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| Sat 24 March 2007 Israel v England | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Sat 24th March 2007 Greece v Turkey | ||||||||||||||||||
Pick:
Greece @ 2.4 with
,
[£100 Free Bet] |
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The stakes will be high when the current
European Champions, Greece, take on Turkey
in Athens, at the Georgios Karaiskakis
Stadium. With both sides having earned
maximum points from their three previous
qualifying games and yet to concede a goal,
a win would take either to the top of Group
C, and bring a place in next summer’s finals
that much closer. The rivalry between the
Aegean nations extends far beyond football,
and with this game falling on the weekend of
a Greek public holiday celebrating the
country’s independence from the Ottoman
Empire, this game will certainly have extra
spice. Nothing could separate the sides when they met during their failed World Cup 2006 qualification campaigns, with both legs ending in goalless draws and there is little to separate the two on current form. Otto Rehhagel’s side do have the additional motivation of attempting to defend their title, a feat that no other country has achieved in the history of the tournament dating back to 1958. |
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| Sat 24th March 2007 Ireland v Wales | ||||||||||||||||||
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Pick:
Draw @ 12/5 with
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[£100 Free Bet] |
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Since taking over as coach of the Republic
of Ireland last February - his first ever
managerial post - Steve Staunton, known as
Stan since his playing days, has experienced
a baptism of fire. The Republic lost four of
their first five fixtures with Stan in
charge, including a 4-0 loss to Holland,
their heaviest home defeat in 40 years.
Worse was to follow, with a 5-2 hammering
away to lowly Cyprus, which brought calls
for Staunton’s head. A draw at home to the Czech Republic, and a 5-0 win over San Marino in the last ever game at the old Lansdowne Road Stadium, relieved some of the pressure, but only a 90th minute winner in the reverse fixture avoided further humiliation, in the Republic’s last game. Staunton will be hoping for a boost from playing at Croke Park, the traditional home of Gaelic Games. Much will be expected of the Premiership striking partnership of Readings’ Kevin Doyle - a revelation in his first Premiership season – and Tottenham’s Robbie Keane, enjoying rich form with the North Londoners. The Irish are three points behind Group D leaders, Germany, having played a game more, with Wales up next. The Welsh also have a mountain to climb to stand any chance of qualifying for their first ever European Championship. Defeats to the Czech Republic and Slovakia (a 5-1 home thrashing) got the Welsh campaign off to the worst possible start, leaving only San Marino between them and the foot of Group D. Despite approaching the twilight of his glittering 17 year career, Ryan Giggs is enjoying one of his best seasons at Manchester United, where he has won almost everything there is to win. Giggs however, has never played in an international tournament and too much responsibility rests on his shoulders when he pulls on the Welsh shirt. Other than Giggs and Liverpool’s Craig Bellamy, Wales lack the quality in their squad to mount a serious campaign, though the likes of 17 year old Gareth Bale, gives Wales some hope for the future. This will no doubt be a fiercely contested game, but given both sides start to their Euro 2008 campaigns, looks like being more about bragging rights than a springboard to qualification.. |
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| Sat 24th March 2007 Czech Republic v Germany | ||||||||||||||||||
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Pick:
Germany @ 2/1
with
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[£100 Free Bet] |
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Germany meet the Czech Republic on Saturday
night in a Euro 2008 clash that should go a
long way to determining the eventual winner
of qualifying Group D. The two nations are
tied on 10 points with an almost identical
record, having both played four games,
winning three and drawing once. While both
have conceded just two goals, the Germans
boast a superior scoring record, mostly
thanks to a 13-0 hammering away to San
Marino, so currently top the section. Both sides play two fixtures in five days, but face much easier opposition on Wednesday – Germany entertain San Marino, the Czech’s host Cyprus - placing the greatest emphasis on this contest in the battle for group leadership. The Germans are looking to maintain the feel-good factor from last summer’s World Cup, with the baton having been passed from Jurgen Klinsmann to his assistant during their successful campaign, Joachim Low. The Germans surprised many by reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup, driven by fanatical support, and should they make the Euro 2008 finals in Austria & Switzerland they should again feel comfortable in familiar surroundings and appreciate the benefit of a strong following. Low makes the trip to Prague with significant question marks against three key players – Bayern Munich’s, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Bremen’s Torsten Frings and Dortmund’s, Christoph Metzelder, while striker, Miroslav Klose, (World Cup 2006 Golden Boot winner) is suspended. Their absence heaps more pressure on the remaining senior players, such as captain and playmaker, Michael Ballack, who will try to transfer his excellent recent form with Chelsea to the international arena. Tomas Rosicky has been the only real injury concern for Czech coach, Karel Bruckner, who seeks to guide the national side to its fourth consecutive European Championships. The Gunner returned to action after a groin injury, but has not completed either of Arsenal’s two recent Premiership fixtures, suggesting he may not be 100%. Though the Czech first division only recently resumed from a Winter Break, that shouldn’t a concern as only four of the Czech squad are domestically based. The most recent meeting of these sides was in the last European Championship, when the Czech’s knocked the German’s out of the tournament group stages in Portugal with a 2-1 win on the way to the semi-finals. Milan Baros took the golden boot, and has scored 26 goals in 46 appearances for the Czech national team but his career has stuttered since leaving Liverpool. He recently signed for Lyon from Aston Villa at the end of the January transfer window, and has scored four times as he seeks to revive his career. The nucleus of the Czech side remains (excepting the retirement of Pavel Nedved) that were strongly fancied to go all the way in Euro 2004. In contrast, the German side has undergone considerable rebuilding since the last encounter, and the World Cup on home soil suggested they are going in the right direction, but with the prominence of the German Bundesliga diminishing, the jury is still out on whether the German side can regain its status as one of soccer’s world super-powers. |
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| Sat 24th March 2007 Spain v Denmark | ||||||||||||||||||
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Pick:
Spain @ 4/6
with
,
[£100 Free Bet] |
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| Spain coach, Luis Aragones,
has summed up the importance of his side’s forthcoming Euro 2008
qualifier against Denmark. “We have to win at all costs..If we don’t
beat Denmark it would be devastating.” Aragones knows that his job
is on the line as the Spaniards have picked up just three points
from three games, which included a humiliating 3-2 defeat in
Belfast. No-one can doubt that Spain is blessed with some of best footballing talent in the world, it is fusing that flair into a cohesive unit that poses the problems. Recent signs are more positive, particularly the 1-0 victory against England at Old Trafford in their last outing. The Spaniards controlled the game with fluid passing and solid defence. For this game against the Danes, Aragones will however, be without two key defenders, Barcelona’s Carles Puyol and Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos – both are suspended. Team spirit should be helped by the inclusion in the squad of six Valencia players, the only La Liga side remaining in the Champions League. Che strikers, David Villa and Fernando Morientes, have scored nine goals in Europe and will be a handful for Denmark. The Danes have made a more positive start to their Euro 2008 campaign, taking seven points from three fixtures without conceding, but those games were against the Group’s weaker teams, and a goalless draw at home to Northern Ireland will be seen as points dropped. Success in this tournament in 1992, when Denmark competed only at Yugoslavia’s expense, is the pinnacle of the Dane’s international success. More recently the national side has suffered from a lack of fresh talent, with familiar faces failing to raise the standard, which was demonstrated by a failed World Cup 2006 qualification campaign. Coach, Morten Olsen, has been forced into blooding two new players by the absence of Martin Laursen, Thomas Helveg, Soren Larsen and Peter Lovenkrands. Olsen has called up defender, Leon Andreasen, from Bundesliga outfit, Mainz, along with home-based winger, Simon Poulsen, currently with FC Midtjylland. The pair can draw some inspiration from Liverpool defender, Daniel Agger, and Birmingham City striker, Nicklas Bendtner, who are considered two of the Danes few rising stars. Group F is one of the weakest in qualification, but with Sweden taking maximum points from their four games, a defeat for either of these sides would be a big blow. The onus is certainly on Spain to chase the win, given their two defeats, the question is whether they can find a way past the obstinate Danes |
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