goal in the battle for second place.

Estonia also remained in with a shout of second spot after a 2-1 win in Slovenia.

Konstantin Vassiljev's first-half penalty looked for a long time as though it would be enough to earn the visitors victory.

Tim Matavz, who had missed two good chances, eventually equalised in the 77th minute but parity lasted just three minutes before Ats Purje netted the winner.

Russia passed the first test in a crucial week as they edged out FYR Macedonia 1-0 in Moscow.

Igor Semshov's 41st-minute strike was enough to win this one and they will now turn their attention to the visit of fellow challengers, the Republic of Ireland, on Tuesday.

The Republic's hopes suffered a blow this evening as they could only manage a goalless home draw against Slovakia.

Armenia recorded a 3-0 away win against the pool's bottom side Andorra.

A virtuoso performance from Cristiano Ronaldo helped Portugal see off 10-man Cyprus 4-0 to stay top of Group H.

The in-form Real Madrid forward converted a first-half penalty after Sinisa Dobrasinovic was sent off, and then wrapped things up to move level with Nuno Gomes as his country's fourth-highest all-time goalscorer.

He also laid on a third for Hugo Almeida and Danny added a fourth.

Norway kept their hopes on track, although it needed a late penalty to see off Group H rivals Iceland 1-0 in Oslo.

The home side dominated their Nordic neighbours but appeared to be heading for an evening of disappointment until Mohamed Abdellaoui scored from the spot after a challenge on substitute John Carew.

France had to cling on in Tirana as a 2-1 win against Albania moved Laurent Blanc's team closer to an automatic place at Euro 2012.

Early goals from Karim Benzema and Yann M'Vila looked to have put Les Bleus in complete control inside the first quarter. Albania rocked the visitors with a reply from Erjon Bogdani in the opening minute of the second half, but there was to be no comeback.

In Group D, Romania kept alive their hopes of reaching Poland and Ukraine as Gabriel Torje's first-half brace secured a 2-0 victory in Luxembourg.

Bosnia-Herzegovina won 2-0 in Belarus in the first match of their double-header to leapfrog their opponents into second spot.

Group F leaders Greece maintained their unbeaten record in qualifying as Sotiris Ninis' goal on the hour secured a 1-0 victory over Israel in Tel Aviv.

Croatia kept themselves just a point behind Greece with a routine 3-1 win in Malta.

Ognjen Vukojevic and Milan Badelj gave the visitors a two-goal lead in little over half an hour.

Michael Mifsud's goal briefly threatened a shock comeback but, after Croatia had twice hit the woodwork, defender Dejan Lovren made the game safe.

Latvia ended any faint hopes Georgia may have had of making a late push for second place in Group F as they pulled off a surprise 1-0 win in Tbilisi, Aleksandrs Cauna's 64th-minute free-kick proving decisive.

In Group I, Lithuania and Liechtenstein played out a goalless draw.