The circle is getting smaller and smaller: Saturday and Wednesday will be decisive days to know the final components of the Euro 2008 table, the 14 teams which will join hosts Austria and Switzerland in Europe’s highest football competition next year. 10 national teams are within mathematical reach of obtaining their ticket as of Saturday, a day which should see plenty of tense and entertaining matches such as Scotland-Italy, Norway-Turkey, Israel-Russia, and Spain-Sweden.
Saturday 42 European national teams will step onto the grass for their Euro 2008 last (or second-to-last) qualifying round: Germany, Czech Republic, Greece and Romania have already earned their ticket to Austria/Switzerland, while Spain, Holland, Sweden and Croatia are very very close. Norway-Turkey promises to be a great battle in group C, and as we all know the whole of England will have their eyes pointed at Tel Aviv: if Israel lose against Russia, the Three Lions are out.
Here’s a round-up of each qualifying group, with an analysis of the situation with regards to Euro 2008 qualification. The table includes Saturday’s next round, which teams are already qualified/out of contention, as well as which teams may qualify/get eliminated as of Saturday.
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| The 4 teams still in contention in this group all have home games well within their reach: Finland-Azerbaijan, Poland-Belgium, Serbia-Kazakhstan, Portugal-Armenia. All expectations seem to point towards a final resolution on Wednesday. | ||
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| Next Round: | Finland-Azerbaijan Poland-Belgium Serbia-Kazakhstan Portugal-Armenia |
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| Already qualified: | / | |
| Qualify Saturday? | Poland, Portugal | |
| Elimin. Saturday? | Finland, Serbia | |
| Already out: | Belgium, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan | |
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| Lithuania-Ukraine will be completely uninfluential: all the eyes are pointed towards Glasgow, for Scotland-Italy. A victory for the Scots would send them through, while all the Azzurri need is a tie. | ||
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| Next Round: | Scotland-Italy Lithuania-Ukraine |
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| Already qualified: | / | |
| Qualify Saturday? | Fra, Ita ,Sco | |
| Elimin. Saturday? | Scotland | |
| Already out: | Ukraine, Lithuania, Georgia, Faroe Islands | |
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| Greece-Malta and Moldova-Hungary will be played for honour alone, the decisive match for qualification will be Norway-Turkey. The Scandinavians are defending a 2-point lead on Fatih Terim’s team, and will have the home advantage. | ||
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| Next Round: | Norway-Turkey Moldova-Hungary Greece-Malta |
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| Already qualified: | Greece | |
| Qualify Saturday? | Norway | |
| Elimin. Saturday? | Turkey | |
| Already out: | Bosnia, Hungary, Moldova, Malta | |
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| Wales-Ireland, Germany-Cyprus and Czech Rep-Slovakia should all be considered (in theory) friendly matches: Czechs and Germans are already through to the final tournament, Wales & Ireland are already out. | ||
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| Next Round: | Wales-Ireland Germany-Cyprus Czech R.-Slovakia |
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| Already qualified: | Germany, Czech R. | |
| Qualify Saturday? | Norway | |
| Elimin. Saturday? | Turkey | |
| Already out: | Ireland, Cyprus, Slovakia, Wales, San Marino | |
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| In England’s group, Croatia will only be needing 1 point from their away game in Macedonia to celebrate. Meanwhile, for England’s hopes to remain alive Israel must absolutely not lose against Russia on Saturday, or it will be curtains for McLaren & co. (although not mathematically on Saturday). In the last match, Andorra will be going after their first points in the qualifiers against Estonia. | ||
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| Next Round: | Andorra-Estonia Macedonia-Croatia Israel-Russia |
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| Already qualified: | / | |
| Qualify Saturday? | Croatia | |
| Elimin. Saturday? | / | |
| Already out: | Israel, Macedonia, Estonia, Andorra | |
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| This group will feature a clash between the top 2 teams of the group: Sweden needs only 1 point, but such a result might also benefit Spain if Northern Ireland doesn’t beat Denmark. Latvia-Lichtenstein the third match of the day. | ||
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| Next Round: | Latvia-Liechtenstein N.Ireland-Denmark Spain-Sweden |
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| Already qualified: | / | |
| Qualify Saturday? | Sweden, Spain | |
| Elimin. Saturday? | Denmark, N.Ireland | |
| Already out: | Iceland, Latvia, Lichtenstein | |
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| Everything is ready for the big Oranje party: the more than likely success of Holland against Luxembourg should make the eventual win of Bulgaria on Romania (already qualified) futile. The other match will feature Albania-Belarus. | ||
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| Next Round: | Bulgaria-Romania Albania-Belarus Netherlands-Lux. |
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| Already qualified: | Romania | |
| Qualify Saturday? | Netherlands | |
| Elimin. Saturday? | Bulgaria | |
| Already out: | Albania, Slovenia, Belarus, Luxembourg | |
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