Scotland again upset France 1-0 in European Championship
qualifying Wednesday, while Italy and England strengthened as each
won.
James McFadden scored with a long-range goal in the 64th minute
at Parc des Princes, lifting the Scots to the top of Group B with
21 points.
Scotland players celebrate
their win at the final whistle of the EURO 2008 Qualifying soccer
match at the Par des Princes, Paris Wednesday. Scotland won the
match 1-0.(Photo: Shanghai Daily)
"I think we can say it's the best (Scotland) result of modern
times," Scotland manager Alex McLeish said.
France, missing suspended striker Thierry Henry, also lost to
Scotland 1-0 in October.
"It's hard to do better than that, scoring off your only shot,"
France coach Raymond Domenech said.
Italy beat Ukraine 2-1 to move into second place with 20 points,
pushing France down to third with 19. Ukraine has 13 points.
Antonio Di Natale scored two goals for Italy. He headed in
Christian Panucci's cross from the left in the 41st minute and
added his second in the 77th. In between, Ukraine striker Andriy
Shevchenko beat Gianluigi Buffon in the 71st.
"We showed a lot of character," Italy coach Roberto Donadoni
said. "We're still a step behind physically but we're
improving."
Only two countries from each of the seven groups advance to the
final tournament in Austria and Switzerland.
(Xinhua News Agency September 13, 2007)
