England, Italy, Scotland win in soccer

England, Italy, Scotland, the Netherlands and Spain won important qualifiers Wednesday night for next year's European Championship.

With England missing David Beckham and several other injured regulars, Michael Owen scored in the seventh and 31st minutes and Rio Ferdinand added the final goal in the 84th for a 3-0 victory over Russia at Wembley.

"We've just got to enjoy it, but keep our feet on the ground," England coach Steve McClaren said. "We've set a standard, but we've got to continue with that."

England (6-1-2) moved into second in Group E with 20 points, three behind Croatia (7-0-2), which won 6-0 at Andorra. Russia (5-1-3) is third with 18 points, one ahead of Israel (5-2-2).

The top two nations in each group qualify for next year's tournament in Austria and Switzerland. England's remaining qualifiers are Oct. 13 against Estonia, Oct. 17 at Russia and Nov. 21 against Croatia.

At Kiev, Antonio Di Natale scored twice, including a tiebreaking goal in the 77th minute that gave Italy a 2-1 victory at Ukraine.

Di Natale headed in Christian Panucci's cross from the left in the 41st minute, but Andriy Shevchenko — a former star in the Italian League with AC Milan — beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon to tie the score in the 71st.

Massimo Ambrosini set up Di Natale's second goal, feeding him for a one-on-one with goalkeeper Olexandr Shovkovskiy.

"We showed a lot of character," Italy coach Roberto Donadoni said. "We're still a step behind physically but we're improving."

Italy (6-1-2) is second in Group B with 20 points, one point behind Scotland (7-2) and one ahead of France (6-2-1).

At Tirana, Ruud van Nistelrooy scored in second-half injury time to lift the Netherlands over Albania 1-0. Substitute Urby Emanuelson crossed to Van Nistelrooy, who scored with a low shot from close range. Albania finished a man short after midfielder Lorik Cana was ejected in the 87th for clashing with Sneijder and Van Nistelrooy.

The Netherlands and Romania (both 6-0-2) are tied for the Group G lead, two points ahead of Bulgaria (5-1-3), which beat visiting Luxembourg 3-0.

Spain defeated visiting Latvia 2-0 at Oviedo on goals by Xavi Hernandez in the 13th minute and Fernando Torres in the 85th. Spain (6-2-1) and Sweden (6-1-1) are tied atop Group F with 19 points, three ahead of Northern Ireland (5-3-1), which lost 2-1 at Iceland.

At Prague, the Czech Republic beat Ireland 1-0 on Marek Jankulovski's goal in the 16th minute. Germany (7-0-1) leads Group D with 22 points, two in front of the Czechs (6-1-2). Ireland fell to 4-3-2.

Germany beat visiting Romania 3-1 in an exhibition game at Cologne, getting goals from Bernd Schneider in the 42nd, David Odonkor in the 65th and Lukas Podolski in the 82nd. Dorian Goian gave Romania the lead in the third minute.

In other Euro qualifiers, it was: Finland 0, Poland 0; Kazakhstan 2, Belgium 2; Portugal 1, Serbia 1; Lithuania 2, Faeroe Islands 1; Bosnia-Herzegovina 0, Moldova 1; Norway 2, Greece 2; Turkey 3, Hungary 0; Cyprus 3, San Marino 0; Slovakia 2, Wales 5; Macedonia 1, Estonia 1; Denmark 4, Liechtenstein 0; Iceland 2, Northern Ireland 1; Bulgaria 3, Luxembourg 0; and Slovenia 1, Belarus 0.

In other friendly matches it was Azerbaijan 1 Georgia 1; Malta 0, Armenia 1; Montenegro 1, Sweden 2; Singapore 1, United Arab Emirates 1; South Africa 0, Uruguay 0

Mexico was scheduled to play a friendly against Brazil in Foxborough, Mass., later Wednesday night.

Nesta saves Milan's honour at Siena

ROME (AFP) - AC Milan were held to their second successive 1-1 draw in Serie A which resumed Saturday after last weekend's time-out for Euro 2008 qualifier action. The European champions missed out on the chance of taking temporary possession of the Serie A summit ahead of Sunday's programme when only Alessandro Nesta's late late equaliser avoided an embarrassing slip up at struggling Siena. AC Milan, who won the European Super Cup against Sevilla in Monaco at the end of last month, were held 1-1 by Fiorentina on their last league tie at the start of the month. And they were short of full strength for this away fixture as Kaka, Andrea Pirlo, Massimo Oddo were left out in preparation for their Champions League opener against Benfica. The injured Ronaldo was also missing. Siena, lying fourth from the foot of the table, took a 24th minute lead thanks to Massimo Maccarone, who pounced on some comedy defending as Nelson Dida fumbled an effort from Cristian Bucchi and then Kakha Kaladze tripped over the ball as he attempted to clear it. That let in Maccarone although the former Middlesbrough player was lucky not to be caught up for offside as he slotted in from close range. The Tuscany club were heading for a valuable maximum points until Nesta popped up in the 91st minute to level from a volley after a move started by a freekick awarded when Leandro Grimi felled Clarence Seedorf. The result left AC Milan in third, on five points, one behind Juventus and Inter Milan. In Saturday's late match Lazio were held to a goalless draw by Empoli, who climbed a place to third from bottom. On Sunday Juventus and Roma are out to defend their perfect record against Udinese and Reggina. Juventus have scored eight goals in their two matches so far against Livorno and Cagliari, and their home match against out-of-form Udinese will give them a chance to add to their tally. Udinese have yet to win this season though the form of Italy international striker Antonio Di Natale, who scored twice in Wednesday's 2-1 Euro 2008 qualifing victory in Ukraine, will be a plus.

2007-09-15 22:30:33

Madrid on cloud nine as Sneijder scores again

MADRID (AFP) - Real Madrid's flawless start to the season continued with a 3-1 win over Almeria on Saturday as the Spanish champions warmed up for Tuesday's Champions League opener against Werder Bremen. Man of the moment Wesley Sneijder continued his record of scoring in every league game curling in a trademark free-kick on 68 minutes for his fourth goal of the season. Earlier Javier Saviola, starting in place of the rested Ruud van Nistelrooy, had opened the scoring with his first league goal for Real before Sneijder doubled their advantage. Kalu Uche pulled one back for ten-man Almeria on 73 minutes but substitute Gonzalo Higuain scored late on to clinch another win for Real. Real now have a perfect nine points under new German coach Bernd Schuster and, although it is early in the season title rivals Barcelona, five points adrift, are certainly under pressure to win their game in hand against Osasuna on Sunday. "We had to work hard and we lacked that match sharpness after a complicated week with players away on international duty," said Schuster. "We gave away a silly goal and made it hard for ourselves but we won and if we want to win titles at the end of the season we have to win games like this." For Real the Champions League is up next with their opening match a tricky home tie against resilient German side Bremen on Tuesday. Schuster has hinted that he will rotate his team again believing Real now have the strength in depth to rest key players. "This year it makes more sense to rotate players because the squad is well balanced," Schuster explained. "Everyone is capable of playing in the league, cup or the Champions League. We have a squad for competing in all competitions." Club president Ramon Calderon said Real were the best team in Europe in midweek and they now have a chance to prove it against Europe's elite. Nine-time European champions Real were beaten by Bayern Munich at the last 16 stage last year and Schuster will be under pressure to do better than his predecessor Fabio Capello. Valencia needed an 89th minute strike from winger David de Silva to secure their first home win of the campaign with a 2-1 victory over Valladolid. Cameroon midfielder Daniel Kome put Valladolid ahead on ten minutes before Spanish international Fernando Morientes equalised on 23 minutes. A draw looked on the cards until de Silva popped up with a winner close to the end and Valencia climb to second, three points behind tabletoppers Real. Valencia are also in action in midweek facing Schalke 04 in the Champions League on Tuesday.

2007-09-15 22:35:34

Blues slip as Gunners stay top

A dogged Blackburn rearguard action held off Chelsea's challenge as Jose Mourinho's men could only draw 0-0 at Stamford Bridge to keep Arsenal top of the Premier League. The Gunners' 3-1 comeback win over Tottenham Hotspur had taken them to the top of the table as they profited from Liverpool's 0-0 draw at Portsmouth. Manchester United kept in touch with a somewhat fortunate 1-0 win at Everton. [+]

MANCHESTER, England - The Glazer family will not sell Manchester United, despite reports of potential billion-dollar takeover bids from China and United Arab Emirates.

"United is not for sale," the family's spokesman said Sunday. "The Glazer family is 100 percent committed to long-term investment and ownership in the club ... demonstrated by the expenditure during the transfer window.
"The position has not changed and nor will it."
A Chinese consortium has reportedly expressed interest in the club, while a rival group with connections to the Emirates royal family is also considering a bid.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer bought United for $1.47 billion in 2005.
Since winning the Premier League title last season, Glazer has financed the purchase of more than $100 million worth of players, including England midfielder Owen Hargreaves and Argentina striker Carlos Tevez.
FC United, the breakaway club formed by supporters in protest against Glazer's takeover, reached the first qualifying round of the FA Cup for the first time Sunday. The non-league team will play Fleetwood Town — also the opponents when Manchester United played its first match in the competition in 1886

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has finally agreed a three-year contract extension with the Premier League club, according to reports. The deal, which will keep Wenger at the Emirates Stadium until the summer of 2011, is set to be formally announced on Friday.

European Championship Qualifying Scores - Saturday, September 8, 2007
Serbia

19:15
Finland

UK
Portugal

21:00
Poland

UK
Scotland

15:00
Lithuania

UK
Georgia

16:00
Ukraine

UK
Italy

19:50
France

UK
Hungary

15:00
Bosnia-Herzegovin

UK
Malta

18:30
Turkey

UK
Moldova

19:00
Norway

UK
San Marino

19:15
Czech Republic

UK
Slovakia

19:30
Ireland

UK
Wales

19:30
Germany

UK
Russia

16:00
Macedonia

UK
England

17:00
Israel

UK
Croatia

19:30
Estonia

UK
Latvia

17:15
Northern Ireland

UK
Sweden

19:30
Denmark

UK
Iceland

21:00
Spain

UK
Luxembourg

16:00
Slovenia

UK
Belarus

17:00
Romania

UK
Netherlands

19:30
Bulgaria

UK