Plenty of Barclays Premier League talent was on show at Wembley as England comfortably beat Slovakia 4-0 in their friendly match.

Former Manchester United midfielder David Beckham broke Bobby Moore's outfield appearance record for England with his 109th cap in the win.

Aston Villa forward Emile Heskey had given Fabio Capello's side an early lead, only to then go off injured, followed by his replacement Carlton Cole of West Ham United.

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney headed in a cross from Beckham, who came on after half-time, to make it 2-0 on 70 minutes - with Chelsea's Frank Lampard adding a third and Rooney a fourth in stoppage time as England warmed up in style for next Wednesday's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine.

The Red Devil's Jonny Evans scored as Northern Ireland went top of Group Three for a couple of hours at least after a rousing victory against Poland in a World Cup qualifier at Windsor Park.

Warren Feeney opened the scoring in the 10th minute only for Ireneusz Jelen to equalise before half-time.

Northern Ireland regrouped and took the points thanks to Evans and a bizarre own goal by Michael Zewlakow before substitute Marek Saganowski scored in stoppage time.

A Wales side featuring a host of Barclays Premier League stars including Manchester City's Craig Bellamy, West Ham's James Collins and Fulham's Simon Davies slipped to a disappointing 2-0 defeat in Cardiff in their Group Four qualifier against an experienced Finland side.

The Finns, who had Bolton Wanderers' Jussi Jaaskelainen in goal, took the lead three minutes from the break when Jari Litmanen's pass sent Jonatan Johansson clear to squeeze his shot home off a post.

And for all Wales' efforts, their young stars could not find a way through a well-drilled defence with Liverpool's Sami Hyypia outstanding at its hub. Substitute Shefki Kuqi scored the second with two minutes left at the Millennium Stadium.

Hull City's Kevin Kilbane scored an own goal to hand Bulgaria a World Cup lifeline as the Republic of Ireland's charge towards South Africa suffered its first real setback.

Giovanni Trapattoni's men looked to be heading for a fourth victory in five qualifiers after Manchester City Richard Dunne headed them in front with just 40 seconds gone.

But after Bulgaria keeper Dimitar Ivankov had denied both Tottenham Hotspur's Robbie Keane and Aiden McGeady, Kilbane turned Aston Villa's Stiliyan Petrov's cross into his own net to give the visitors a point.

Arsenal's Robin van Persie and Liverpool's Dirk Kuyt scored as Holland ensure a comfortable and expected win over Scotland in their World Cup qualifier at the Amsterdam Arena, in European Group Nine.

The Scots were made to pay for the chance Kenny Miller spurned early in the match when Klaas Jan Huntelaar  headed in a Mark van Bommel cross after 29 minutes, and then van Persie made it two on the stroke of half-time - converting from an Arjen Robben corner.

After Scotland defender Gary Caldwell had a goal mysteriously chalked off by referee Laurent Duhamel, Kuyt scored from the spot in the 76th minute after Christophe Berra had fouled Huntelaar in the box.

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur striker Roman Pavlyuchenko scored one and created another as Guus Hiddink's Russia recorded a straightforward 2-0 win over Azerbaijan in Moscow.

The match was Hiddink's first in charge of Russia since combining the role with that of Chelsea manager, and his side did what was required of them against the Group Four minnows without ever really excelling.

Pavlyuchenko opened the scoring on 32 minutes when he curled home a free-kick, before slipping a ball through for Konstantin Zyryanov to rattle home the second goal.

Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor scored the only goal as Togo beat Cameroon 1-0 in their World Cup African Group One qualifier.

Morten Gamst Pedersen scored what turned out to be a consolation in Norway's friendly match with South Africa, which ended 2-1.

Elsewhere, Chelsea's Michael Ballack captained Germany in their 4-0 victory over Liechtenstien and opened the scoring to boot. The win took them to 13 points at the top of European Qualifying Group Four.

Manchester City's Gelson Fernandes found the back of the net in Switzerland's 2-0 win in Moldova in European Qualifying Group Two.

Portsmouth's unsettled striker Theofanis Gekas may have found his opportunities limited at Fratton Park but he netted for Greece in their 1-1 draw away to Israel in Group Two.

Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic was among the scorers for Serbia in a 3-2 win in Romania.

Manchester United stirker Carlos Tevez scored his first goal in Argentina's qualifying campaign, netting the second in a 4-0 demolition of Venezuela which coach Diego Maradona described as "better than fiction".

Chelsea defender Jose Bosingwa was forced off at half-time of Portugal's goalless draw with Sweden while Liverpool mdfielder Yossi Benayoun picked up a calf injury in Israel's draw against Greece.