France's emphatic 3-1 victory over Italy Wednesday night in Euro 2008 qualifying doesn't make up for its loss to Italy on penalty kicks in the 2006 World Cup. Nor does it mean the Bleus have clear sailing to the Euro 2008 final, which will take place in Austria and Switzerland.

''There are still 10 matches to play and a long way to ride,'' France coach Raymond Domenech said of the games left in Group B, which also includes Ukraine, a third team in the group to advance to at least the quarterfinals of the World Cup, and Scotland, which also opened qualifying with two wins.

Still, Blues' almost flawless performance was a sight to behold.

''The perfect match is the one in which you score on every attack and that your opponents are unable to put you in danger,'' Domenech said. ''We came very close to the perfect match tonight. Everybody was feeling great and technically we were well prepared for this outing. I hope that we will be capable to repeat such a performance.''

Sidney Govou, a late choice to start up front with Thierry Henry, scored two goals, including a stunning volley in the second minute, and Henry added the third goal with a clinical finish on a rebound in the 17th minute.

The win was the third in three games — two qualifiers and a friendly — for France in the last month. Under new coach Roberto Donadoni, Italy is winless in three games. The Azzurri's post-World Cup start was hurt by the delay to the start of the 2006-07 Serie A season because of lingering litigation in the Italian match-fixing scandal. Only three Italian starters have begun their league seasons — Antonio Cassano at Real Madrid and Gianluca Zambrotta and Fabio Cannavaro, who moved to Barcelona and Real Madrid, respectively, in the wake of Juventus' relegation to Serie B.

    EURO 2008 ROUNDUP

  • Germany set a record for the biggest victory in the history of the European Championship when it crushed tiny San Marino, 13-0, in their Group D qualifier. Lukas Podolski scored four goals, while Miroslav Klose, Thomas Hitzlsperger and Bastian Schweinsteiger each scored twice.
  • Northern Ireland produced the biggest upset when it beat Spain, 3-2, in Belfast thanks to David Healy's hat trick. Only last Saturday, Northern Ireland lost at home to Iceland, 3-0, at home.
  • Peter Crouch scored the only goal in England's 1-0 victory at Macedonia to give him 11 goals in his last 10 international matches.