By Clare Lovell
LONDON, Oct 17 - European champions Greece, Czech
Republic and Romania will join Germany in the European
Championship finals next year after qualifying on Wednesday.
It was Thierry Henry who grabbed the limelight on a busy
night, however, scoring twice against Lithuania to break Michel
Platini's record of 41 goals for France and propel them to the
top of qualifying Group B.
Greece, who beat hosts Portugal in the final in 2004, earned
a trip to Austria and Switzerland with a 1-0 win over rivals
Turkey in Group C in Istanbul, with a 79th minute goal from
striker Ioannis Amantidis.
Turkey dropped to third place after Norway beat Bosnia 2-0
in Sarajevo and will have everything to play for when they
travel to Oslo next month.
The Czechs strolled to a 3-0 away win over a toothless
Germany, who had already qualified from Group D and were
depleted by injury and suspension.
Libor Sionko put them ahead in the second minute, with Marek
Matejovsky adding a second in the 23rd and Jaroslav Plasil
making it three in the second half.
Romania beat Luxembourg 2-0 away in Group G with goals from
Florentin Petre and Ciprian Marica, which was enough to secure
qualification after Bulgaria managed only a 1-1 draw in Albania.
Bulgaria cannot now catch Romania but still have a chance,
in their last two games, of overtaking second-placed Netherlands
if the Dutch slip up in their last two qualifiers next month.
ENGLAND JEOPARDY
Two second-half goals from substitute Roman Pavlyuchenko,
one a controversial penalty, earned Russia a 2-1 win over
England in a chilly Moscow, keeping alive their hopes of
qualifying from Group E and putting England's in jeopardy.
The comeback win after striker Wayne Rooney had put England
ahead in the 29th minute propelled Guus Hiddink's side to 21
points behind Croatia on 26 and England on 23.
The rejuvenated Russians now have to win away matches
against already-eliminated Israel and Andorra to qualify.
Croatia face Macedonia away before finishing their campaign
against England at Wembley on Nov. 21, and needing only one
point from the two games to get through.
England, who had put together a run of five 3-0 qualifying
wins going into the match, have played one more game than their
rivals and must rely on a slip-up by Russia or a collapse in
form from Croatia to qualify.
England's neighbours Scotland also suffered a big setback in
a tough Group B. The Scots, looking to compete in their first
major tournament since the World Cup in 1998, went down 2-0 in
Georgia, who are already eliminated.
Scotland had been riding high in the group but the defeat
reinstalled last year's World Cup winners Italy, who did not
play on Wednesday, and runners-up France as favourites to
qualify.
Portugal earned three points in Group A when goals from
Ariza Makukula and Cristiano Ronaldo gave them a 2-1 win over
Kazakhstan.
The group is too close to call, with leaders Poland,
Portugal, Finland and Serbia, who romped to a 6-1 win over
bottom side Azerbaijan in Baku, having two games to play and all
still in with a chance of reaching the finals.
Sweden are within a point of qualifying after a 1-1 draw at
home to Northern Ireland in Group F, a result that kept the
visitors's hopes of a Euro 2008 spot hanging by a thread.