Spain, England, Portugal struggling to reach Euro 2008
LONDON: Spain, England and Portugal are struggling to make it to Euro
2008 and even world champion Italy could be back in trouble on Saturday.
After a four-month break, qualifying for the 2008 European Championship
co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland returns with 20 matches on Saturday,
and 20 more to follow next Wednesday.
With only three points from three games, coach Luis Aragones and his Spanish
stars are fifth in their group and have a tough game against second-place
Denmark, which has yet to concede a goal.
"People need to realize that we're going through a difficult situation
and we have to get two wins. It's an important challenge for all of us,"
Aragones said. Spain also hosts Iceland next Wednesday.
"The Danes possess a good side although Spain has almost always beaten
them in the past. They play 4-1-4-1, with a lot of players and pressure
in midfield and they're fast on the counterattack. But we have no option
but to win if we want to take an important step."
Spain's Group F was led by Sweden with a maximum 12 points from four games.
But it doesn't play until Wednesday against third-place Northern Ireland,
which has already beaten Spain 3-2.
England is danger of slipping to fifth in Group E when it visits Israel
on Saturday.
"We've got a good squad and I think we need to start doing the talking
on the field," said coach Steve McClaren, who took his under-fire
squad for a training session at rebuilt Wembley Stadium. "That means
displacing Croatia and Russia from the summit of Group E in order to reach
the 2008 finals.
"There is ability, potential in that side to be better than we are
at the moment, and we know that, and we've got to go out and prove it."
Croatia hosts Macedonia, and Russia is expected to win at next-to-last
Estonia.
Portugal needs to beat Belgium to stand any chance of making up ground
on the three teams ahead in Group A.
Luiz Felipe Scolari's Portugal faces Belgium without two of its top players,
FC Barcelona's Deco and Benfica's Simao Sabrosa, as it tries to make up
four points on Finland and three on Serbia and Poland. Deco is injured
and Sabrosa suspended.
Although Finland doesn't have a game on Saturday, Serbia will be confident
of winning at Kazakhstan, and Poland should be far too strong for last-place
Azerbaijan.
World Cup-holder Italy isn't in action on Saturday but will likely have
been dropped to fourth in Group B by the end of the day with five points
to make up on the leaders.
On Saturday, surprise group leader Scotland is expected to beat Georgia
at home, second-place France is confident of winning at Lithuania and
fourth-place Ukraine is likely to outplay the Faeroe Islands
Roberto Donadoni's Italians hope to beat the Scots in Bari next Wednesday
to post their third qualifying victory in a row.
The highlight match on Saturday is Czech Republic vs. Germany at the top
of Group D with the two powerhouse teams level with 10 points. A draw
will mean that both stay clear of Ireland, which hosts neighbor Wales.
With defender Christoph Metzelder nursing a swollen left eye, Germany
coach Joachim Loew has to find a way to handle towering Czech striker
Jan Koller, who spent several seasons at Borussia Dortmund before moving
to French club AS Monaco.
"We have to find a way to defend against Koller," Loew said.
"He's a special player, unusual - we don't play against someone like
him all the time."
Greece and Turkey are level atop of Group C and meet on Saturday in the
latest chapter of their historic rivalry. So far, neither has conceded
a goal or dropped a point.
The Greeks are the defending champions after their stunning performances
in Portugal three years ago while the Turks have struggled to recapture
the form that took them to the World Cup semifinals in 2002.
Greece coach Otto Rehhagel has defenders Traianos Dellas and Michalis
Kapsis back after injury but Turkey's Fatih Terim has six players sidelined
including experienced goalkeeper Rustu Recber.
The Netherlands is going strong at the top of Group G with a two-point
lead over Bulgaria, and hosts Romania, which is third and another point
behind.
But the Dutch are missing their captain and most-capped player, goalkeeper
Edwin van der Sar, who is recovering from a knee injury and is also in
doubt for the next qualifier in Slovenia next Wednesday. Winger Robin
van Persie also is out with injury.
, March 21, 2007.
Russian ladies dream about happy marriage.
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