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Iceland, Northern Ireland take center stage in Euro qualifiers
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SURPRISE packages Iceland, Northern Ireland and Slovakia will all attempt to chalk up their fourth straight wins in the wildly unpredictable Euro 2016 qualifiers which resume over the weekend.
Iceland, which has scored eight goals without conceding in Group A, travels to Plzen, the home of Pilsner beer, hoping to add the Czech Republic to its list of scalps after improbable wins over Turkey, Latvia and the Netherlands.
Northern Ireland, which sits proudly on top of Group F after wins over Hungary, Faroe Islands and Greece, visits Romania while Group B leader Slovakia, which has already beaten Spain, visits Macedonia.
With 23 teams out of 53 teams joining host France at the Euro 2016, the qualifiers kicked off in September amid concerns that it would be little more than a tedious formality for the traditional powers of European football.
Instead, the likes of Germany, Spain and Netherlands seem to have been lulled into a false sense of security while the greater number of places up for grabs may have inspired hope in the 26 teams which have never qualified before.
Germany was beaten by Poland last month while other upsets have included Albania’s win in Portugal and previously goal-shy Cyprus coming from behind to win 2-1 in Bosnia.
The Czechs are determined to avoid being on the wrong end of another upset on Sunday against Iceland which emerged with a 2-1 win when the teams last met, in a World Cup qualifier in 2001.
“We are going to practice things that should help us overcome an Iceland defense organized in two blocks,” said coach Pavel Vrba. “We are going to show our players what weapons Iceland used to defeat the Netherlands, Turkey and Latvia, and how to prevent them from doing the same against us.”
Romania’s match against Northern Ireland tomorrow also features two unbeaten sides who look capable of ending long absences from major tournaments.
The Romanians have not played at a major finals since Euro 2008, while Northern Ireland has been absent since the 1986 World Cup, when it twice beat Romania in the qualifying campaign.
Group C leader Slovakia starts as a strong favorite to continue its run in Macedonia on Saturday, having never lost in six previous meetings to its rival.
Spain, which has six points, looks to have a straightforward task at home to Belarus which will be under interim coach Andriy Zygmantovic after Georgi Kondratiev quit last month.
Azerbaijan will also be under a caretaker coach as Makhmud Gurbanov leads it at home to Norway in Group H on Sunday following Berti Vogts’ resignation last month, the German quitting a day after six years after the 0-6 loss to Croatia.
Arguably the most attractive match is between Italy, enjoying a new lease of life under new coach Antonio Conte, and Croatia, who clash on Sunday in Milan with each winning their first three games in Group H. England is also hoping to make it four out of four matches when it hosts Slovenia in Group E on Saturday, the first meeting between the teams since the 2010 World Cup when England won by a single goal.
The struggling giants all seem to have straightforward-looking matches.
Germany, with only four points from three games in Group D, is at home to newcomer Gibraltar tomorrow while the Dutch, who have lost two out of three in Group A, host Latvia on Sunday.
Greece, which reached the last 16 at the World Cup and has only one point so far in Group F, faces the Faroe Islands.
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