Irish will need some luck vs. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Crucial Group C match sees Ireland take on Sweden and its superlative, if often unpredictable, striker
It’s World Cup qualifying time once again, as the big European leagues get put on the back burner for a week. Four rounds of play remain in European qualifying, with a full slate of 25 matches being contested on Friday.
One of the biggest games is in Dublin, as the Republic of Ireland host Sweden in Group C action. This one of the tightest groups, as those two teams plus Austria are all level on 11 points, while Germany lead with 16. The Ireland coaching staff have announced that they have no special plan for dealing with Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, saying that focusing on stopping him would be “impossible.” Ibrahimovic certainly is unpredictable.
Another huge game is Tuesday in Kiev, as England face Ukraine. Both teams trail leaders Montenegro, with England two points behind, and Ukraine a further point back.
England coach Roy Hodgson has a number of injury woes, especially up front with Wayne Rooney and Daniel Sturridge suddenly both sidelined. Rooney suffered a huge gash on his forehead in an accident at training, while Sturridge has a thigh strain. Forwards Andy Carroll and Jermaine Defoe are also injured, so Hodgson will be giving a rare start to Southampton’s Rickie Lambert.
Away woes
A key story so far in CONCACAF qualifying has been the disappointing play of Mexico, who have one win, five draws, and just three goals scored in their six matches. They sit in third place in the hexagonal, and host fourth-place Honduras Friday at the Azteca.
The U.S. are on a great run of form to top the group. They play runners-up Costa Rica on Friday in a big match for both sides.
The Ticos are looking for revenge after losing to the Americans in Denver back in March, in a match that was controversially played under blizzard-like conditions. Costa Rica has been to using every dirty trick at their disposal to try and unsettle the Americans during their stay, doing everything from withholding expedited customs clearance, to blocking access to training venues, and even practice balls.
In South America, meanwhile, Venezuela are in a tough spot ahead of Saturday’s key qualifier in Chile, as coach Cesar Farias has 20 players struggling with a bad stomach bug! That’s practically the entire team.
Venezuela are trying to overtake Uruguay for fifth place to keep their hopes alive, as that would then put them into a playoff against a team from Asia. Venezuela are the only South American side never to play in a World Cup.
Crunch time
It’s do-or-die time in African qualifying, as the final games in the second stage conclude. There are 10 groups of four teams and only the ten group leaders advance. Three of those groups are already decided, with Egypt, Ivory Coast and Algeria all assured of advancing. That still leaves a lot of big teams sitting just one loss away from being knocked out, including Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Senegal, South Africa, and Tunisia. While most of those are favoured to win their final game and advance, South Africa are in genuine trouble. They are two points behind Ethiopia, who face last-placed Central African Republic on Saturday.
What’s in a name
Danish side FC Copenhagen have been drawn into a tough group in the Champions League, as they face Real Madrid, Juventus, and Galatasaray.
Club management want to ensure that visiting fans don’t make things any tougher, and have taken an unusual measure to prevent visitors from buying tickets in the home section. If you don’t have a Danish-sounding name, then you can’t get a ticket!
Visiting fans can get still tickets for the visitors’ section, but those seats can sell out quickly. Home fans meanwhile who don’t sound Danish enough can still plead their case to club officials. Safety is their main concern, but it still seems like a bad method for segregating fans, especially in a sophisticated multicultural city like Copenhagen. Not surprisingly, the club is drawing a lot of criticism for the move.