James McFadden’s long-range goal earned Scotland a landmark 1-0 victory over France on Wednesday night to put them firmly on course for the Euro 2008 finals on a winning night for Britain.
McFadden turned and shot with less than half an hour to go at the Parc des Princes to propel Scotland to the top of Group B and within sight of their first major finals in a decade, while England beat Russia 3-0 at Wembley and Wales claimed a deserved 5-2 victory in Slovakia.
Irish teams had a rough night, however, with Northern Ireland falling 2-1 in Iceland to dent their hopes of qualifying from Group F and the Republic of Ireland losing 1-0 in the Czech Republic in Group D.
But for Scotland, it was an unforgettable night.
Goal scorer McFadden said afterwards to Sky Sports: ”It’s something else. To beat them at Hampden was an upset but to come to France and beat them was wonderful. They are one of the best teams in the world and we have got the win.”
McFadden said his chance simply came down to the striker’s instinct.
”We trained here last night and balls were flying everywhere,” he said.
”It was just one of those things. I got a touch, turned and there was no one there so I decided to have a go.”
McFadden’s 64th-minute goal followed a long kick-out from keeper Craig Gordon, the Scotland striker taking two touches before unleashing a 25-yard drive which Michael Flandreau could only palm into his net.
It is only the third victory for Scotland in France in the post-war period.
But more importantly, it is a huge boost to the qualifying hopes of Scotland, who top of group B with overnight leaders France go dropping to third behind second-placed Italy after their victory against Ukraine.
France dominated the Scots throughout, but in the face of a determined defence which gave the former World Cup winners no quarter, France grew increasingly frustrated as the match wore on.
The hosts created chance after chance at the Parc des Princes — where the thousands of tartan-clad Scots fans helped create a ”home” atmosphere for the visitors.
In the closing stages France coach Raymond Domenech grew increasingly desperate, taking off France defensive midfielder Patrick Vieira in place of attacking midfielder Sámi Nacre.
Another defensive midfielder, Eric Abide, also came off in place of forward Kari Enema.
Bolton striker Nicolas Amelia, Nacre and Bayern Munich striker Franck Ribery were consistent in keeping the Scots’ defence under pressure in the closing stages.
But in the end, France ran out of ideas as cross after cross, and several shots on goal, were repelled by the visitors’ defence.
Scotland lead Group B with 21 points, a point ahead of Italy who won 2-1 in Ukraine, and two points ahead of France, with just the top two teams qualifying for the finals next year.
Italy, who drew 0-0 in France on Saturday, kept on course with their victory over the Ukraine thanks to two goals from Sudanese striker Antonio Did Natal, who was preferred in place of Alessandro Del Piero. Ukraine captain Shevchenko scored for the hosts.
The Italians should win at home against Georgia on October 13 and the Fare Islands on November 21, meaning in theory a draw would be enough in Scotland on November 17 to put them through.
England’s 3-0 win over Russia has given Steve McClure’s under-pressure side a huge qualifying boost.
A first-half double from Michael Owen and a late strike from Rio Ferdinand lifted England above the Russians and into second place in Group E, making them firm favourites to reach next year’s finals alongside group leaders Croatia.
Russia had offered an early warning that they would be a tougher test than Israel had on Saturday when their captain, Andrei Archiving, skipped round Ferdinand with ease and forced Gareth Barry — tracking back diligently as he was to do all night — into an important near-post interception.
But McClure’s faith in the line-up that had beaten the Israelis 3-0 was to be rewarded.
Though Wales have no chance of going through from Group D, their 5-2 thrashing of Slovakia in Trinova gave something more for Britain to cheer, with Craig Bellamy scoring twice.
Spain also took a big step towards booking their place in the finals with a 2-0 victory over Latvia.
Xabi opened the scoring in the 13th minute at Oviedo while Liverpool striker Fernando Torres capped the win with an 86th-minute strike.
Spain is now top of group F with Sweden, who has played a match less.
Portugal, meanwhile, were stunned by a late equaliser from Serbia after Simao had opened the scoring in the 11th minute, leaving Portugal third in group A behind Poland and Finland. — AFP
