Welcome to the second part of our weekly analysis of the World Cup 2018 Qualifiers, that were played in September. In Part 1 which can be viewed here, reviewed Group A to Group D.
Moving on to Group E, Poland, Montenegro and Denmark are the contenders for the top spot. Poland are the current leader with 19 points, followed by both Montenegro and Denmark with 16. The 4th team Romania has only 9, followed by Armenia with 6 and Kazakhstan with 2.
Denmark, destroyed Poland in the previous match, played with month with 4-0, and getting closer to the position they were expecting to be at, 1st. With a match against Montenegro, and then a direct match between their competitors Poland and Montenegro, Denmark are in a wonderful position, if they managed to win the home game.
In Group F, we have England on the top spot with 20 points, followed by Slovakia with 15pts, Slovenia with 14pts, Scotland with 14pts. The last two teams Lithuania with 5pts and Malta with 0 pts are out of the competition, but remain as an obstacle of course.
The English team is still unbeaten, recording 6 wins and 2 draws, needing just a draw in their next game against Slovenia to secure their first spot. Due to the tiebreaker being points and then goal difference even if Slovakia catches up, they'd have a worse goal difference.
In Group G, Spain is the leader as expected, having 22 points in 8 games, winning 7 and drawing 1. The team is followed by Italy who are second with 19 and Albania who are 3rd with 13, but the team has only chances to reach the 2nd place. The rest of the teams in the group have no chances: Israel, Macedonia and Liechtenstein.
Spain already met Italy this month, won comfortably with 3-0 and now has games only with Albania and Israel, opponents that should not be a problem at all. Italy on the other hand will meets Macedonia and then Albania and will probably keep their second place and play in the play-offs.
In Group H, we have a team that has already qualified for World Cup 2018 and that's Belgium. The team is first with 22 points, winning 7 games and drawing 1, with the 2nd team being Bosnia and Herzegovina with 14 points, 8 points away with just 2 matches remaining. Greece is third in the group with 13 points, and Cyprus is 4th with 10 points.Estonia with 8pts and Gibraltar with 0 have no chances to get anything in this qualification stage.
Bosnia will have to face Belgium one last time, which could mean trouble as the other rivals for the 2nd place Greece and Cyprus can replace them on that 2nd spot if the teams loses. Luckily for them Greece and Cyprus have a direct game, and a potential draw can kill the chances of both teams to get to the 2nd place. Just as a reminder in the first match in Belgium, Bosnia lost with 0-4.
In Group I, Croatia, Iceland, Turkey and Ukraine will be fighting for the top spot. Currently both Croatia and Iceland are with 16pts, while Turkey and Ukraine with 14. The remaining 2 teams Finland with 7pts and Kosovo with 1pt have no chances for anything. The key games would be Turkey vs Iceland and Ukraine vs Croatia, where each team can lose points and impact the table. My expectations are that Croatia will keep their top position with 2nd team being Turkey or Iceland.
This concludes our analysis, for the September games from the World Cup 2018 qualifiers.
Friday, September 8, 2017
Analysis of the World Cup 2018 Qualifiers September 2017 Part 1
World Cup Russia 2018 is around the corner, and next summer we are going to enjoy a lengthy, top class event, in a beautiful country. The qualifiers are already near their end, with most groups having a noticeable leader, with one or a few teams that'd be fighting for the 2nd spot and a play-off match.
This month we already witnessed a few games, some of which were quite head turning and lead to surprising outcomes. With 2 games remaining in most groups, the teams that will not have a chance are pretty much obvious and we can only focus on those who still have chance.
In Group A, France is a leader with 17 points, but recorded a very surprising draw this round against Luxembourg at home, a goalless 0-0. Meanwhile, Bulgaria surprisingly managed to beat Sweden with 3-2 and did not allow the Scandinavians to snap the top spot after France lost easy points. Now all 4 teams have a chance to qualify, with France sitting on top with 17 points, Sweden being second with 16, Holland with 13 and Bulgaria with 12.
Next set of games will happen in October where Bulgaria and France will most likely be the decider match, as if the Bulgarians win, they'd keep their chances for qualifications, and France will drop a position, or France will secure they top spot or at least top 2 and thus secure their qualifying.
In Group B, nothing unusual is happening there, where Switzerland and Portugal are the dominant teams, Switzerland being first with 24 points, and Portugal being second with 21 points, and the third team is Hungary with 10 points, followed by Faroe Island, Andorra, and Latvia. None of these teams will qualify ahead, so it's up to Switzerland and Portugal, to decide the winner of the group. Both teams will meet on October 10th and that will be the decider game.
In Group C, Germany is dominating with 24 points, a perfect record from the 8 games played. Northern Ireland is second in that group with 19 points and the rest of the teams are eliminated as they cannot get to the desired number of points. Azerbaijan are third with 10 points, Czech Republic 4th with 9pts, Norway 5th with 7pts and San Marino with 0. Next meeting will be between Northern Ireland and Germany, and even a draw guarantees the German to be qualified.
In Group D, Serbia is leading with 18 points, followed by Wales with 14 points and Republic of Ireland with 13 points. Austria is 4th with 9 points, and still has chances but to only make it to the play-offs. Georgia are 5th in the group with 5 points, and managed to get the last 2 points in their last 2 games, recording 1:1 against Austria and Ireland, preventing both teams to move higher on the positions they planned for. With 4 teams still having chances to qualify, the next few games look very interesting with Wales v Ireland being perhaps the most anticipated one.
This concludes part one of the recap from the past week of the World Cup 2018 Qualifiers. Part 2 can be found here.
This month we already witnessed a few games, some of which were quite head turning and lead to surprising outcomes. With 2 games remaining in most groups, the teams that will not have a chance are pretty much obvious and we can only focus on those who still have chance.
In Group A, France is a leader with 17 points, but recorded a very surprising draw this round against Luxembourg at home, a goalless 0-0. Meanwhile, Bulgaria surprisingly managed to beat Sweden with 3-2 and did not allow the Scandinavians to snap the top spot after France lost easy points. Now all 4 teams have a chance to qualify, with France sitting on top with 17 points, Sweden being second with 16, Holland with 13 and Bulgaria with 12.
Next set of games will happen in October where Bulgaria and France will most likely be the decider match, as if the Bulgarians win, they'd keep their chances for qualifications, and France will drop a position, or France will secure they top spot or at least top 2 and thus secure their qualifying.
In Group B, nothing unusual is happening there, where Switzerland and Portugal are the dominant teams, Switzerland being first with 24 points, and Portugal being second with 21 points, and the third team is Hungary with 10 points, followed by Faroe Island, Andorra, and Latvia. None of these teams will qualify ahead, so it's up to Switzerland and Portugal, to decide the winner of the group. Both teams will meet on October 10th and that will be the decider game.
In Group C, Germany is dominating with 24 points, a perfect record from the 8 games played. Northern Ireland is second in that group with 19 points and the rest of the teams are eliminated as they cannot get to the desired number of points. Azerbaijan are third with 10 points, Czech Republic 4th with 9pts, Norway 5th with 7pts and San Marino with 0. Next meeting will be between Northern Ireland and Germany, and even a draw guarantees the German to be qualified.
In Group D, Serbia is leading with 18 points, followed by Wales with 14 points and Republic of Ireland with 13 points. Austria is 4th with 9 points, and still has chances but to only make it to the play-offs. Georgia are 5th in the group with 5 points, and managed to get the last 2 points in their last 2 games, recording 1:1 against Austria and Ireland, preventing both teams to move higher on the positions they planned for. With 4 teams still having chances to qualify, the next few games look very interesting with Wales v Ireland being perhaps the most anticipated one.
This concludes part one of the recap from the past week of the World Cup 2018 Qualifiers. Part 2 can be found here.
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