UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifiers: 5 Games to Look Out for This Weekend
Friday, 8 June 2012. The National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland.
That date, although distant now, will come into focus this weekend as 26 teams compete to earn the right to travel to Poland and Ukraine to compete in UEFA Euro 2012.
Anticipation is high, in particular ahead of the match between England and neighbour Wales, which kicks off in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on Saturday afternoon at 16:00 CET.
England manager Fabio Capello will be under the spotlight, having presided over a series of below-par performances at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, a 0-0 draw at home to Montenegro and an insipid friendly victory over Denmark.
Key defenders Ashley Cole, John Terry and forward Wayne Rooney will also look to respond to public criticism and vilification in the press of their off-field antics.
Chelsea disciplined Cole after he shot a work placement student with an air gun at the club's Cobham training facility; Terry will regain the captaincy despite his very public adultery; Rooney will just be pleased if he makes it through another 90 minutes without more revelations emerging about his private life.
For Wales, it will be a chance to put pressure on England's position at the top of Group G by recording their first points of the campaign and their first win against the Three Lions in more than 25 years.
I will preview this game and also four other key encounters which promise much entertainment and may have repercussions in the coming months and for next year's tournament.
Group B: Armenia vs. Russia (Saturday, 16:00 CET)
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Armenia has never qualified for either the European Championship or the World Cup finals tournament as an independent country. But Armenia is joint-second and just two points behind Russia, having picked up seven points from four matches, including an impressive 3-1 victory over Slovakia.
Twenty-two-year-old Shakthar Donetsk midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan is the key player for the home team, having scored in the country's previous two qualifiers.
Arsenal winger Andrey Arshavin (pictured) has six Premier League goals this season and is a big threat for the Russians, who boast a mix of experienced and talented players currently competing against each other in the highest echelons of European club football.
Prediction: Armenia 0-2 Russia
Group B: Republic of Ireland vs. FYR Macedonia (Saturday, 20:45 CET)
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In the same group, the Republic of Ireland share the same points total as Armenia, but have considerably more experience than their Eastern European counterparts, having reached the quarterfinal stage of both of the two biggest international tournaments for European teams.
Boasting pace and quality on the flanks in the form of Everton's Seamus Coleman (pictured) and Spartak Moscow youngster Aiden McGeady, the Irish will thankfully not need to rely as much on Robbie Keane's goals as they have done in the past.
These players will be looking to accelerate the convalescence of Italian manager Giovanni Trapattoni and recently secured a convincing 3-0 win over the Welsh in the Nations Cup.
Macedonia sit above Andorra—who they beat 3-0 earlier in the campaign—but have real quality only in the boots of Internazionale forward Goran Pandev, who famously secured his club's passage to the quarterfinal of the UEFA Champions League last week with a stunning last-minute winner in Munich.
Prediction: ROI 2-1 Macedonia
Group F: Georgia vs. Croatia (Saturday, 18:00 CET)
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Croatia captain Darijo Srna (pictured) is a star of Shakthar Donetsk's fabulous Champions League form this season and—at the age of 28—has already played 80 times for his country and scored an impressive 19 times from right wingback.
Together with Bayern Munich's Danijel Pranjic, he offers pace, power and an ability to cross the ball accurately on a consistent basis for clubmate Eduardo and Hamburg's Mladen Petric to captialise on.
If the Blazers can negotiate Saturday's tricky and cold visit to Georgia safely, they will all but secure their place in next year's competition.
The home team can reignite their campaign—which has so far yielded three draws and a win, but only three goals—with a win to take them to within a point of the group leaders and will look to the calming experience of Genoa defender Kakha Kaladze to guide them to what would be a famous win.
Prediction: Georgia 1-2 Croatia
Group G: Wales vs. England (Saturday, 16:00 CET)
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Although England's results in Group G have been decent so far—with only a goalless draw against top-of-the-table Montenegro, yet to concede a goal in qualifying—anything less than a win in Wales will be met with howls of disapproval up and down the country.
The team faces a very tough clash against a Wales team inspired by highly-promising midfielders Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey. Bale scored the only goal of their Euro campaign to date, with a solitary 13th-minute strike in the team's 4-1 loss in Switzerland.
England manager Fabio Capello will have to hope that his misfiring strikers can find some goals and that Ashley Cole and John Terry, controversially re-instated this week as captain, behave themselves and concentrate on keeping clean sheets (ahem!).
Prediction: Wales 2-1 England
Group H: Norway vs. Denmark (Group H, 20:00 CET)
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Despite reaching the quarterfinal stage of the 2004 competition, Denmark—coached by Morten Olsen for more than a decade—failed to even reach the Finals stages last time around.
However, buoyed by a hugely-talented squad containing young players such as Ajax's highly-rated midfielder Christian Eriksen (pictured), Manchester United goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard and Wolfsburg's Simon Kjaer, they look likely to be a match for any national team on their day.
However, they will be travelling over the North Sea to face a Norway team that has a 100 percent record and is sitting proudly in first place in the group.
Despite fielding a team with fewer star names than that of their Danish rivals, Norway has several players in good form with significant experience in many leagues and will prove a tough opponent.
Prediction: Norway 2-3 Denmark
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