A thrilling Scandinavian derby between Denmark and Sweden was abandoned a minute before full-time on Saturday after a fan attacked referee Herbert Fandel who immediately blew his whistle and walked off.

Denmark had fought back from 0-3 down to level their Euro 2008 Group F qualifier at 3-3 when Denmark's Christian Poulsen was shown the red card just before the end for striking Markus Rosenberg.

Fandel awarded Sweden a penalty but before the kick was taken, a fan lunged at the German - who officiated at last week's Champions League final between AC Milan and Liverpool - and he abandoned the match.

UEFA's Control and Disciplinary committee will now decide whether the result should stand and what punitive action should be taken.

While Denmark and Sweden shared six goals, Germany cracked six of their own without reply against San Marino in Nuremberg to pull two points clear of the Czech Republic at the top of Group D.

Germany set a European Championship record when they won 13-0 at San Marino last September, but San Marino held out until the last minute of the first half before Germany went ahead with a Kevin Kuranyi header.

Marcell Jansen, Torsten Frings, Mario Gomez (2) and Clemens Fritz added the others while San Marino had Davide Simoncini sent off early in the second half.

Goodbye Giggs

Germany moved on to 16 points from six matches, two ahead of the Czechs, who were held to a 0-0 draw in Cardiff by Wales with Ryan Giggs making his 64th and last appearance for the home side. The result all but ended Wales' faint hopes of qualifying.

In Group A, there were important wins for Poland, Portugal and Serbia who occupy the top three positions with Finland edged out to fourth place and Belgium's hopes dashed.

Poland came from behind to beat Azerbaijan 3-1 with goals by Euzebiusz Smolarek (63) and Jacek Krzynowek (66, 90) to record their sixth win from eight matches and stay five points clear at the top.

Portugal won 2-1 in Brussels with a second-half goal from Helder Postiga securing the points.

Manchester United's new signing Nani put the visitors in front against the run of play in the 43rd minute and while Belgium equalised in the 54th with a Marouane Felliani strike, Postiga rifled home the winner nine minutes later.

Serbia won 2-0 in Finland in another Group A match to move on to 14 points to keep their chances alive.

France displaced Ukraine at the top of Group B after beating them 2-0 in Paris with second half goals from Franck Ribery and Nicolas Anelka who scored with a well struck volley.

Inzaghi double

World champions Italy moved up from fourth to second place with a 2-1 win in the Faroe Islands with Filippo Inzaghi, who scored both of Milan's goals in the Champions League final, getting both of Italy's as they labored to a nervous win in the blustery North Atlantic conditions.

Reigning European champions Greece also kept on course for the finals with a 2-0 win over Hungary, which, coupled with Turkey's 3-2 defeat in Bosnia, took Greece to the top of Group C. They will have a good chance of extending their lead when they face bottom-placed Moldova in Crete again on Wednesday.

The top three teams in Group E all won with Croatia winning 1-0 in Estonia, Israel 2-1 in Macedonia and Russia beating Andorra 4-0 in St Petersburg.

Those results have put even greater pressure on England to win in Estonia on Wednesday, but Croatia were made to work hard for their victory despite the fact Estonia have no points or goals from their six matches.

Spain, meanwhile, improved their chances of earning a place in next year's finals when they notched up their third qualifying win in a row with a 2-0 Group F victory in Latvia on Saturday.

That lifted them on to 12 points, one behind leaders Northern Ireland and they could well be top on Wednesday after visiting Liechtenstein with the Irish not playing.

(China Daily via Agencies June 4, 2007)