Ireland 0 - Sweden 0; Germany 3 - Kazakhstan 0; Austria 6 - Faroe Islands 0

Kazakhstan decided to start their match at home in Astana at midnight as they took on Germany for the first of two meetings over five-day span.  The odd start time did nothing to affect Germany as they had the upper hand from start to finish.  Twenty minutes in, a beautiful flick to himself by Bastian Schweinsteiger led to a hard shot on goal that was redirected by Thomas Muller's chest onits way into the goal.  Two minutes later, Germany were up 2-0.  Muller had been tackled off the ball by Kairat Nurdauletov, but miscommunication between Nurdauletov and his goalkeeper led to the ball being kicked out softly by Muller to a grateful Mario Gotze, who finished into the vacated net.  Germany took the 2-0 lead into the break.

Germany eventually made it a three goal lead on a play where Gotze had dispossesed two Kazakhs in their defensive third.  Gotze gave the ball to Mesut Ozil, who in turn created a passing lane through which he fed Muller for a slotted finish.  The goal sealed the victory, and the Germans coasted to the finish.  Germany win 3-0 and look to make it six points in five days against Kazakhstan on Tuesday.

Vienna was the site for Austria's home match against the Faroe Islands.  The Austrians will never take the Faroese lightly, having lost to them in 1992.  It took less than ten minutes for Austria to establish a lead.  A low Christian Fuchs cross was met first time by Philipp Hosiner, who scored his first international goal on the play.  Odmar Faero gifted the second goal to Hosiner after his backtracking header back to his goalie was woefully devoid of power, leading to an easy finish for Hosiner. Andreas Ivanschitz robbed Frodi Benjaminsen of the ball and then fired a long-distance shot that bounced into the goal for Austria's third within a half hour.  The halftime scoreboard read Austria 3, Faroe Islands 0.

Austria went fifty minutes between goals, but they suddenly burst out for three more in a six-minute span.  Zlatko Junuzovic and David Alaba both scored on well struck balls, and Faroese goalkeeper Gunnar Nielsen misread the sixth goal, getting eaten up by a weak curler.  Austria win 6-0 and can dream of a playoff spot given their strong goal differential.

Ireland made the trek to Solna to take on Sweden.  Ireland nearly had the opener, but Shane Long made a mess of his chance after latching onto a James McCarthy through ball.  Ireland would never again have a strong effort in attack in the match.  Ireland goalkeeper David Forde came to the rescue minutes later after a flicked-on header from Andreas Granqvist forced him into a diving tap-aside.   The game was scoreless at the half.

Ireland were on the defensive the entire second period, but their defense was strong and held firm time and again.  Sweden's best chance came during stoppage time when a ball was kicked backward softly into the path of Alexander Kacaniklic, who fired on a half-volley but was denied by the raised arms of Forde.  Ireland escape with a 0-0 draw on the road.

Germany 13 pts +12
Sweden 8 pts +3
Austria 7 pts +9
Ireland 7 pts -1
Kazakhstan 1 pts -13
Faroe 0 pts -13

Goals
Germany
Thomas Muller 20, 73
Mario Gotze 22

Austria
Philipp Hosiner 8, 20
Andreas Ivanschitz 28
Zlatko Junuzovic 77
David Alaba 78
Gyorgy Garics 82

Match Reports:
http://www.goal.com/en-india/match/92455/kazakhstan-vs-germany/report
http://www.uefa.com/worldcup/season=2014/matches/round=2000294/match=2008574/postmatch/report/index.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2297969/Ciaran-Clark-delighted-Swedens-Zlatan-Ibrahimovic-quiet-Ireland-secure-vital-point.html

Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4do_QJyUJlo (Germany v. Kazakhstan)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRTf44E3yj4 (Austria v. Faroe Islands)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR4rRaQEEic (Ireland v. Sweden)