EURO 2012 Qualifiers Preview: September 7, 2010

Holland vs Finland

Holland should be pretty confident that they are going to pick up some very easy points against a Finland side which is certainly not likely to pose any real problems for the World Cup runners up. Despite losing to Spain in the final the Dutch seem to have gained an incredible boost in moral and have been playing to a much improved standard. In fact many people are even tipping them to win euro 2012 and take the title from Spain.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored a hat trick in his last match to help his side to a 5-0 victory. If his form is anything to go off of he is going to be the man to watch. Ruud Van Nistelrooy is also looking at a starting spot and Heitinga, who missed his last match due to suspension will be available to play.With the home field advantage it is hard to predict any way in which the Dutch could lose this match.

Finland on the other hand have suffered a disappointing start to their European qualifying campaign losing to Moldova. To make maters worse Finland will be without Hypia. Finland have only beaten Holland once in a 4-1 friendly all the way back in 1950. With no victory in 60 years it doesn’t look all too hopeful for the Fins. The best result Finland can hope for is a draw.

Norway vs Portugal

Norway started their European qualifying campaign with a 2-1 comeback win against Iceland. With Portugal’s lacklustre start to the campaign their chances of qualifying have  increased. While it wasn’t the most convincing of victories, the win was still important all the same. Ex-United and Norway player Solskjear stated that he thinks that Portugal will run away with the group. If Norway wins this match then they have every chance of progressing to the European Cup tournament.

Portugal didn’t exactly have the best start to their qualifying. A 4-4 draw against Cyprus may have proved exciting and entertaining to watch, but it was in no way the result that Portugal expected or wanted. Considering they are tipped as the favourites for the group they should’ve beaten Cyprus.

If they are going to get their campaign back on track they could really use a win here. If Portugal can tighten up their defence they shouldn’t have too many problems beating Norway. This match is theirs to lose, but it will certainly be hard to call after their last performance. Carvalho has been called back to the side to help strengthen the appalling Portuguese defence. Will this be enough to turn their fortunes around?

Switzerland vs England

England will be looking to put to bed the upsetting performances from the World Cup, and unfortunately the well renowned giant killers of Europe are probably not the best side they could’ve come up against. They did have a more than significant 4-0 demolition of Bulgaria. Switzerland, however, did manage to beat Spain in the group stages of the World Cup so underestimating them could lead to disaster.

The English do certainly have the better side on paper and should be the obvious favourites. Wayne Rooney may miss out due to the concerns around his private life and questions over whether he has a fit state of mind to play football. He may not have broken his goal drought, but he certainly looked like a much improved player and had a large part in the game against Bulgaria. His absence will certainly be noticed.

Switzerland will be missing Senderos through injury, but it shouldn’t come as too much of a concern to the Swiss side. The Swiss side will have been bolstered by their credible performances in the World Cup. They now play an England team that has been underperforming, excluding the brief glimmer of hope gained from their last victory. If there was ever a good chance of the Swiss beating England then it is now.

Bosnia vs France

Well France are still looking the poor side that crashed out of the World Cup without even a spark of classy play, they lost to Belarus at home in what some people are calling a shock defeat, although judging by the French side which we have seen recently how anybody could call it a shock remains a mystery.

At least since Laurent Blanc has taken over the side do seem to have some drive in them now, although the French side is worse than people think, Blanc does not simply have to motivate his side, he actually has to rebuild the side. This is a team which doesn’t have the class that they are supposed to have and expectations are going to be higher than they are likely to achieve.

Bosnia couldn’t have had a better start to their qualifying campaign. France lost and they won 3-0. In theory this should be setting them up to qualify if France doesn’t get their act together. The side is likely to be the same one that beat Luxembourg. The Bosnian coach has said that he is quite confident in their chances of victory and in all fairness, he has a reason to be. This is probably the best opportunity that they will have to beat France in a long, long time.

Joe - livescoredaily.com - live scores and sports