Evan Ferguson's fourth senior international goal handed the Republic of Ireland a 1-0 Nations League victory over Finland as Caoimhin Kelleher saved a penalty to see them across the line.

The 20-year-old Brighton striker's header in the final minute of the first half proved sufficient to add three more points to those his side secured in the reverse fixture in Helsinki last month, but only after Liverpool keeper Kelleher had kept out substitute Joel Pohjanpalo's second-half spot-kick.

Head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson has now won two of the five matches for which he has been in charge.

But the fact that Ireland have tasted victory just eight times in their last 34 competitive outings fixtures serves as a reminder that they remain a work in progress.

France and Italy qualified for the quarter-final stage of the revamped Nations League on as England got their revenge on Greece ahead of the imminent arrival of Thomas Tuchel as coach.

France drew 0-0 with Israel in a match requiring a high-security operation in and around Paris, a week after violence erupted in Amsterdam in connection with Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv's visit for a Europa League match.

Around 150 Israel supporters were among a crowd of less than 20,000 inside the 80,000-capacity Stade de France and there was a brief scuffle between some fans at one point in the first half.

The draw was enough to secure France a top-two finish in its group along with Italy, who beat Belgium 1-0 away thanks to Sandro Tonali's 11th-minute goal.

They advance to the quarterfinals in March, from which the lineup of the Final Four mini-tournament in June will be determined. Germany and Spain were the first two nations to qualify for the quarter-finals in October.

England won 3-0 in Athens thanks to strikes by Ollie Watkins and Curtis Jones, either side of an own goal, and that made amends for a humbling first loss to Greece last month at Wembley Stadium.

England captain Harry Kane was left out of the team, with Watkins preferred up front, and came on as a second-half substitute. England have one more match under interim coach Lee Carsley before Tuchel begins his tenure in January.

In Group B3, Austria went top with a 2-0 away win over Kazakhstan, who had Alexander Marochkin sent off between goals from Christoph Baumgartner and Michael Gregoritsch.

Norway are second, level on points with Austria and three clear of Slovenia, after thumping them 4-1 in Ljubljana, with Antonio Nusa scoring twice and Erling Haaland also on the scoresheet.

North Macedonia sealed promotion to the second tier as they defeated Latvia 1-0 at home in Group C4, in which there was also a 1-0 win for the Faroe Islands in Armenia.