AC Milan defender Kaladze headed the ball into his own net in the 57th minute from Angelo Palombo's stinging drive from distance.

He then fired past his own goalkeeper 10 minutes later after Domenico Criscito had swept in a low cross from the left, much to the horror of the home fans.

The 2-0 win leaves the world champions top with 17 points from seven games.

Captain Robbie Keane was a hero for his country again as he claimed a late winner in Cyprus to keep the Republic of Ireland's World Cup dream alive.

The Tottenham frontman scored with just seven minutes remaining to snatch a 2-1 victory with the 40th goal of his senior international career.

The game looked to be heading for a draw after Marios Elia had cancelled out Kevin Doyle's fifth-minute opener, but Keane worked his magic to keep up the pressure on Italy.

Bulgaria's 4-1 home win over Montenegro kept them in with an outside chance of troubling the top two.

They had to come from a goal down, however, after Steven Jovetic had put Montenegro in front in the ninth minute.

It stayed 1-0 until Radostin Kishishev equalised on the stroke of half-time - and although Dimitar Telkiyski put Bulgaria in front four minutes after the break, it was only an 85th-minute Dimitar Berbatov penalty and an injury-time goal from Valeri Domovchiyski which made the scoreline appear so comfortable.