Scots slip up, Greeks go through
PARIS: Scotland suffered potentially fatal blows to its Euro 2008 campaigns on Wednesday as holder Greece, the Czech Republic and Romania ensured their presence in next year's finals.
And in France Thierry Henry entered the record books as his country's most prolific goal scorer as the Barcelona star's double guided Les Bleus to a 2-0 win over Lithuania.
That victory lifted France to the top of Group B, ahead of Scotland and Italy, with the World Cup winner enjoying one game in hand.
The Scots arrived in Tbilisi topping the standings after Saturday's dashing 3-1 home win over Ukraine but Alex McLeish's men were brought back to earth with a painful bump by a 2-0 loss to Georgia.
Scotland now has the not-inconsiderable job of having to win its final Group B match against Italy on November 17 to ensure its presence in its first major tournament since the 1998 World Cup.
Holder Greece ensured it would be defending its title next year with a 1-0 Group C win over Turkey in Istanbul.
Greece joins Germany, who became the first side to seal qualification on Saturday although it was embarrassed 3-0 by the Czech Republic, for whom victory ensured its presence in Austria and Switzerland.
Romania became the fourth team to qualify courtesy of its 2-0 win at Luxembourg.
Portugal, host of Euro 2004 and beaten finalist, moved into second in Group A thanks to its 2-1 success over Kazakhstan.
AFP
(China Daily 10/19/2007 page24)
