England’s hearts were left broken after a valiant display as Germany were crowned European champions in Helsinki.

The World Cup holders scored the opener with Birgit Prinz slotting in a clever Inka Grings pass and Melanie Behringer then struck a stunner from 41 yards.

Karen Carney pulled one back before Kim Kulig added a third after the interval.

Kelly Smith gave England hope with a fine strike but the Germans ran riot with two goals from the dazzling Grings and a long-range effort from Prinz.

WASHINGTON (STATS) - Given a preference, Tom Soehn will usually choose substance over style, meaning the D.C. United coach embraced every ugly facet of a triumph his team desperately needed.

Luciano Emilio scored in the 39th minute and United opened a five-game homestand with a 1-0 victory over the Kansas City Wizards on Wednesday night.

“It’s not always going to be pretty,” Soehn said. “Getting results when it’s not pretty, that’s the times you need it. Those were crucial points.”

The victory moved D.C. (8-5-12) into sole possession of third place in the Eastern Conference. United moved ahead of four other teams fighting for the final three MLS playoff berths.

The Polish Football Association has sacked Leo Beenhakker as coach of its national team after the side’s poor showing in a loss to Slovenia that cost Poland a place in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

“The decision is irrevocable. Coach Beenhakker ceases to be Polish national team coach,” Grzegorz Lato, the president of Polish Football Association (PZPN) said in a television interview.

Poland’s 3-0 defeat on Wednesday sparked outrage in Poland, with one tabloid newspaper telling readers the side had “humiliated us.”

Former Poland striker Lato said Dutchman Beenhakker, who had coached the Polish side since 2006, would most likely be replaced by a Polish coach.

SALVADOR, Brazil (AP)—Even without four of its top players, Brazil prevented Chile from clinching a World Cup berth.

Nilmar scored three goals to lead Brazil to a 4-2 victory Wednesday night. The five-time World Cup champions were missing Kaka, Lucio and Luis Fabiano, all serving suspensions because of yellow card, and Robinho, sidelined by a right-leg muscle injury.

Nilmar scored in the 31st, 73rd and 76th minutes, and Julio Baptista got a goal in the 41st for Brazil, which last weekend ensured its 19th consecutive World Cup berth.

Chile erased an early 2-0 deficit with goals by Humberto Suazo in first-half injury time and in the 52nd. Suazo’s second goal came just three minutes after Brazil’s Felipe Melo ejected for a hard foul on Alexis Sanchez, who was sent off himself for yellow cards in the 61st and 77th minutes.

Brazil (9-1-6) leads South American qualifying with 33 points, three ahead of Paraguay (9-4-3), which clinched a berth on Wednesday.

Chile (8-5-3) has 27 points, four ahead of Ecuador (6-5-5), five in front of Argentina (6-6-4) and six ahead of Uruguay (5-5-6) and Venezuela (6-7-3).

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP)—Just one more win will give the United States its sixth straight World Cup berth.

Ricardo Clark scored in the 62nd minute, and the United States beat Trinidad and Tobago 1-0 Wednesday night to move into first place in World Cup qualifying.

“It’s huge. It’s huge. It gives a little bit of space when things are getting tight in our group,” Clark said. “We knew we had to come out in this game and get a win.”

The United States failed to win its first three road qualifiers this year and played a listless first half. The Americans went ahead when Clint Dempsey played the ball wide to Landon Donovan, who cut the ball back to Clark.

Clark took a touch and let loose a bending 26-yard shot that swerved past goalkeeper Clayton Ince. It was just the second goal in 25 international appearances for the Houston Dynamo midfielder, who also scored against Paraguay in the Copa America two years ago.

The United States (5-2-1) leads the final round of North and Central American and Caribbean qualifying with 16 points, one ahead of Mexico (5-3), three in front of Honduras (4-3-1) and four ahead Costa Rica (4-4). The results of Wednesday’s other two games helped the Americans, with Mexico beating visiting Honduras 1-0 and Costa Rica losing 1-0 at El Salvador.