19 November 2013

World Cup Play Off : UEFA: All you need to know before the teams play tonight

1st leg result: Ukraine 2 France 0
France defender Laurent Koscielny is suspended after his red card in the first leg, so Liverpool centre back Mamadou Sakho could start alongside Eric Abidal unless Raphael Varane has recovered from a knee niggle. Coach Didier Deschamps could change his starting line-up further with Samir Nasri probably being dropped for Mathieu Valbuena after another disappointing display, while Karim Benzema could start as his side chase goals.
Ukraine will be without defender Olexandr Kucher for the return leg after he was sent off on Friday. Left back Artem Fedetskyi is also suspended, a major blow for Ukraine as he shackled France playmaker Franck Ribery. Shakhtar defender Yaroslav Rakitskyi is expected to replace Kucher while winger Oleh Gusyev could play at left back. The match will be tough has some French players have said they will die on the pitch. The World will however be waiting to see if Ribery can pull surprises. Ukraine won the first leg scoring two unreplied goals are they are in a comfortable position to qualify. The match will be played tonight by 21:00GMT.

1st leg result: Portugal 1 Sweden 0
Sweden have no new injury problems, with boss Erik Hamren saying his squad is “100% fit”. Andreas Isaksson, who suffered a knock in the first leg, will start with Hamren expected to name the same XI that lost in Lisbon.
Portugal saw star duo Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe sit out Saturday training, but that was precautionary and both will start. The match will kick off by 20:45 GMT.

1st leg result: Greece 3 Romania 1
Greece will be favourites to secure a World Cup place as they head to Romania for the second leg of their qualification play-off with a comfortable lead. The Greeks overcame their rivals 3-1 when they met in Athens last week and will be expected to hold on to complete the job in the return fixture in Bucharest. The performance maintained Greece's strong form from their regular qualifying programme, in which they won eight out of 10 Group G matches only to finish second to Bosnia on goal difference. Greece, the Euro 2004 champions, are bidding to reach their second successive World Cup while Romania are hoping to qualify for the first time since 1998. Romania coach Victor Piturca said: ``If we manage to qualify, it will be extraordinary for Romanian football, and for myself. ``If we fail, you can forget about me for three months - I will hide in a monastery.''
1st leg result: Iceland 0 Croatia 0
Niko Kovac is confident his Croatia side will prove too strong for Iceland in Tuesday's winner-takes-all World Cup qualifying showdown in Zagreb. Nordic minnows Iceland, who with a population of just over 300,000 would be the smallest nation ever to reach the finals should they win through, held Croatia to a goalless draw in Reykjavik on Friday night. Unfortunately for their hosts, Group E runners-up Iceland are similarly confident they can get a result in the Croatian capital - in the process making history by reaching their first major tournament. And while home boss Kovac continues to present a brave face, visiting captain Aron Gunnarsson thinks the opposition could crack under the weight of expectation if pressure is applied in the right places. Unfortunately for their hosts, Group E runners-up Iceland are similarly confident they can get a result in the Croatian capital - in the process making history by reaching their first major tournament. Iceland might, however, do well to avoid poring over history books before running out at the Stadion Maksimir. Their last visit to Zagreb saw them beaten 4-0 in a World Cup qualifier in March 2005 - a certain Niko Kovac scoring twice.

No comments: