England alive for Euro 2008

England’s bid to qualify for next year’s European Championship is still alive.

Israel beat Russia, 2-1, on a late goal by Omer Golan on Saturday at Tel Aviv, preventing the Russians from climbing past the English into second place in Group E with one game left.

England can qualify with a tie or victory on Wednesday against first-place Croatia at Wembley Stadium.

Elsewhere in Euro 2008 qualifying, world champion Italy advanced and took France along with it by beating Scotland, 2-1, on an injury-time goal by Christian Panucci.

Spain, Croatia, Poland and the Netherlands also advanced to next year’s tournament in Austria and Switzerland. Defending champion Greece, three-time winner Germany, the Czech Republic and Romania had already qualified for the 16-team event.

Spain moved on after a 3-0 win over Sweden. Poland reached its first European Championship after a 2-0 win over Belgium.

In South American qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, Argentina won its third straight game, beating Bolivia, 3-0, behind two goals from Juan Roman Riquelme.

In other games, Colombia beat Venezuela, 1-0, and Paraguay routed Ecuador, 5-1, after which Ecuador’s Luis Fernando Suarez resigned as coach.