The established order was respected in Europe on Wednesday night as top powers Italy, England, Germany and Spain all claimed victories to round off the year's 2010 World Cup qualifiers.
England had the most to smile about as their 3-1 victory in Belarus meant they had won four matches out of four, while Germany beat Wales 1-0, world champions Italy had a 2-1 win over Montenegro, and European champions Spain won 2-1 in Belgium.
On a worse note for Spain and Liverpool club, Fernando Torres suffered a torn muscle in his thigh after being taken off in the match in Brussels.
Spain team doctor Oscar Celada said on Spanish television: "He has intense pain in the back part of the thigh. It is difficult to diagnose now exactly the extent, if it is a question of a strain or a small tear. If it is a strain then he could be out for about a week."
The disciplined regime of Fabio Capello has spelt an unblemished reign at the helm of England so far, a far cry from the previous tenure of Steve McClaren, who was a great number two under Sven-Goran Eriksson but had problems coming into the hotseat and failed to get qualification for Euro 2008.
Capello said he was delighted with the performance lit up by a Wayne Rooney double and Steven Gerrard's opener.
"I am very happy because as I said before the game it was a very important game for us.
"Belarus are a good team and they played very well in the first half. We had a good performance up front but what was very important is that we played like a team.
"If we want to win, we have to play like a team, not like single players. It is very important and tonight I saw one team.
"There is no secret - it is about work, creating a group, creating the mentality and the confidence. This is very important because the players are very good players."
The win left England five points clear of Croatia at the top of the group, but Capello was taking nothing for granted in the wake of England's failure to reach Euro 2008.
"It is another step, an important victory but we have more games to play to go to South Africa," the Italian cautioned.
No more qualifiers till the spring means players can concentrate on club soccer, have a Christmas break, then get back into World Cup action on March 28, though a few nations have games in February.
Rio Ferdinand, who captained the side in the absence of the injured John Terry, added: "The halftime talk was quite simple. He said push up from the back and keep competing.
"You think it is going to be rocket science with a foreign manager but he keeps it simple and that is one of his strengths."
Joachim Loew's Germany side took a sizeable step towards claiming the single guaranteed place at South Africa 2010 from Group Four with three more points against a spirited Welsh side.
Winger Piotr Trochowski unleashed a superb second-half strike to seal the 1-0 win to put them four points clear.
"We are really pleased to have finished the year with six points from the win over Russia (last Saturday) and Wales, it puts us in a good position for next year," said Loew.
Their third win from four qualifying games means Germany are now on 10 points with Russia - who beat Finland 3-0 in Moscow on Wednesday - and plucky Wales lagging behind on six each, but Germany wasted a string of chances.
"We failed to score an early goal and made life a bit hard for ourselves," said captain Michael Ballack after the win over Wales. "In the first-half, we lacked the concentration and a bit of finishing, but things were better in the second-half."
Alberto Aquilani netted a brace as unconvincing Italy edged out Montenegro 2-1 in Group Eight.
AS Roma striker Mirko Vucinic made a goalscoring return to Lecce, where he played for five years but he left disappointed as UEFA's newest nation lost their first ever competitive away match.
It means Italy remain unbeaten and in control of the group with 10 points from four games but once again they failed to set pulses racing and it was only a wildly deflected shot that won the match.
Spanish striker David Villa, who hit a late winner in their 2-1 win against Belgium, was delighted with their victory in Brussels. "This victory was very important and was a serious test for us. We absolutely just had to get the three points," Villa said.
And on his goal, his 23rd which put him level with the same haul for Spain as Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano, Villa added: "These types of statistics are always nice to know. But I think the main thing was that the goal meant we earned three points against a very solid team."
(Agencies via China Daily October 17, 2008)