Euro Qualifiers

Another full week of Euro Qualifing matches:

http://www.uefa.com/competitions/euro/qualifying/index.html

I hope we see fewer Germany - San Marino matches....one sided shows, speaking of San Marino they will meet the Czechs, who will be hungry for a win. There are some intrigueing games, especially Spain - Sweden, two struggling national teams both needing good results. The matches I am interested in:

France - Scotland: Both nations have the full 6 points from their first games. France having beaten Georgia and Italy, Scotland defeated the Faroe Islands and Lithuania (the same Lithuania that held Italy to a draw in Naples). This game is what we call a "trap" game in the ole US of A. France will be headed for a very challenging ground to play. Scotland sees this as a great oppotunity to steal a victory from the World Cup runner ups. The Scotish fans will be, as always, vocal and supportive of their team. Playing in Scotland will prove a stern test for the French. However Scotland has some injury issues, more than the French. France will need to weather what I expect a very emotional start of the match, if they can weather what I expect to be a blistering first 20 minutes they will be on the right path. What I fear is Scotland's ability to exploit dead ball situations while France continues to struggle defending these set pieces. The game might hinge on these plays. Les Bleus should emerge with 3 points, but they will not be easily won.

France 2 - Scotland 0. Goals from Trezeguet and late goal from Ribery.

Italy - Ukraine: If there was ever a "must" win game this early in the qualifying rounds this is it for the Azurri. They have 1 point from 2 matches, and that came from a poor 1-1 draw with Lithuania in Naples! The Italians then received a "correction" by Les Bleus in Paris 3-1, which could have been 4 or 5 goals to 1 (still makes the WC finals painful). Ukraine wants to show that their 1/4 final at the World Cup was not a fluke. They currently sit with 3 points from one hard fought match versus Georgia. The game is the second for Italy at home, this time at Roma. Italy cannot afford to drop any more points at home. While Ukraine just needs to get 1 point to see this displacement to Italy as a huge success. Ukraine will also be motivated to gain some World Cup vengence after succombing 3-0 during the 1/4 finals. I think this game will be very difficult for Italy, there is a tremendous amount of pressure on the team and with the still dark cloud of match fixing hovering over the Azzuri I see another poor performance.

Ukraine 0 - Italy 0, ugly draw drives Italian home fans crazy...