© EuroFootball.com
During the 2008 European Championship qualifiers, there were 20 matches with plenty of surprises. The biggest shocks came from the national teams of Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein, who managed to beat Finland and Latvia respectively, while Northern Ireland became the leaders of Group F after defeating Sweden. Wins at the end of the matches were achieved by the Netherlands and Spain, England only managed to break Andorra's defense in the second half, Italy convincingly defeated Scotland, Poland secured minimal victories at home, Czech Republic, Ireland, Bulgaria failed to beat Albania, while the matches between Serbia and Portugal, as well as Turkey and Norway, ended in draws.
In Group A, Poland solidified their top spot after a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Armenia and extending their lead over their competitors by five points. Azerbaijan sensationally beat Finland at home, while Portugal played to a draw against Serbia.
Italy, the reigning world champions, returned to the fight for a spot in the European Championship finals with two goals from Luca Toni to defeat Scotland at home and earn their 10th point. After Ukraine's victory over Lithuania, a triangle was formed in the group among Ukraine, France, and Scotland, with the Faroe Islands rising to fifth place after defeating Georgia.
In Group C, Turkey maintained their leading position with a draw against Norway in a neutral stadium in Germany, narrowly escaping defeat thanks to two late penalties from Hamit Altintop, while Malta achieved a hard-fought win against Greece. Hungary rose to second place by beating Moldova.
A three-way tie also emerged in Group D, with the Czech Republic and Ireland edging out Germany on points after narrow victories over Cyprus and Slovakia respectively. Slovakia remained in fourth place, while San Marino rose to fifth after thrashing Wales 3-0 at home.
In Group E, Israel dominated Estonia with a 4-0 victory, with 17-year-old Ben Sahar scoring twice, while England secured a victory over Andorra. Steven Gerrard scored two goals, with David Nugent adding another.
In Group F, Northern Ireland surged ahead with a surprising victory over Sweden, while Spain defeated Iceland with a goal from Andres Iniesta and moved up to third place.
In Group G, Bulgaria and Albania played to a draw, while Romania defeated Luxembourg 3-0 and the Netherlands secured a win over Slovenia.
The rest of the 2008 European Championship qualifying matches will be played in early June.
