Scotland gained one of the biggest wins in its history when it beat France, 1-0, Saturday in Euro 2008 qualifying.
Coming off its 3-1 over Italy in a rematch of the 2006 World Cup final, France was favored in Glasgow and came out strong, twice having goals disallowed for offside in the first 15 minutes. But the Scots, whose last appearance in a major tournament was the 1998 World Cup in France, hung in the game and scored on Gary Caldwell's shot in the 67th minute.
''This is one of the best days in Scottish football,'' said Scotland captain Barry Ferguson. ''There's a lot of happy faces in there.''
France coach Raymond Domenech was unhappy with the ball boys whom he complained took excessive time retrieving the ball. Responded Scotland coach Walter Smith, ''Its nice for Scotland to be in a position where the ball boys don't need to get the ball back quickly.''
The win was the third in a row for the Scots, the surprise leaders in Group B heading into Wednesday's game at World Cup quarterfinalist Ukraine.
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Defending European champion Greece won its second straight qualifier with a scrappy 1-0 victory over Norway in a game at Athens' Karaiskaki Stadium that was almost postponed because of heavy thunderstorm.
Spain coach Luis Aragones was in danger of losing his job after Sweden handed the Spaniards a comprehensive 2-0 loss on goals by Johan Elmander and Marcus Allback.
Elsewhere, hapless England had to settle for a 0-0 draw with Macedonia at Manchester's Old Trafford. A second-half goal from Robin van Persie gave the Netherlands a 1-1 draw at Bulgaria in a key Group G match. Ireland's Euro 2008 hopes were in a shambles after a 5-2 loss at Cyprus so humiliating that Scotland star Robbie Keane called it the worst night of his career.
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