While World Cup holder Spain was among the traditional powers to open qualifying for the 2012 European Championship with victories Friday, France was further humiliated by a 1-0 home defeat against lowly Belarus.
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Sergei Kislyak scored in the 86th minute to hand France one of its most embarrassing defeats, following a disastrous World Cup campaign.
David Villa matched Spain's all-time scoring record with his 44th international goal to help the defending European champion beat Liechtenstein 4-0 and take an early lead in the five-team Group I.
The Netherlands beat San Marino 5-0 to win its first competitive match since losing the World Cup final to Spain in July, while Germany won 1-0 at Belgium and England beat Bulgaria 4-0.
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