Scotland celebrate their demolition of Ukraine

While England cruised 轻松拿下 to an easy 3-0 victory against Estonia at Wembley, and Wales lost to Cyprus, the real action was north of the border at Scotland’s Hampden Park where the Scots demolished 击败 Ukraine 3-1.

Scottish fans were delighted as their team went two up 领先两分 in the first 10 minutes of the game with goals from Kenny Miller and Lee McCulloch.

Without a prayer  Nobody gave us a prayer at the start as I’ve never been involved in a group as hard as this.   Alex McLeish, Scotland manager

Ukrainian striker, Andrei Shevchenko, who has failed to impress 没有惊人表现 with his club side Chelsea, managed to pull one back 扳回一球 halfway through the first half but it was not enough to dampen the spirits 打击士气 of the Scots.

James McFadden put the game to bed 已成定局 with a goal ten minutes from the end that saw Scotland go to the top of their qualifying group 资格组.

Scotland have had an impressive run in their qualifying campaign, with few people expecting them to progress through the so-called "Group of Death" that includes World Cup winners Italy and former world champions France.

Even Scotland’s manager, Alex McLeish, admitted that his team faced a daunting prospect 艰巨的考验.

"Nobody gave us a prayer 为我们祈祷 at the start as I’ve never been involved in a group as hard as this," said McLeish, meaning that nobody believed his team could win.

McLeish praised 赞扬 the way his team started the match but was a little disappointed that Ukraine were able to score their goal easily.

"We got off to a fantastic flyer, but we let them back into it for nothing," he said.

Not easy  Of course we can do it but it won't be easy   Lee McCulloch, Scotland

Scotland are now only two games away from qualifying for Euro 2008. Wednesday sees them take on Georgia after which they will face the challenge of taking on footballing giants, Italy.

But the Scots are brimming with confidence 充满了自信.

After Saturday’s match, goalscorer Lee McCulloch said, "Of course we can do it but it won't be easy."

"As long as everybody is supporting us and gets behind us 为我们撑腰鼓劲 then you never know what can happen."