Scotland, Venezuela Post Upsets
Scotland and Venezuela, two of international soccer’s minnows, produced two of its biggest surprises Saturday during qualifying play for the 2004 European Championship in Portugal and the 2006 World Cup in Germany, respectively.
The Scots, ranked 58th in the world, stunned the star-studded and fifth-ranked Netherlands, 1-0, in front of a disbelieving but delirious crowd at Glasgow in the first game of their two-game Euro 2004 playoff series.
The Venezuelans, long the whipping boys of South American soccer, produced an equally memorable victory, defeating Colombia, 1-0, at Barranquilla, Colombia, on a ninth-minute goal by Juan Arango.
The loss was the third in as many qualifying games for Colombia and almost certainly will lead to the ouster of Coach Francisco Maturana, who has hinted that he might resign.
Dutch Coach Dick Advocaat, who has said he will step down if the Netherlands does not qualify for Portugal, was forced to watch his team struggle against a Scotland team that produced “brilliant football,” according to its German coach, Berti Vogts.
James McFadden was the Scottish hero, scoring with a left-foot shot in the 22nd minute after the Dutch failed to clear a corner kick.
The teams play Wednesday at Amsterdam, with the Scots needing only a tie to advance.
Wales also boosted its hopes of qualifying for a major tournament for the first time since the 1958 World Cup when it held Russia to a 0-0 tie at Moscow.
A victory at home at Cardiff on Wednesday would put the Welsh through.
Latvia produced another of the day’s many upsets when it shocked Turkey, 1-0, at Riga, Latvia, to move to within striking distance of its first major tournament.
A goal by Maris Verpakovskis gave Latvia the victory over the Turks, who finished third in last year’s World Cup and now face a must-win situation at Istanbul on Wednesday if they are to survive.
Favored Spain was made to work hard for its 2-1 Euro 2004 playoff victory over Norway at Valencia.
The Spanish fell behind in the 14th-minute on a goal by Steffen Iversen, then breathed a sigh of relief when Raul scored on a header in the 20th minute.
The match appeared headed for a tie, but defender Henning Berg knocked the ball into his net during a goalmouth scramble five minutes before the end.
The teams play the second leg at Oslo on Wednesday.
The fifth and last of the playoff series for next summer’s 16-nation tournament ended in a tie as Croatia and Slovenia finished 1-1 at Zagreb, Croatia.
Dado Prso gave the home team the lead early on, only to see Ermin Siljak score for Slovenia, which plays host in the second game Wednesday at Ljubljana.
In the most significant friendly match played Saturday, defending European champion France defeated Germany, 3-0, at Gelsenkirchen, Germany, behind two goals from Juventus striker David Trezeguet and one from Thierry Henry.
Portugal, which will stage Euro 2004, was jeered by its fans at Aveiro, Portugal, after being held to a 1-1 tie by Greece.
Kostas Katsouranis scored for Greece just after halftime and Pauleta volleyed in the tying goal in the 59th minute.
At Montevideo, Uruguay, goals by Javier Chevanton and Marcelo Romero earned the home team a 2-1 World Cup qualifying victory over Chile after Rodrigo Melendez had given Chile the early lead against the run on play.
Neighboring Paraguay also kept on course for Germany 2006 by beating Ecuador, 2-1, at Asuncion, Paraguay, behind goals by Roque Santa Cruz and Jose Cardozo. Edison Mendez scored for Ecuador.
At Buenos Aires, Andres D’Alessandro, Hernan Crespo and Pablo Aimar scored and Argentina had little difficulty in defeating Bolivia, 3-0, in the rain.
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Times wire services contributed to this report.
