Gary Naysmith and Justin Haber both played 90 minutes for their respective countries at he weekend, but unfortunately both Scotland and Malta were on the wrong end of 3-0 scorelines.

Despite a gritty performance in the Amsterdam Arena, goals from Klass-Jan Huntelaar, Robin Van Persie and a penalty from Dirk Kuyt saw Holland run out comfortable winners, although Gary Caldwell had a header somewhat harshly ruled out.

In the Centenary Stadium in Malta, Denmark ran out worthy winners, despite Haber's best efforts, courtesy of a Larsen Soren brace and another from Morten Nordstrand.

John-Joe O'Toole made a brief cameo appearance for Republic of Ireland U21's as they beat their Spanish counterparts 2-1 at Waterford RSC, with Plymouth's Alan Judge scoring what proved to be the winner.

Meanwhile Jamie Ward and David Cotterill were unused substitutes for Northern Ireland and Wales respectively, although the duo had contrasting fortunes.

Northern Ireland netted a crucial three points with a 3-2 victory over Poland at Windsor Park, whilst Wales's qualifications hopes all but ended after losing 0-2 to Finland at the Millennium Stadium.