CARDIFF, Wales: England ripped apart cross-border rival Wales in European Championship qualifying Saturday, coasting to a 2-0 victory to reclaim top spot in Group G. The goals came in the opening 15 minutes, with Frank Lampard netting from the penalty spot and Darren Bent tapping in another against their abject hosts. In Germany, Miroslav Klose and Thomas Mueller scored two goals each to help Germany keep a perfect record in qualifying with a 4-0 victory over Kazakhstan. Klose scored three minutes into the game, Mueller added two more before halftime and Klose completed Germany's fifth win in five qualifying games late in the match. Germany tops Group A with 15 points, while Kazakhstan has no points and no goals at the bottom of the group. Austria is second at seven points and next plays Germany. In Tbilisi, Georgia, Levan Kobiashvili's late winner gave Georgia a surprising 1-0 win over Group F leader Croatia. On Friday, David Villa became Spain's leading goalscorer as the world champion came from behind to beat Czech Republic 2-1 and join three other heavyweights in taking charge of their Euro 2012 qualifying groups Friday. France, Italy and Netherlands also extended their leads at the top with wins ranging from the labored to the convincing but it was Spain's near hiccup that caused the biggest stir. The European champion was trailing to a first-half Jaroslav Plasil goal before Villa scored twice in four minutes to reach 46 goals for his country, two more than Raul, and send Spain six points clear of the Czechs in Group I. Spain's blushes were spared while France and Italy went some way to soothing their bruised reputations with Les Bleus beating Luxembourg 2-0 and the Azzurri sneaking a 1-0 win in Slovenia. The two teams who contested the 2006 World Cup final were not at their most convincing though and were given a lesson in how to stamp authority over weaker opposition by 2010 World Cup runner-up Netherlands who thrashed Hungary 4-0. While a noisy Granada stadium cheered Spain's fight back, there were few witnesses to Serbia's resilience in a 2-1 comeback win over battling Northern Ireland in a match played behind closed doors in Belgrade. In the day's other qualifier, Belgium sprang a surprise in Austria as Axel Witsel struck twice in a 2-0 victory that propelled his team into second place behind Germany in Group A.
