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 LONDON (AP) - Qualifying for the 2008 European Championship is just past the halfway stage, and most of the leading teams are rising to the top of their groups.
In Wednesday's qualifiers, three-time winner Germany can go five points ahead in Group D, while World Cup winner Italy, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, France and defending champion Greece all are well-positioned to finish in the top two spots in their groups and advance.
England is the exception. It is fourth in Group E and likely to stay there even if it wins at Estonia. With David Beckham playing his first competitive game for England since last year's World Cup, coach Steve McClaren's team is at least three points behind the top three teams.
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