Russia enjoyed a 2-0 victory in Macedonia Wednesday to bolster their chances of qualifying for the 2008 European Championships.

Two first half goals from Vladimir Bystrov in the 18th minute and Andrei Arshavin in the 32nd were enough to give coach Guus Hiddink’s side a second victory to move temporarily to the top of Group E.

With a win over Israel Group E on Wednesday Croatia now tops the group with 10 points from four matches, followed by Guus Hiddink’s Russia. England, Macedonia and Israel all have seven, while Estonia and Andorra have yet to pick up any points.

Guus Hiddink, who in other circumstances could have been managing England in his native Netherlands last night, posted a reminder of his coaching capabilities as he led Russia to victory over the Former Yugoslav Republic, The Times reports. Hiddink, who led Holland and South Korea to World Cup semi-finals in 1998 and 2002 respectively before managing Australia in last summer’s tournament in Germany, was thought to be among the candidates to succeeded Sven-Goran Eriksson last spring. He made it clear that he was not interested, however, if he was expected to attend an interview.

After the Wednesday match in Skopje Macedonian police detained 14 Russian fans following a Euro 2008 qualifier on Wednesday, the Russian Football Union (RFU) told local media.

Some 300 Russians had travelled to the Macedonian capital for the game, Reuters reported.

“Through the help of the Russian consulate we are trying to get them released,” RFU spokesman Andrei Malosolov was quoted as saying by Russian media. It was the latest in a series of violent incidents involving Russian soccer fans at European matches in recent years.

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