Stan Hey: It's a free kick at the Oval as Beckham scores 200 in Twickenham drama

Square-eye witness: An orgy of sport on TV - Our man on the couch with the channel-changer hardly knows where to look

Every now and then there are couch potato days when any self-respecting sports fan just has to sit down and surrender themselves to hours of televised sport. But yesterday was a real King Edward-sized occasion, with Test Cricket, four football internationals, and two international rugby friendlies on the menu.

England were in action on three fronts, and while the rugby boys thrashed the cheese-eaters, and the cricket team did us proud against the Springboks, the footballers had the nation in absolute spasms of anxiety as they struggled horribly against a fluid Macedonian team. Having gone a goal behind, England clawed their way back and scraped a vital 2-1 win.

With all these events spread across several terrestrial and digital networks, and often overlapping, it was less a case of having "three Lions on a shirt" than requiring two televisions in the sitting-room. Watching 12 hours of continuous sport demanded concentration on a Homeric scale - Homer Simpson, that is, with bacon butties and "tinnies" on the coffee table and a permanent grip on the remote.

Though the rugby games were important for finalising World Cup squads, the qualifying matches for the 2004 European Championships, with England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland needing good results to guarantee progress, were of greater importance. England's main concern - after David Beckham's groin strain and the travelling hooligans - was the need to get a win in Macedonia after the Former Yugoslav Republic nicked a 2-2 draw at Southampton last autumn.

There was an unspoken hope that some of the unwanted fans had gone to the wrong Macedonia, in Greece, but also a fear that "El Becks" had been too optimistic about his fitness. And as the nation tuned in to the action from Skopje at 5.30pm, the doubts were provoked even before the match kicked off. The Macedonians had cunningly employed a Posh Spice look-alike to sing England's anthem. Meanwhile some home fans ceremoniously burnt an English flag hoping to flush out the visiting bad boys.

Greater provocation was to come when England conceded a comically bad goal after 27 minutes, concocted from familiar sources - Gary Neville's vague grasp of the offside law, Sol Campbell's occasional talent for Norman Wisdom defending and David James's dodgy goal-keeping. The fact that it was scored by a former Barnsley striker only added to the bathos. Just moments later cricket hero Marcus Trescothick was out at the Oval, but at least his England team were now in the lead against South Africa. Over at Twickenham, Jonny Wilkinson was putting his elegant boot into the French - so all we needed was a storming second half in Skopje. Thankfully, we got it.

Early redemption came in the form of Wayne Rooney who drilled home Emile Heskey's header to become our youngest ever international goal-scorer. Macedonia promptly brought on a Brazilian substitute - don't ask - and he equally promptly conceded a penalty and "Golden Balls" himself scored from the spot. England held on - just. By now nine hours of bladder-bursting, non-stop viewing had been endured, a challenge that even David Blaine might decline, and there were still two hours of Wales in Italy to come!

The marathon vigil had begun way back at 10.45am with action from the Fifth Test Match at a packed Oval. England, needing to win to earn a share of series had enjoyed a good Friday but needed to bat through yesterday to gain control. Remarkably, the words "batting" and "collapse" were absent for once with Trescothick racking up a century, while Graham Thorpe's followed soon after lunch. It was good to be English again - so good in fact that it was time to zap to Scotland's endeavours.

They had been well beaten by Ireland in the rugby and now there were sadistic hopes that the Faroe Islands could embarrass their football team again after a 2-2 draw last year. If this seems petty and chauvinistic, every Englishmen knows what profound glee the Scots feel at our sporting defeats. After taking an early lead, Scotland conceded a sloppy equaliser, scored by a Faroese schoolteacher, before going ahead again on the stroke of half-time.

With England making steady progress at the Oval, despite the loss of Thorpe and a break for rain, it was time for a quick break before zapping to Ireland and the qualifier against Russia. Despite facing a goalie with a Seamanesque pony-tail, Ireland could only manage a 1-1 draw. Meanwhile, Scotland had finally beaten the mighty Faroe Islanders 3-1, and their fans quickly left Hampden Park for Glasgow's bars, ready to cheer on Macedonia. But England had the last laugh.