Miroslav Klose and Thomas Mueller scored two goals each to help Germany keep a perfect record in qualifying for the 2012 European Championship with a 4-0 victory over Kazakhstan on Saturday.
Klose scored three minutes into the game, Mueller added two more before halftime and Klose completed Germany's fifth win in five qualifying games late in the match.
Germany tops Group A with 15 points, while Kazakhstan has no points and no goals at the bottom of the group. Austria is second at seven points and next plays Germany.
The home side got off to a flying start, with Klose racing past two defenders at the far post to knock in a free kick from Bastian Schweinsteiger.
His second goal in the 88th raised his Germany total to 61 in 107 games. He now needs seven goals to tie Gerd Mueller's national team record.
''It was not a very strong opponent, but they were organized and compact in defense,'' said Klose, who was cheered by fans in Kaiserslautern, where he played club football at the start of his international career 10 years ago.
With Germany firmly in control, the second goal also came from a set piece. Mesut Oezil supplied the cross for Mueller to send it in with a glancing header.
Oezil, the Real Madrid midfielder, also set up Germany's third in the 43rd, finding Mueller with a long cross inside the penalty area. Mueller controlled the ball with his chest and slotted it into the low corner.
''It wasn't a difficult game for us. We knew we'd win and we let up in the second half,'' Oezil said.
Germany combined well and quickly and kept Kazakhstan on the defensive, with Lukas Podolski testing David Loria with a good effort from the left but the Kazakh goalkeeper stopped the shot.
Loria did well to stop two consecutive close-range shots from Klose in the 28th.
After 65 minutes, Mario Gomez came in for Podolski as coach Joachim Loew switched to a formation with two strikers.
Zhambyl Kukeyev brushed the outside of Germany's post in the 71st, with some home fans whistling as Loew's side began to lose cohesion.
Loew responded by bringing in Toni Kroos and Mario Goetze for Schweinsteiger and Mueller, respectively, and Goetze quickly created a good opportunity for Klose, who dribbled too long and lost the ball.
But the 32-year-old striker, the veteran in Germany's team, collected a pass from Sami Khedira for an easy goal in the 88th.
Klose has been overshadowed this season at Bayern Munich by Gomez, but his scoring record for Germany has made him Loew's preferred striker.
''I was pleased with the first half against a defensive-minded side, but we lost some pace in the second half and we did not create as many chances,'' Loew said.
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Lineups:
Germany-Manuel Neuer; Philipp Lahm, Per Mertesacker, Holger Badstuber, Dennis Aogo, Sami Khedira, Bastian Schweinsteiger (Toni Kroos, 78), Thomas Mueller (Mario Goetze, 78), Mesut Oezil, Lukas Podolski (Mario Gomez, 65), Miroslav Klose.
Kazakhstan-David Loria; Farkhadbek Irismetov, Renat Abdulin, Kairat Nurdauletov, Vladislav Chernyshov, Azat Nurgaliyev (Zhambyl Kukeyev, 60), Anton Chichulin, Kazbek Geteriyev (Sergey Ostapenko, 81), Ulan Konysbaev, Nurbol Zhumaskaliyev (Maksat Baizhanov, 46), Sergei Khizhnichenko.
