The qualification knife-edge
The thin line between .
First, . To amass 24 points from the hardest group imaginable and to strike real fear into the hearts of the World Champions, before finally being undone by an awful refereeing decision, was an extraordinary achievement.
It should also stand Scotland in good stead for the future - not only do they now have a team of which to be proud, but their improved ranking should put them in a less absurdly tough group, with a good chance of qualifying for the .
By contrast, England, as mere bystanders, then had a huge stroke of luck when . I'm sure it hasn't gone unnoticed in Scotland that a draw on Wednesday will take England both to Euro 2008, and to the self-same total of 24 points reached by Scotland, who had both World Cup finalists and a quarter-finalist in Ukraine in their group.
I'm editing our live coverage of and the impending tone of our show changed about three times in a minute during those Tel Aviv closing stages.
At 1-1, the theme was broadly that England had been handed a lifeline but still needed a famous win at Wembley; then, as Russia hit the post, it was almost the humiliation of having to ask an impossible favour of Andorra; then, would you believe it, we're straight up the other end, Israel score and it's gift horse and mouth time. It was the unpredictable madness that is football in a microcosm.
If England do qualify, perhaps Israel's winning goalscorer, , should be Overseas Sports Personality of the Year (England only). It's been a very strange campaign for England with a terrible few days last autumn, a good recovery, an unlucky and seemingly conclusive defeat in Moscow, then this massive reprieve. Surely they won't blow it now?
Then again, we all remember Greece coming to Old Trafford seemingly with nothing to play for in 2001, and, at the same time, Finland going to Germany in the same position. What an extraordinary afternoon that turned out to be.
As I said in a previous blog, we would still cover Euro 2008 comprehensively even if none of our teams qualified, but the more home interest, the more pleasurable the experience will be. An uncharacteristically comfortable England night on Wednesday would be a bonus, though no-one's holding their breath!
Speaking of home interest, let's not forget Northern Ireland. Like Scotland, they've achieved so much in this qualifying campaign. At the very least, they will also have earned a higher seeding for future qualification groups, and David Healy's incredible qualifying record of 13 goals (a total which could rise on Wednesday) may not be matched in the near future.
I have to say, qualification now looks a remote possibility: no-one would put it past them to win in Spain, but a simultaneous Latvian win in Sweden is highly unlikely. However, to beat Spain, Sweden and Denmark at home while drawing in Sweden and Denmark is a qualifying record of which any nation would be proud. It's a just a shame about those .
Anyway, and the are both , as well as available via the red button across the UK alongside the England match.
Here's to an enjoyable (if that's the word) evening all round.
