2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying: Previewing Tuesday's Top Matches

The 2014 World Cup qualifying matches are beginning to come to a close for a number of teams in the UEFA zone, with their last matches coming on Tuesday.  

All nine groups in the UEFA zone will finally wrap up on Tuesday.  The nine group winners will be heading to Brazil next summer to play in the World Cup finals.  Eight other teams that were runners-up will be forced into a playoff to decide their fate.

There will be 68 teams playing in 34 matches on Tuesday, so obviously we won't be covering all of them.  Instead, let's go ahead and preview the biggest matches to watch on Tuesday.

England vs. Poland

Where: London, England

When: 3:00 p.m. ET, 8:00 p.m. Local Time

So many people have been criticizing England for taking a step back in international play, but it is in good position to clinch a spot in the World Cup in this game against Poland.

As it stands now, England leads Group H with 19 points, but Ukraine is right behind the Three Lions and just one point off the lead.  That means that if England wins this one, it's in.

England has yet to lose in group play with five wins and four draws.  Meanwhile, Poland has three wins, two draws and four losses in its nine matches. 

Poland will have to hope that Robert Lewandowski and Jakub Blaszczykowski can keep up the pace.  They've combined for seven goals in group play, proving to be the team's true playmakers.  If they aren't able to produce, it will be very hard for their team to pull off the upset over the Roy Hodgson's side.

Turkey vs. Netherlands

Where: Istanbul, Turkey

When: 2:00 p.m. ET, 9:00 p.m. Local Time

The big story here isn't about the Netherlands.  They're all set with a nine-point lead in Group D.  Instead, the story here is about Turkey, which is tied in second at 16 points with Romania.

Turkey is riding quite a hot streak, winning four of its last five matches, with the other one being a 1-1 draw against Hungary.  

The Netherlands has been even hotter.  The Oranje have scored 32 goals and allowed just five, winning eight of their nine matches and ending their game against Estonia in a 2-2 draw.  Their last game was a dominant 8-1 win over Hungary.

It's not going to be an easy task for Turkey, and its key to trying to win this one will be to contain Robin van Persie, who has scored 11 goals in just eight matches played.  If Turkey can't win, it will have to hope that Romania loses its match against Estonia to secure a place in the playoff.

Bulgaria vs. Czech Republic

Where: Sofia, Bulgaria

When: 2:15 p.m. ET, 9:15 p.m. Local Time

Italy has the lead in Group B with 21 points, but the race for second place is tighter than in any other group, with four teams separated by just one point.

Two of those teams are Bulgaria and Czech Republic, with 13 and 12 points, respectively.  Both teams have three wins, but Bulgaria has one more draw and one less loss.  Neither team has a premier scorer, with the goals being distributed evenly among the teams.

While the winner of this match will have to see how the other games go, at least it will be in contention to advance to the playoff.  There isn't a closer race to watch for on Tuesday, so keep an eye out for the results in Group B, especially for this game.