Brazil’s players celebrate after scoring against Switzerland during their friendly in Basel on Wednesday

London: Cyprus caused another major surprise on Wednesday when they held Germany 1-1 in a tense Euro 2008 qualifier in Nicosia.

In other action on a night of seven qualifiers around the continent, there were wins for Croatia, Russia, Ireland, Poland, Finland and Portugal.

Cyprus, who stunned Ireland 5-2 last month for their most impressive international win ever, were not expected to get anything from their group D match against the three-time world champions, even though the Germans were missing a number of injured key players.

Michael Ballack looked to have put Germany on way to a fourth successive win in the group, marking his 75th appearance with his 35th international goal after 15 minutes. But the gritty home side fought back with Yiannakis Okkas equalising just before half-time with a volley to complete the scoring.

In the group’s other match, Ireland beat San Marino 5-0 in the last tie to be played at Lansdowne Road before it is redeveloped. Skipper Robbie Keane made it a memorable game with a hattrick. The victory was Ireland’s first in the group and lifted them to four points, the same as Cyprus, but six points behind leaders Germany and the Czech Republic.

Croatia also had a night to savour by becoming the first visiting team for seven years to beat Israel in Tel Aviv, winning a thrilling match 4-3. The victory lifted Croatia to the top of group E with 10 points from their four matches, two more than Russia who won 2-0 in Macedonia.

Brazilian-born striker Eduardo da Silva was Croatia’s hero with a hattrick as the visitors recovered after conceding a soft early goal.

Finland, who have never qualified for the World Cup or European finals, moved to the top of group A with a 1-0 win over Armenia while Poland moved above Belgium after beating them 1-0 in Brussels.

Portugal beat Kazakhstan 3-0 in a later match in the same group to move on to seven points.

Apart from the qualifiers, there were a number of high-profile international friendlies played with world champions Italy ending the year with a 1-1 draw with Turkey in Bergamo.

Marco Materazzi, who was famously head-butted by Zinedine Zidane in the World Cup final, put the ball into his own goal to put Turkey level in the 42nd minute, just two minutes after Antonio Di Natale had given Italy the lead.

Brazil, deposed as world champions in Germany, ended the year with a 2-1 win over Switzerland in Basel. Luisao and Kaka scored in the first half. Douglas Maicon conceded an own goal after half-time to give the Swiss a consolation. (Reuters)