England gave their World Cup qualifying campaign a big boost, while Spain, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands took a big step towards qualifying for Brazil on an action-packed Friday.
Cristiano Ronaldo struck a brilliant second half hat-trick to pull Portugal past Northern Ireland, while his new Real Madrid teammate Gareth Bale had to watch from the bench as Wales fell 2-1 at Macedonia.
At Wembley, Rickie Lambert made it two international goals out of two for England, as the home side ran out comfortable 4-0 winners over Moldova to go top of Group H.
Skipper Steven Gerrard opened the scoring for England, before Lambert struck in the 26th minute. A double from Danny Welbeck, either side of halftime ensured an easy outing for Roy Hodgson's men, who now travel to Ukraine on Tuesday.
England lead the group on goal difference with 15 points from seven games, the same as Montenegro, who have played one game more after their 1-1 draw at Poland.
Ukraine is a point behind, having thrashed San Marino 9-0.
In Group C, Miroslav Klose created history by equaling Gerd Muller's all-time German goalscoring record of 68 goals.
The veteran striker netted the opening goal in a 3-0 win over Austria - Bayern pair Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller struck the other two - to match the great Gerd Muller's 39-year-old mark.
Germany are within touching distance of qualification on 19 points, five points clear of Sweden, who picked up a vital 2-1 win at the Republic of Ireland thanks to a second half goal from Anders Svensson.
Austria and Ireland are third and fourth respectively on 11 points each.
In group F, Ronaldo was the main man yet again, as Portugal came from behind to beat Northern Ireland.
Ronaldo scored a quickfire hat-trick in 15 minutes to pull Portugal to a 4-2 win, after they had gone down 2-1 early in the second half.
Portugal lead the group by one point from Russia, who won 4-1 against Luxembourg and also have a game in hand.
World champions Spain are just a win away from qualifying for the World Cup in Brazil after a 2-0 victory over Finland, courtesy goals from Jordi Alba and Alvaro Negredo.
France now look like they will have to settle for a playoff place having played out a frustrating 0-0 draw with Georgia.
Group A saw Belgium maintain control with a comfortable 2-0 win over Scotland - Steven Defour and Kevin Mirallas scoring for Marc Wilmots' impressive-looking side.
The Netherlands needed a Robin Van Persie penalty right at the end to keep their unbeaten record intact, with Holland just about managing a 2-2 draw against Estonia.
They, however, remain six points clear in Group D, with Romania second, thanks their 3-0 win over Hungary.