Another International break is upon us and the battle for a place at the 2018 World Cup in Russia intensifies. As all major leagues come to a halt before a mouth-watering set of fixtures across Europe in April, let’s take a look at what’s in store this weekend for the powerhouses of world football.
Friday night begins with an all British affair. Wales don’t have too far to travel, playing the Republic of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium. Both teams are unbeaten so far and while Roy Keane’s men currently sit top of Group D with 10 points. Wales, last year’s Euro semi-finalists have Gareth Bale back in their ranks and will be looking to break Irish hearts and close the gap to just 1 point in what is set to be a tightly contested group. The Real Madrid man is responsible for half of the teams 8 goals and will be crucial to any hopes they have of progressing. Austria host Moldova and Georgia play Serbia in the other fixtures in the group.
The top two and only remaining unbeaten teams in Group I will come to blows on Friday when Croatia host Ukraine. Croatia will have star men Luka Modric (Real Madrid) and Mario Mandzukic (Juventus) in their side and can open a five-point gap over their rivals with a win. This is only the 8th time since 1993 that the two sides will meet having previously been drawn together for the World Cup qualifiers for South Africa in 2010. Both encounters in that group ended in stalemates, although Croatia have the better overall head-to-head record having beaten Ukraine 3 times, losing just once. Turkey play Finland while the surprise package or Euro 2016, Iceland currently third in the group will play Kosovo in only the nation’s 6th ever official match.
Group G rounds-up Friday night’s action. Spain will welcome Israel to Gijon, looking to extend their unbeaten record, as will Italy when they host Albania. Lichtenstein play Macedonia in the final match in the group. Saturday gets underway with a Group A fixture involving Sweden and Belarus. France and The Netherlands will also be in action later on, away to Luxembourg and Bulgaria respectively. Last year’s beaten Euro finalists France are the only team yet to lose in the group and boast a star-studded lineup that includes Pogba, Griezmann, Payet and the new wonder-kid on the block, Monaco’s Kylian Mbappe.
All eyes will be on European Champions Portugal who are joint top scorers in European qualifying. After suffering a 2-0 defeat to Switzerland back in September, they have fired in 16 goals in the 3 matches since, Cristiano Ronaldo with seven of them, conceding just the once. They will be looking for a win against a spirited Hungary side who currently third, two points behind the Iberian side. Group leaders Switzerland will be hoping to extend their 100% record and make it five wins from five when they host Latvia.
After their midweek meeting, it’s back to business for England and Germany on Sunday. The Three Lions have the best defence in qualifiers and are yet to concede a goal in Group A. They host 4th placed Lithuania at Wembley without injured strikers Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney or Daniel Sturridge. World Champions Germany, joint top-scorers with Portugal with 16 goals, play Azerbaijan in Baku. They are already five points ahead of second-placed Northern Ireland in Group C and a win on Sunday will all but secure qualification for Jurgi Low’s side. Lukas Podolski who scored the wonderful winner against England on Wednesday night will not be featuring. The match against England was his final appearance after accumulating a total of 130 international caps.