Perfect day for British nations in Europe

Seldom have we come across an afternoon like that of September 6, when three British nations, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, all won their qualifying matches in the 2008 European Championship.

In Skopje, Steve McClaren's England beat Macedonia 1-0, thanks to a goal from Peter Crouch. He pushed his tally to 11 in 14 appearances or 10 nettings in his last nine internationals.

David Healy, of Leeds United, scored a hat-trick for Northern Ireland in a 3-2 home triumph over Spain while Scotland defeated Lithuania away by the odd goal in three.

Not to be outdone England's U-21 side, under the guidance of Peter Taylor, registered a significant 3-2 win away to Switzerland to progress to the play-offs of the UEFA U-21 Championship.

Other soccer items for September:

¤ In their opening European Championship qualifier, England blast Andorra 5-0 at Old Trafford.

Other results: Scotland-Faroe Islands 6-0, Czech Republic-Wales 2-1, Germany-Ireland 1-0, Northern Ireland-Iceland 0-3.

¤ Chelsea say they had transferred French defender William Gallas to Arsenal because he threatened to score an own goal if he was selected.

¤ At White Hart Lane, Brazil topple Wales 2-0. Coach Dunga heaps praise on Welshman Ryan Giggs. He only played 45 minutes.

¤ Jim Jefferies, of Kilmarnock, is named Manager of the Month for August in Scotland.

¤ England will face Germany in a two-legged play-off for next year's UEFA U-21 Championship finals.

¤ Alex Ferguson and Ryan Giggs, both of Manchester United, are voted Manager and Player of the Month.

¤ In the opening match of the Champions League group phase, last season's beaten finalists Arsenal win 2-1 in Hamburg.

Other results: Chelsea-Werder Bremen 2-0, PSV Eindhoven-Liverpool 0-0, Manchester United-Celtic 3-2.

¤ England equal their all-time high of fourth place in the FIFA rankings, highlighting Steve McClaren's successful start as manager.

¤ In the UEFA Cup first round, first legs, Tottenham emerge victorious 1-0 in the Czech Republic against Slavia Prague.

Other results: Salzburg-Blackburn 2-2, Hearts-Sparta Prague 0-2, Levadia Tallinn-Newcastle 0-1, Molde-Rangers 0-0, West Ham-Palermo 0-1.

¤ England international midfielder Owen Hargreaves, of Bayern Munich, will miss England's next two European Championship qualifiers after an injury that, at least, will sideline him for six weeks.

¤ League Cup second round shocks: Barnsley-MK Dons 1-2, Crewe-Wigan 2-0, Port Vale-QPR 3-2, Doncaster-Derby 8-7 pens, Chesterfield-Man. City 2-1, Fulham-Wycombe 1-2, M'boro-Notts County 0-1.

¤ In the Scottish League Cup third round, St Johnstone eliminate Dundee United 3-0 at home.

¤ Leeds United sack Kevin Blackwell and West Brom dismiss Bryan Robson.

¤ The FA meet BBC officials to discuss TV programme 'Panorama' that revealed allegations of illegal activities taking place in the Premiership with regards to transfers of players.

¤ The Scottish Football League is at loggerheads with the FA Premier League after insisting that they can block top-tier plans for a Premier Division 2.

¤ In the second day of the Champions League group phase, all British clubs register victories. Arsenal-Porto 2-0, Celtic-FC Copenhagen 1-0, Levski Sofia-Chelsea 1-3, Liverpool-Galata-saray 3-2, Benfica-Manchester United 0-1.

¤ Barclays renew their sponsorship deal with the FA Premier League in a contract worth £65.8m up to 2010.

¤ Of the six British teams in the UEFA Cup, four progress to the group phase. Those that survived were: Blackburn (vs Salzburg), Newcastle (vs Levadia Tallinn), Rangers (vs Molde) and Tottenham (vs Slavia Prague). Those eliminated were Hearts (vs Sparta Prague) and West Ham (vs Palermo).

Leading marksmen

FA Premiership
6 - Johnson (Everton)
5 - Drogba (Chelsea), Zamora (West Ham), Kanu (Portsmouth)
4 - Lampard (Chelsea), D. Bent (Charlton)

The Championship
8 - Rasiak (Southampton)
7 - Earnshaw (Norwich)
6 - Chopra (Cardiff)

Scottish Premier
5 - McDonald (Motherwell), Crawford (Dunfermline), Boyd (Rangers).
3 - Dargo (Inverness), Killen (Hibernian), Shiels (Hibernian), Mole (Hearts), Naismith (Kilmarnock), Zurawski (Celtic), Robson (Dundee United), Bednar (Hearts)