• Mario Mandzukic among scorers in 3-0 win for visitors at Windsor Park • Italy and Germany share goalless draw in Milan

Northern Ireland rounded off their impressive 2016 on a losing note as a depleted Croatia became the first visiting side to win at Windsor Park in three years.

Since Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat‑trick in a 4-2 win for Portugal, Michael O’Neill’s men had recorded eight wins and two draws in their previous 10 fixtures in Belfast, but they were undone by a Croatia team missing Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Dejan Lovren among others in a 3-0 defeat. Mario Mandzukic opened the scoring by bundling home in the ninth minute – his 29th international goal and the first goal Northern Ireland had conceded at Windsor Park in 463 minutes. Duje Cop doubled their lead 10 minutes before the break with Andrej Kramaric adding a third after 67 minutes.

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It was the heaviest defeat since a 6-0 loss against Holland in June 2012, though it did little to detract from a calendar year during which Northern Ireland featured at a finals for the first time in three decades, having also put together a record-breaking 12-match unbeaten run en route to Euro 2016.

Italy and Germany had to settle for a goalless draw from their friendly at the San Siro in Milan. The Azzurri, who romped to a 4-0 win against Liechtenstein in their World Cup qualifier on Saturday, handed a start to the veteran Internazionale forward Eder in a three-man attack while Germany gave a debut to the Wolfsburg youngster Yannick Gerhardt.

Neither side, whose Euro 2016 quarter-final in Bordeaux was settled after a lengthy penalty shootout, could make a breakthrough. The Bayer Leverkusen forward Kevin Volland saw a second-half effort disallowed for a marginal offside call, before with eight minutes left, the Italy forward Andrea Belotti watched a shot come back off the inside of the post.

There were also no goals between France and Ivory Coast at the Stade Felix Bollaert-Delelis in Lens. France included Paul Pogba, Chelsea’s N’Golo Kanté and Dimitri Payet of West Ham United in their lineup along with the Borussia Dortmund prospect Ousmane Dembélé. But Didier Deschamps’s side could not find a way through against the Elephants, who are top of their CAF qualifying group following a goalless draw away against Morocco last weekend.

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The 2018 World Cup hosts Russia defeated Romania 1-0 with a stoppage-time goal from Magomed Ozdoev in the first international game to be played in Chechnya. Iceland won 2-0 away in Malta with goals from Arnor Traustason and Sverrir Ingi Ingason.

Sweden ran out 2-0 winners against Hungary at Ferenc Puskas Stadion, where debutant Sam Larsson opened the scoring with a free-kick after 30 minutes and Isaac Kiese Thelin added another in the 67th minute.

A goal from Evgen Shakhov late in the first half was enough to secure Ukraine a 1-0 win against Serbia in Kiev.

The Czech Republic and Denmark drew 1-1 in Mlada Boleslav. The hosts went ahead after eight minutes through Antonin Barak for his first senior goal before Nicolai Jorgensen equalised half an hour later. It finished goalless between Austria and Slovakia at the Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna.