Scotland move into second in Group 9, Norway held

Stephen Sharp - 5 September 2009 23:32

James McFadden's sensational effort highlighted Scotland's win.

Scotland moved into second place in European World Cup Group 9 with a 2-0 victory over Macedonia on Saturday. Norway kept their hopes alive with a 1-1 draw at Iceland.

Scotland 2-0 Macedonia

After a scoreless first half, the home side went in front on 56 minutes when Scott Brown headed home a cross by Steven Fletcher to give the Hampden Park crowd a reason to cheer.

Goalkeeper Craig Gordon kept the home side in it throughout the match, and his saves paid off on 80 minutes when James McFadden took the ball in his own half and made a phenomenal run before scoring to put the match away.

Iceland 1-1 Norway

The Norwegians looked to be headed toward a valuable victory when they opened the scoring 10 minutes in through John Arne Riise.

But Iceland dashed their hopes in the 29th minute when Eidur Gudjohnsen pulled the islanders level. Iceland earned a point, but were eliminated from contention.

Scotland sit on 10 points, three ahead of both Macedonia and Norway. The team that finishes second will have a chance to compete in the UEFA play-offs.