France, England on the comeback trail
TONIGHT’S SOCCER 10 IS SET TO TOP R2MILLION
There are now only two months remaining before the World Cup kicks off and effectively this weekend’s internationals are a last chance for all 32 competing countries to get in some final practice.
The only truly competitive games are in Europe, where the qualifiers for next year’s Nations League finals will be completed.
All 13 European countries heading to the World Cup finals will get some testing preparation, allowing coaches to finalise their best line-ups and work on aspects likely to be vital to their teams when the tournament in Qatar gets underway.
Dutch coach Louis van Gaal, for example, has been using some of the time this week to test his goalkeepers in penalty shootouts because he believes in being well prepared for the inevitability of a post-match lottery in Qatar.
He had all six keepers put through their paces with reaction times, reach and other aspects that could prove decisive being tested.
For World Cup holders France, their match against Denmark on Sunday will see them without several regulars who are out through injury.
Coach Didier Deschamps has brought in several new faces, who have a chance to stake a claim for a place in the 26-man World Cup squad.
France made a miserable start to their Nations League campaign in June, as did England, and with both countries among the World Cup favourites, they will be looking to restore morale and belief.
A year ago England narrowly missed out on the European Championship, but a 4-0 home thumping by Hungary in June represented a major dip in their form. The pressure is now on manager Gareth Southgate to deliver, especially on Monday night against Germany.
Given that Hansi Flick comfortably won all seven World
Cup qualifiers which he presided over after taking the German national team job in August 2021, the Nations League has proved a sterner test for him and his players ahead of the World Cup.
Three successive 1-1 draws against Italy, England and Hungary suggested problems, but Die Mannschaft finally ended their winless run with a 5-2 thumping of Italy in their last match in June.
The Italians might be European champions, but are not even going to the World Cup after their shock elimination by North Macedonia in the playoffs. For them Nations League offers potential redemption, but they are clearly in a rebuilding process and it could be some time before they find top gear.
The Nations League clashes add spice to TAB’s weekend soccer pools, several of which will be boosted by cash add-ins from TAB. They include tonight’s Soccer 10, which is set to deliver a total pool of over R2 million!