Euro 2008 Qualifying: Scotland Bows Out, But England Awaits a Cliffhanger

My eyes were sore when I retired to bed Saturday, after a poignant night for all the Scotland fans around the world.

I don't know whether it was due to tears, but they were under strain for ninety minutes.

I'm not a partisan Scotland fan, but when a team is playing brilliant football and defying all the odds, you have to root for them.

The Tartan Army has been the most impressive side of this campaign, pulling off some major shocks against heavy favorites—like the stunner against France.

The knockout stages were dancing in their dreams, and success was just around the corner—until the Azzuries came and shattered all of their hopes.

The last-ditch effort of Cristian Panucci made all the difference in this game, which was  dominated equally by both teams. The atmosphere was electrifying inside Hampden Park, and every Scottish fan was anticipating a football fiesta. Nobody expected the Azzuries to make an early breakthrough, but Luca Toni had other ideas, and slammed home the ball to silence the fans just two minutes in.

After that wake-up call, the game was on. Tackles were flying in all corners of the field, with both teams desperate to win the ball and have shots on goal. Di Natale and Luca Toni continuously terrorized the shaky Scottish defence, but goalie Gordon was in top form on the goal line. Italy dominated both halves, but failed to capitalize, and the Scottish defence only strengthened throughout the course of the game.

In the second half, Scotland approached with some fresh strategems: playing defensive and striking on counterattacks. However, the equaliser came from a set-piece when McFadden's shot was impeded by the wall, and the ball fell to captain Barry Ferguson, who slotted the ball home to rekindle Scotland's hopes.

With over 25 minutes in hand, both teams pushed themselves to their limits to take the accolades. As the injury time neared, the fans could hear there exit bells ringing to a crescendo. Cristian Panucci increased the volume even higher, when Pirlo's ball from a controversial free-kick met his head, and he squeaked the ball past the despairing goalkeeper. 

This match was an absolute heartbreaker for Alex McLeish's side, who have coruscated Scotland's image in the International arena after several years of letdowns. Nevertheless, the young squad of Scotland looks promising—and come next October, they will be the team to beat when the World Cup Qualifiers get under way.

The night's other shock came from the Macedonia-Croatia game, where the Minnows ended Croatia's unbeaten run in a crushing 2-0 loss. Croatia boss Bilic had been contemptuous of England, tagging them as "self-confident" prior to their game. Surely, this loss was a tight slap in his face, and revealed who was more "self-confident."

To put icing on the cake for England fans, Russia caved to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Israel—who deserved to win the game if you ask me. With stalwart Yossi Benayoun missing, you couldn't have expected a better performance from this young, inexperienced side.

The losses for both Russia and Croatia mean that England is the master of its destiny yet again, and it's up to Steve McLaren's barmy army to reprieve themselves. A draw will be sufficient for them to progress, but McLaren must go for a win if he wants to save his blushes. 

Though the Three Lions have a striker crisis—with Peter Crouch remaining as the only first-choice front runner—McLaren may employ a 4-5-1 formation, or a 4-3-3 formation with Beckham and Cole playing down the flanks.

Against Austria,the Gerrard-Lampard partnership again misfired, although the latter player managed to shine. Becks was back in business and sprayed some terrific crosses and through-balls to the attackers. Joe Cole also lived up to the fans' expectations. 

Let's hope that their upbeat attitude acts as their spearhead against Croatia, and they finally call a hiatus on their never-ending criticism—at least for the time being!