In Dublin, the celebrations had started before the game had even kicked off, so confident was the packed stadium that Ireland’s 4-0 lead from last week’s first leg would prove too much for their visitors to overturn.

Any lingering Estonian optimism was wiped out when Stephen Ward swept in a rebound after visiting keeper Pavel Londak parried a Kevin Doyle header in the 31st minute.

Estonia got a 57th-minute consolation through Konstantin Vassiljev to make it 1-1 but the night belonged to the Irish.

They will be joined in Poland and Ukraine by Croatia who exacted revenge on Turkey with a 3-0 aggregate win over the country that knocked them out of the Euro 2008 quarter-finals on penalties after equalising with the last kick of extra time.

The match in Zagreb ended goalless but the damage had already been done in Friday’s first leg and the only unfinished business is whether local media reports suggesting Turkey coach Guus Hiddink would eventually step down come to fruition.

Another team whose first-leg cushion proved to be enough were Czech Republic who reached their fifth successive European championship finals by beating Montenegro 1-0 in Podgorica to complete a 3-0 aggregate victory.

Midfielder Petr Jiracek struck in the 81st-minute to make sure of qualification after Montenegro, who like Estonia were looking to reach their first major tournament, had pushed the Czechs hard in the second half of the return leg.

The final spot at next year’s championships will be determined later on Tuesday with Portugal hosting Bosnia in a tie finely balanced after a 0-0 draw in the first leg.

The day’s first three playoffs all followed the script written last week and two of the teams made up for previous hurt in the best possible way.

Ireland, devastated two years ago when French striker Thierry Henry handled the ball in setting up a goal bundled in by William Gallas as France beat them to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, will appear at their first major finals since 2002.

“It’s a great night for all the Irish fans. It’s a night we’ll never forget,” Ireland captain Robbie Keane, who scored twice in the first leg in Tallinn, told Sky Sports television.

“Our team spirit has got us through this campaign. This is why we play football, for situations like these.”

Croatia would probably agree with the Irish after making sure their tormentors from four years ago would be unable to bother them at the next edition.

Turkey, facing an uphill battle to overturn the first-deficit, threw men forward from the start on a cold night in Zagreb but Croatia held firm as jubilant home fans lit flares before the final whistle, narrowly missing their own keeper.

Czech Republic had their goalkeeper Petr Cech, wearing a specially designed mask after breaking his nose, to thank for pulling off a series of saves to enable them to withstand a second-half onslaught from Montenegro.

The Czechs, who won the European championship in 1976 as Czechoslovakia, continue a proud record of having qualified for every continental competition since their 1993 split with Slovakia.

Some of the other teams who had already qualified for the finals were also in action in friendlies as they continued their preparations for next June’s 16-team tournament.

Euro 2008 runners-up Germany inflicted a 3-0 defeat on 2010 World Cup runners-up Netherlands with Thomas Mueller, Miroslav Klose and Mesut Ozil getting the goals in a ruthless attacking display against their neighbors.

England followed up Saturday’s 1-0 win over world and European champions Spain with a victory over Sweden by the same scoreline at Wembley, ending a 43-year wait for a win over the Swedes thanks to a 22nd-minute own goal by Daniel Majstorovic.

Denmark recorded their second victory in four days by coming from a goal down to defeat Finland 2-1 thanks to second-half goals from Daniel Agger and Nicklas Bendtner.

There were boos in Paris as former world and European champions France labored to a 0-0 draw with Belgium, who will not be appearing at the continental showpiece, even though the result extended the hosts’ unbeaten run to 17 games.