LONDON: The Netherlands survived a scare Tuesday to beat Hungary 5-3 and maintain its 100 percent record in European Championship qualifying, while Spain stretched its perfect start to Group I with a 3-1 win at Lithuania. Hungary scored twice in five minutes at the start of the second half to lead 2-1. Wesley Sniejder equalized and veteran striker Ruud van Nistelrooy put the Dutch ahead, but Hungary playmaker Zoltan Gera made it 3-3 with 15 minutes left to again threaten the Group E leader. Dirk Kuyt secured victory with two goals in the last 12 minutes to take the Netherlands to 18 points from six matches, nine clear of Hungary and on the verge of a place in next year's tournament. Sweden shares second place with Hungary after beating Moldova 2-1. World Cup holder and defending European champion Spain won its fifth straight qualifier with another dominant midfield performance by midfielder Xavi Hernandez, who scored the opening goal. Lithuania surprisingly equalized in the 57th but Spain triumphed with an own goal and an effort by Juanma Mata. But with only 10 Euro 2012 qualifying matches, several other teams were in friendly action. Australia scored two goals in four second-half minutes to rally and beat a much-changed Germany side 2-1, while a second-string England side conceded an injury-time equalizer to draw 1-1 with Ghana at Wembley in the teams' first ever meeting. World Cup semifinalist Uruguay scored three times in the first half to win 3-1 at Ireland, Italy won 2-0 at European Championship co-host Ukraine and France drew 0-0 with Croatia. Xavi's shot hit Andrius Skerla and deflected into the net to put Spain ahead in the 19th minute. Goalkeeper Zydrunas Karcemarskas again saved from Llorente at the start of the second half before Marius Stankevicius fired through a crowd of players from outside the area for a 57th-minute equalizer. But Spain quickly responded and Xavi set Mata free down the wing before Lithuania defender Tomas Razanauskas guided the substitute's pass into his own goal in the 70th. Mata, who had replaced Cazorla, then slipped a low shot from the left past Karcemarskas. Spain's 15 points puts it six ahead of the Czech Republic, which beat Liechtenstein 2-0. Belgium beat Azerbaijan 4-1 to keep second place in Group A by a point from Turkey, which beat Austria 2-0. In Group C, Serbia drew 1-1 at Estonia and shares second place with a Slovenia side that drew 0-0 at Northern Ireland. Adrian Mutu scored twice as Romania beat Luxembourg 3-1 for its first Group D win, while Israel won 1-0 at Georgia in Group F. Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez had given a reshuffled Germany the lead in Moenchengladbach but David Carney leveled in the 61st and David Wilkshire converted a penalty as the Socceroos beat Germany for the first time in four matches. France's six-match winning streak came to an end as Karim Benzema missed an easy chance and Adil Rami hit the post in against Croatia at Stade de France, while Giuseppe Rossi and Alessandro Matri scored in a 2-0 win for Italy – which played 16 minutes with 10 men after substitute Davide Astori was sent off. FC Porto midfielder Ruben Micael scored twice on his first international start to give Portugal a 2-0 victory over Finland in Aveiro, but Russia's dismal form continued with a 1-1 draw against lowly Qatar. Denmark won 2-1 at Slovakia, Greece drew 0-0 at Poland Matias Fernandez controlled midfield and scored a free kick to help Chile beat Colombia 2-0 in a friendly held in The Hague, which also hosted Peru-Ecuador. Peru goalkeeper Salomon Libman saved a penalty as his 10-man team easily held Ecuador to a 0-0 draw. The South American sides' matches were part of their preparations for the Copa America, which starts July 1 in Argentina. Hussain Al-Mousawi's early goal gave Kuwait a 1-0 win over Iraq in Sharjah.
