World Cup Qualifying: Latvia's Hope Remains Alive In Group Two

(Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Things have gone almost perfectly for Latvia this week, thanks in no small part to their sensational 2-2 draw with Switzerland today (September 9th).

The only thing that could have made things sweeter would have been if Greece and Switzerland had drawn last Saturday (instead, Switzerland won, putting them three points clear of the field at the moment).

For Greece, the news has all been bad. Their loss to Switzerland pushed them off the top perch, and then by failing to make good on their promising start against Moldova today they have set things up a little too well for their main rivals.

Greece now hang on precariously to second place, with just one goal separating them from Latvia. But the road ahead for Latvia will still be difficult, and the Greeks still have an excellent chance to finish with the consolation prize at least.

Both Switzerland and Greece are reasonably certain to earn at least another three points each, since they are both scheduled to play against Luxembourg. Based on today's match, where Israel defeated Luxembourg by seven goals to nil, it is hard to imagine either the Swiss or the Greeks failing to get the job done there.

This means that for Latvia the next match is vital. If they can manage to win this away game against Greece, then they have a chance to momentarily overtake them.

Then if they can also win the home game against Moldova, they will hang on and remain in contention, although the only way that they can actually win the group now is in the extremely unlikely event that Switzerland lose or draw with Luxembourg.

The only way that Israel can make it into first place is if they win both of the next two matches and Switzerland lose both of their matches, while both Greece and Latvia would have to fail to win any of their matches. 

This seems a rather far-fetched scenario, although second place is still a possibility if enough things can go right for them.

At the moment, Switzerland should probably be very narrow favorites to win the group simply because they only have to maintain their existing lead. They key game for Switzerland will be the home game against Israel.

There is much less pressure on Switzerland now. Provided that they do not make too many mistakes, they just need to defeat Luxembourg (which should not be a problem) and then would be left needing, possibly, just a draw with Israel, depending on what happens with Greece and Latvia.

It is a close contest but Switzerland are favourites, while the major battle appears to be the one for second place. Greece have the slight edge at the moment, because of their fixture with Luxembourg (where they should pick up another three points) but if they lose to Latvia then their fate hinges on the outcome of Latvia v Moldova.

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