Caldwell's Scots ripe for EURO

Scotland hero Gary Caldwell admitted Walter Smith's side are starting to dream of a place in the UEFA EURO 2008™ finals after beating FIFA World Cup finalists France 1-0 at Hampden Park.

Decisive touch
The 24-year-old Celtic FC centre-back scored the decisive goal in the 67th minute when he slid Paul Hartley's corner past Grégory Coupet, and sealed a historic victory with a disciplined defensive performance to shut out the threat of Thierry Henry and company.

Revered guests
"What an unbelievable feeling," said Caldwell. "To score that goal and beat probably the best team in the world - it's dreamland for everyone. You would think we had won the European Championship in that dressing room. Sir Alex Ferguson was in there along with Andy Roxburgh congratulating us - it was great."

Four fingers
The win, and Caldwell's goal, were sweet revenge for his international debut four years ago when Berti Vogts's team were crushed 5-0 in a friendly at the Stade de France. One of the lasting images from that game was the sight of David Trezeguet holding up four fingers after their fourth goal, but on this occasion Caldwell had the last laugh.

Set-piece weakness
"I have that picture in the house, but this one will look a bit better," he added. "What we achieved shows how far we've come since then. The gaffer told us they had lost three of their last five goals from set-pieces and we knew if Paul Hartley delivered the kind of ball he always does, the chance would be there."

Second strike
It was Caldwell's second goal for his country, the first coming against Trinidad and Tobago in a friendly two years ago, but the former Hibernian FC defender was equally proud to keep a clean sheet against world-class strikers such as Henry and Trezeguet.

Landmark result
"A goal's great but for a defender to get a clean sheet against guys like that means just as much," said Caldwell. "France are a fantastic team and put us under a lot of pressure, but it's an unbelievable result and the whole world will sit up and take notice."

Top billing
Scotland's success means they top Group B with nine points going into Wednesday's fixture against Ukraine in Kiev. Christian Dailly will sit that out having collected his second yellow card of the campaign on Saturday, although Kenny Miller is available following a one-match ban. If the expectations of the Tartan Army are soaring, Caldwell is keen to put matters into perspective.

Kiev next
"We are going to the Ukraine so we have to keep our feet firmly on the ground and realise we haven't achieved anything yet," he said. "But we're top of the group and everybody has to try and catch us. It's a great start but we have to work even harder to achieve our initial aim of qualifying."