Blaise of glory keeps France on top
FRANCE kept hold of top spot in Group A with a hard fought 1-0 win in Bulgaria. Victory was gained in only the third minute as Blaise Matuidi cracked in a shot from a tight angle following a sweeping move down the left.
Sweden remain second, one point behind the French, after running riot against Luxembourg in Solna.
Celtic full-back Mikael Lusting was among the scorers as they won 8-0, with Marcus Berg helping himself to four.
The other goals came from Andreas Granqvist (2) and Ola Toivonen.
Holland’s miserable campaign gained a modicum of momentum as they beat Belarus 3-1 in Minsk thanks to late goals from Arjen Robben and Memphis Depay.
Belgium severely dented Bosnia’s hopes of a runners-up finish in Group H with a thrilling 4-3 victory in Sarajevo.
Although already qualified, Belgium fielded a strong line-up and took the lead via Thomas Meunier in the fourth minute.
But Haris Medunjanin and Edin Visca turned things around before half-time before Michy Batshuayi and Jan Vertonghen put the visitors 3-2 up.
Dario Dumic made it 3-3 in the 82nd minute, only for Belgium’s Yannick Carrasco to win it two minutes later.
Greece are looking good for second place in the section after a 2-1 win in Cyprus.
The other match in the group saw Estonia win 6-0 in Gibraltar.
Group B is a straight fight between Switzerland and Portugal and the Swiss remain three points ahead after a 5-2 win over Hungary.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored the opener 18 minutes into the second half as Portugal surprisingly only saw off Andorra 2-0.
The Faroe Islands held Latvia to a 0-0 draw in the other game.