James McFadden scored midway in the first half as Scotland surprised The Netherlands 1-0, and Latvia upset Turkey 1-0 on Saturday in the Euro 2004 playoffs.
Wales held Russia to a 0-0 draw, and Croatia and Slovenia — former federal partners in the old Yugoslavia — played to a 1-1 tie. In Saturday’s other game, Spain hosted Norway.
The second legs are on November 19. Host Portugal and 10 other countries have already qualified for next summer’s tournament.
”That was just battling, battling, battling,” Scotland defender Christian Dailly told Sky Sports. ”It was hard. They’ve got a good side — we really earned that. We restricted them, we were getting blocks, and we also rode our luck at times.”
Scotland pushed forward in the first half — McFadden’s good volley was stopped by ‘keeper Edwin van der Sar in the 10th minute.
Van der Sar, though, couldn’t do anything on the goal. After a good back-heel by rising star Darren Fletcher, McFadden’s shot went off defender Frank de Boer and into the net in the 22nd minute.
”It wasn’t the best finish, but it hit the back of the net, and that’s what we’re concerned about,” McFadden said.
The Dutch, one of the most talented teams in soccer, went forward.
Andy van der Meyde shot over the bar in the 26th minute, and defender Jaap Stam’s powerful header was caught by Scotland goalie Rob Douglas.
In the 37th, Norwegian referee Terje Hauge turned away a penalty appeal when The Netherlands’s Marc Overmars was clipped in the box, and De Boer’s header was cleared off the line a minute later.
There was more pressure in the second half. Ruud van Nistelrooy, who started alongside Patrick Kluivert, had a free header stopped in the 47th minute. Van der Meyde hit the crossbar in the 64th, and substitute Clarence Seedorf shot wide from the edge of the box in the 73rd.
”It was a great performance, and we played very well,” Scotland coach Berti Vogts said. ”In the second half, the legs were a little tired, but we got organised.”
Dailly received a yellow card and won’t be eligible for Wednesday’s return leg in Amsterdam. Stam is also out after picking up a yellow card.
The loss will put more pressure on Dutch coach Dick Advocaat.
Advocaat — who once coached at Glasgow Rangers — said he would resign if The Netherlands don’t reach next year’s competition.
The Netherlands, a semifinalist in the 1998 World Cup and at Euro 2000, failed to qualify for last year’s World Cup.
”Defensively, I think we were poor with the way we defended that situation,” Advocaat said of the goal. ”But again, [Scotland] tried to score a goal and didn’t play defensively. I think we tried to put pressure on in the second half. On the counter, Scotland was still dangerous.
”I think we could have got a goal and deserved to have done so in the second half.”
Advocaat defended his decision to start Van Nistelrooy and Kluivert. He hinted he wouldn’t start the two because they’re the same type of player. Kluivert was ineffective.
”I think [Saturday], the passing to the striker wasn’t the best,” Advocaat said.
In Riga, a minute of silence was held before the game to honour victims of bombings that killed more than 20 people and injured hundreds of others at two synagogues in Istanbul earlier Saturday.
The Turkish players wore black ribbons.
Maris Verpakovskis scored the only goal in the 29th minute.
Turkey’s best chance came when Emre Belozoglu hit the post in the 86th minute — after teammate Emre Asik was sent off in the 73rd for two yellow cards.
Turkey reached the semifinals of last year’s World Cup. Latvia, which regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, has never reached a major tournament. All 9 000 tickets for the game sold out in two hours.
Wales, who haven’t been in a major tournament since the 1958 World Cup, defended well in Moscow. Dmitry Bulykin’s long-range shot was inches wide at the far post, and Bulykin missed a half-chance in the 40th minute.
Russia dominated possession in the second half, although two of their best chances were blocked by defender Mark Delaney. The Russians scored 15 goals in four qualifying wins.
”We all knew we had to produce a peak performance,” Wales manager Mark Hughes said.
Russia goalie Sergei Ovchinnikov will miss the second leg in Cardiff after receiving a yellow card at halftime.
Wales, missing injured regulars Craig Bellamy, Rhys Weston, Mark Pembridge and Simon Davies, had three losses and a draw in their last four qualifiers. Italy took advantage to win Group 9.
”You only get so many chances at this level,” Hughes said. ”We should have qualified outright, but now we have another opportunity, and we intend to take it.”
In Zagreb, Dado Prso gave the home team the lead in the fifth minute, only for Ermin Siljak to equalise in the 22nd. Croatia, which has never lost a World Cup or Euro qualifier at home, hit a post and was frustrated by Slovenia ‘keeper Mladen Dabanovic.
Croatia and Slovenia have been embroiled in a range of diplomatic disputes. Slovenia recently withdrew its ambassador from Zagreb following a sea border feud. — Sapa-AP