WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March

[slindoffer]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March

Does anyone have good info on Norway team? I can give good insight on Albanian one but can't bet without knowing the state of Norse team.

Probable starting XI according to Verdens Gang (Newspaper): VG Nett tipper Norge starter slik mot Albania fredag kveld (4-5-1): Rune A. Jarstein - Vegar Eggen Hedenstad, Brede Hangeland, Vegard Forren, John Arne Riise - Alexander Søderlund, Markus Henriksen, HÃ¥vard Nordtveit, Ruben Yttergard Jenssen, Tarik Elyounoussi - Mohammed Abdellaoue Coach Egil Olsen says that Albania "..have impressed me, but no more than that they should be beat." Following players are at disposal: Rune Almenning Jarstein - Viking Espen Bugge Pettersen - Molde Mohammed Abdellaoue - Hannover 96 Valon Berisha - Red Bull Salzburg Vadim Demidov - Celta Vigo (utlÃ¥nad frÃ¥n E.Frankfurt) Magnus Wolff Eikrem - Molde Tarik Elyounoussi - Rosenborg Vegard Forren - Southampton Christian Grindheim - VÃ¥lerenga (utlÃ¥nad frÃ¥n FCK) Brede Hangeland - Fulham Vegar Eggen Hedenstad - Freiburg Markus Henriksen - AZ Alkmaar Erik Huseklepp - Brann Tom Høgli - Brugge Ruben YttergÃ¥rd Jenssen - Tromsø Joshua King - Blackburn HÃ¥vard Nordtveit - Borussia Mönchengladbach Jonathan Parr - Crystal Palace Tore Reginiussen - Rosenborg John Arne Riise - Fulham Alexander Toft Søderlund – Haugesund

[slindoffer]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March Oh, and only 9000 tickets sold from what i can find. Some 1400 of those are Albanian fans. What info do you have on Albania?

[MPLouis]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March

coral go 1.15 Both teams to score no for england v San Marino. william hill and others go 9.0 for yes which is an arb of 2% for those that are not limited and prepaired to wait a few days for corals slow withdrawls.

Coral are now offering 1.17 for an England clean sheet - which are the best current odds on San Marino not to score. Paddy Power have cut their 'No San Marino Goalscorer odds from 1.44 to a more realistic 1.07 :lol 1.17 is probably still good value imho.

[laneystain]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March The only bit of value I can seem to find in the San Marino-England match tomorrow evening is in the 'highest scoring half' market. The bet I will be taking here is 2nd half to be the highest scoring, which is available at 21/20 with WilliamHill (10/11 with SkyBet and 5/6 with PP). Due to their semi-pro status, a lot of the Sammarinese players begin to struggle in the 2nd half of games and this bet would have landed in 12 of their last 17 games (I could go on). A couple of the games where the bet didn't land involved teams like Sweden winning 6-0 and scoring 3 in both halves, another example was SM's game vs Malta that finished 2-3 thanks to a few early goals. England are notoriously slow starters and I just think, much like the Wembley match, SM may hold out for 15-20 minutes by just putting their backs to the wall before England turn on the style in the 2nd half as the game starts to open up. Odds of above/almost evens are too good to turn down.

[MPLouis]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March

The only bit of value I can seem to find in the San Marino-England match tomorrow evening is in the 'highest scoring half' market. The bet I will be taking here is 2nd half to be the highest scoring' date=' which is available at 21/20 with WilliamHill (10/11 with SkyBet and 5/6 with PP).[/quote'] I think it's worth remembering that that bet is a 3-way one - with the draw being the third option (the same number of goals being scored in both halves).

[MPLouis]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March

PP are offering No San Marino goalscorer at 1/14 now. Have you got the odds mixed up somewhere down the line? Ridiculous that they'd offer such a thing at just under 1/2.

The odds were 1.44 for a few days (I know because I managed to put a bet on), now down to 1.07.

[Jase82]

coral go 1.15 Both teams to score no for england v San Marino. william hill and others go 9.0 for yes which is an arb of 2% for those that are not limited and prepaired to wait a few days for corals slow withdrawls.

I honestly can't believe there's been so much debate over such a short priced bet :lol .... It is all about the profit at the end of the day, but probably a good idea to move the discussion on to other things now :ok

[k1zz]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March My bets for tomorrow Croatia - Serbia Croatia DNB Kazakhstan - Germany Germany -1.5 Sweden - Ireland 1 Hungary - Romania Romania to score odd 3.33 at bet365

[kevshat]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March 3pts San Marino (+5) to beat England 13/10 Betfred Clearly this isn’t a case of will England win, it is a case of how many they will win by. They won 5-0 in the reverse fixture at Wembley and I don’t see them winning by any more here for the simple reason that I think this will turn into a training exercise in the second half once England are two or three goals up so that they preserve as much energy as possible for the Montenegro game. San Marino will park 10 behind the ball and be stubborn and resolute but they’ll lose albeit perhaps by no more than four. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/san-marino-vs-england-betting-san-marino-can-keep-the-score-respectable-in-world-cup-qualifier-20130321

[kevshat]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March

My bets for tomorrow Croatia - Serbia Croatia DNB Kazakhstan - Germany Germany -1.5 Sweden - Ireland 1 Hungary - Romania Romania to score odd 3.33 at bet365

Can we have some reasoning to go with that Kizz :ok

[HastGill1]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March

The only bit of value I can seem to find in the San Marino-England match tomorrow evening is in the 'highest scoring half' market. The bet I will be taking here is 2nd half to be the highest scoring, which is available at 21/20 with WilliamHill (10/11 with SkyBet and 5/6 with PP). Due to their semi-pro status, a lot of the Sammarinese players begin to struggle in the 2nd half of games and this bet would have landed in 12 of their last 17 games (I could go on). A couple of the games where the bet didn't land involved teams like Sweden winning 6-0 and scoring 3 in both halves, another example was SM's game vs Malta that finished 2-3 thanks to a few early goals. England are notoriously slow starters and I just think, much like the Wembley match, SM may hold out for 15-20 minutes by just putting their backs to the wall before England turn on the style in the 2nd half as the game starts to open up. Odds of above/almost evens are too good to turn down.

I'm never a fan of these bets, too difficult to predict the pattern of the game, it was a bet I looked at though because as you say San Marino usually tire in the second half of games and then basically collapse! :lol I quite like England -8AH on the corners market with bet365 at 1.85, it will be a siege all game and I doubt if San Marino will get a corner themselves, obviously it will be a bit different to the game at Wembley but that finished 17-0 on corners so I think it might be worth a look. The pitch at Stadio Olimpico in San Marino is wider than the Wembley pitch and the same length, England will use pretty traditional wingers and I think that bet is as good as any, I would be surprised if England don't get at least 10 corners.

[k1zz]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March Sweden - Ireland 1

Trappatoni is a joke, he has dropped Doyle completely from the squad and will probably pay Keane and Walters up front, terrible. He probably won't play Hoolihan who is probably our best midfielder at the moment, the man will set up his usual boring side to try get a draw. John O'Shea has been terrible this year also, and Zlatan should have a field day. My guess would be a 2-0 win for Sweden personally, just can't see us getting anything. Sweden were unbelievable in that comeback from 4-0 down, and a win for sweden tomorrow will sort out 1st and 2nd in the group. Now, of course, I hope I am wrong, Ireland have always done well over the years when underdogs, but just cannot see it tomorrow.

Croatia - Serbia Croatia DNB

Croatia - Serbia This is one of this games that is more then football.If some of you dont know we used to be same country(Yugoslavia) and we separate after war during the 90's, so thats why in Croatia they call this game of the year. Croatia: After 4 rounds Croatia is on top together with Belgium with 10 points.It looks like this is the best team that they have since 1998 WC when they finished 3rd. On every position they have great players specially in the middle where they have very creative players like Modric who is in great form (score in last 2 matches)Rakitic(Sevilla),Kovacic(Inter)Kranjcar and Vukojevic(both Dinamo Kyev)and their attack look very powerfull with amazing Mario Mandzukic who is killing defence and goalkeepers in Bundesliga. Olso there are Jelavic(Everton),Petric(Fulham)and Olic(Wolfsburg). Maybe weakest link is defence where only Srna(Shaktar) and Lovren(Lyon) are top quality players. They are expecting Simunic to start who is very old and very slow and that may be the chance for Serbia. Serbia: Serbia is on 3rd place with 4 points.Biggest problem for Serbia is that team is very young and coach Mihajlovic knows that team probably will not qualify for WC so he will try to make strong team from young players and prepare them for EC 2016, thats why players like Vidic and Stankovic finish playing for national squad.Strongest line is defence, probably one of the best in europe Kolarov and Nastasic(both Man City),Ivanovic(Chelsea) and Subotic(Dortmund).In the middle they have lot young and talented players like Tadic(Twente) and Djuricic(Herenven) buth they will miss a lot Matic(Benfica) and Ljajic(Fiorentina) who are not on a list because of fight with coach. Very big problem is attack where they have Djordjevic(Nant), Djurdjic(Greuter Furth) and Scepovic(Partizan) and all of them are average players not enough good for playing in national team. Very important to know is that their will not be Serbian fans in Zagreb (same will be with Croatians in Belgrade in september) and Im expecting crazy atmosphere at Maksimir Stadium. I am Serbian and I must say that Croatia is favorite in this game.I am gonna skip this game for betting,will just enjoy watching in some pub with friends. If I have to pick something probably will be under 2.5 goals. I hope that this analyse will help someone to win some money....GL to all :hope

Kazakhstan - Germany Germany -1.5

Kazakstan - Germany Some facts before the game: 1. Game will be played at a surprising local time - 00:00, i.e. at midnight (probably because of the money offered by German TV). Should be a strong disadvantage for local team. Little audience expected because of the starting time and because the home games of Kazakhstan (including the one with Germany back in 2010) attract little interest. Unlike places like Azerbaijan, the atmosphere at Astana Stadium is usually very calm and there is little home factor involved. The pitch is relatively big and in excellent condition. 2. The two teams met in the WC 2012 campaign - two easy German victories - 4:0 (3:0) at home and 3:0 (0:0) away. 3. Kazakhstan have scored just one goal in their last six home games. 4. After the dramatic 4:4 comeback of Sweden, Lowe was heavily criticized for the state of his defense. 5. Weather in Astana is expected to be +3 - +4 degrees, probability for rain. 6. The two most important missings in the German team will be Klose and Hummels. Expected line-up: Neuer Boatens - Mertesacker - Howedes - Lahm Schweinsteiger - Khedira Ozil Muller - Gomez - Reus (Podolski).

Hungary - Romania Romania to score Probable line-up Hungary (4-3-3): Bogdan - Laczko, Juhasz, Liptak, Vanczak - Korcsmar, Hajnal, Koman - Dzsudzsak, Szalai, Priskin Romania (4-2-3-1): Tatarusanu - Tamas, Chiriches, Goian, Rat - Pintilii, Bourceanu - Torje, Stancu, Grozav - Mutu Romania is in a good form, they scored every time in their last 8 matches while Hungary, lately, received goals except the matches with Andorra and Liechtenstein. I think that Romanians are over these 2 teams and they have force to score tomorrow. GOOD LUCK!!!

[HastGill1]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March Obviously Germany will most probably win against Kazakhstan but worth pointing out that they have probably the longest journey for a qualifier out of all the top sides, over 3,000 miles. The time difference isn't ideal for the Germans either at 5 hours and as such they are staying on German time so they are going to bed at 4 in the morning and getting up at midday. The match is also being played on an artificial pitch, I know we have a number of these in Europe now but they are not common in the top leagues and I doubt if the German players have played many competitive games on one, should also point out though that Germany played them on the same pitch in a qualifier for the Euro Champs in 2010 and won 3-0, so not sure how much of an issue it will be! I was keen to take Germany in a handicap, 1.3 is a bit too low though for a two goal margin of victory at least. Kazakhstan will defend in numbers and try to make it difficult for Germany, they are known for defending very closely to the opposition players which may initially make it difficult for Germany to find space, although they will probably ease to victory eventually as the class difference is massive. I will try and watch some of this in play and see how the match progresses, as Kazak don't concede too many early goals and indeed in the 3-0 game I referred to it was 0-0 at HT, think waiting for the odds to rise in-play is worth the risk here.

[Batig0l]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March Sweden -v- Republic of Ireland Ireland come up against Sweden tomorrow at the Friends Arena in Solna, in a crucial World Cup qualifying game in Group C. This is only the third international that will be played at the Friends Arena, after it opened in October 2012. Also, there is a retractable roof on this stadium, and it is due to be closed for this game. Sweden come into this game 1 point ahead of Ireland, having won 2 and drawn 1 game, while Ireland have won 2 games and lost 1 game. Sweden are the heavy favourites to win this game, and are favourites to finish second in this group. However, with this heavy favourites tag comes an opportunity on the other side. Ireland are in no great shape in my opinion, however they did win and play well recently against Poland in a friendly and won that game 2-0. Ireland's team for the game tomorrow has already been announced: Forde, Coleman, Wilson, Clark, O'Shea, Whelan, McClean, Green, Long, Keane, Brady. In my opinion this is actually Ireland's strongest team available, with the exception of perhaps Green – McCarthy playing instead of Green would be stronger. It's the strongest team given that Trapattoni favours 4-4-2, but Ireland could certainly be stronger with a 4-5-1 formation. However, the defence that will play tomorrow is actually looking very promising. Forde is playing really well for Millwall this season, and deservedly starts in goal. The two full backs are playing excellent for their respective Premiership clubs this season (Coleman at Everton and Wilson at Stoke), while O'Shea and Clark should combine well after playing together against Poland. All in all the back four all play in the Premiership and this is a good thing. Furthermore, in midfield Trapattoni has gone with two defensive minded central midfielders in Whelan and Green. By choosing to play Green instead of McCarthy, Trapattoni has basically admitted that Ireland will be looking to nullify and stifle the Swedish game tomorrow, and also has admitted that Ireland will be playing extremely cautiously, looking for a draw as the desired result. Green and Whelan are technically awful footballers, but they are very adept at doing a defensive job in midfield. They will work hard, keep their positioning and tackle well. On the wing Trapattoni has decided to go with two out-and-out wingers in McClean and Brady. McClean hasn't set the world alight as much this season as last year, but is still playing regularly in the Premiership, while Brady having moved permanently to Hull from Manchester United is doing excellent. This will be an especially big game for Brady if he does start – he's the only player who Trapattoni has said may not actually start from the announced XI. He is excellent with his left foot at a dead ball (set-piece) so I do believe he will start, and with him on the field, Ireland will be extra dangerous from free kicks, crosses and corners. Up front Keane and Long start. Keane will likely drop back into midfield a lot during the game, to give the team more support in playing a defensive game, while Long will be the target man and play further up front, and also likely look to play in the channels. Keane has 54 international goals for his country and is looking fit, having already started well in the MLS season. Shane Long has been very positive for West Brom this season, and will be up against his clubmate Jonas Olsson who will play in defence for Sweden tomorrow. Clearly, the biggest danger to Ireland is Zlatan Ibrahamovic. I don't like him as a person, but his ability is unquestionable. He is easily one of the top ten footballers in the world, and in order for Ireland to have any chance of a draw tomorrow, nullifying his abilities will be key. Elsewhere however, this Sweden team is not that special. Rasmus Elm is a very good player, Kim Kallstrom has shown shades of brilliance in the past, while Seb Larsson is an excellent dead ball marksman too. But elsewhere there is nothing that special at all about this Sweden team. They'll be well organised and drilled and strong in defence and midfield. Sweden will be looking to win this game, but will they have enough to break down the Irish defensive wall? I'm not entirely sure. I think they may win the game by a goal, and hopefully by no more, and in my heart and head I don't believe they will win it by 2 goals or more. Therefore I will put a bet on Ireland +1.5AH. The odds may not be the best, but I think knowing how Ireland are set up for this task, it's likely Sweden will really struggle to score against Ireland tomorrow, unless Zlatan Ibrahamovic has a magical game. Low stakes bet however, because I am slighlty biased towards my own nation. My pick: Ireland +1.5AH with pinnacle @ 1.61 odds (1 unit)

[kevshat]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March 2pts Wales to beat Scotland 4/1 Coral Scotland might just have the edge on Wales in terms of personnel but it is only just so how Wales are 4/1 and Scotland odds on I’ve no idea. Scotland might win this game but there is no value at all in them at odds on in what in theory should be a tight game given it’s a ‘derby’ of sorts. The value is definitely on the Welsh here and so is my money. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/scotland-vs-wales-betting-wales-are-the-value-to-do-the-double-over-the-scots-20130321

[HalmeemMarkku]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March If I were lucky enough to find the "80 euros on the street" which you wrote about earlier on, I would most certainly NOT waste it on an "almost certain" bet which would earn me less than a quid, and possibly make me lose it all. (To make Petersson1984's point clearer)

[Dub888]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March Probably play Walters lol dont rely on this man for information on the Republic of Ire, Walters got injured in training earlier in the week. And Trap is a joke, but not because hes dropped Doyle. You do realise Doyle is playing for a club in the bottom 4 in the Championship, and up till Saturday hadnt scored in 2013? Theres been strikers we have now then kevin turn like a bus Doyle. Playing Paul Green instead of Mcarthy or Hoolihan is the real joke. Ireland are notorious for playing above themselves away to better opposition, would not surprise me if they got a 0-0 or 1-1 tommorrow.

[HalmeemMarkku]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March that one was an answer to something written some time ago - and "discussed" to the bone. But one hint to anybody: we Finns do tend to make the impossible possible. So if you are thinking of betting for Spain to win to nil against Finland, please don't. There's "always" somebody to score just by chance (probably not a striker) accident

[kevshat]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March 4pts Russia to win to nil 11/10 Skybet Russia haven’t conceded a goal in this campaign so far and with Northern Ireland failing to score against Malta last time out there’s no immediate sign that they will concede here either. The Russians are sound in defence and with Northern Ireland missing both Will Grigg and Kyle Lafferty their scoring options are largely diminished. I fear the home side could be out of their depth somewhat here and at odds against the Russians to win to nil looks good to me. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/northern-ireland-vs-russia-betting-russia-can-keep-up-their-100-record-without-conceding-20130321

[Dzontra85]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March

red card @3.12 marathon low stake

Serbian coach Mihajlovic said that if some of his players get red card will not play for country anymore :unsure

[Rockettman]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March SCOTLAND vs. WALES World Cup Qualifier Friday March 22nd 2013 8.00pm Kickoff! Live On Skysports 2 (programme starts at 7.30pm) KEY STAT Scotland have not won 3 consecutive games since 2007. INJURIES/SUSPENSIONS Scotland: The Scots have something of an injury crisis in centre midfield, with Liam Bridcutt set for a debut. Wales: Gareth Bale has shaken off an ankle injury, and will hope to continue his recent form for his county. VERDICT Scotland look to have turned the corner under Gordon Strachan, but they still sit bottom of their group without a win; I agree with others they should not be odds-on here. With the threat of Bale on the break, Chris Colemans boys represent value to pick up all 3 points for small stakes… VALUE BET Back Wales @4/1 (Coral)

[pg_yid]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March

Andorra v Turkey This is a bet more against Andorra than for Turkey who are going through a bad spell themselves but should be able to see off the Andorrans without conceding. If we look back over the past 42 games Andorra have played they have lost 41 and drawn 1, in that period they have scored in 8 games so they are far from prolific, in fact they haven't scored in their last 14 matches..Avci is under a bit of pressure in Turkey as results have been disappointing so far, they should get 6 points from their games against Andorra and Hungary though and their prospects might look far better this time next week. Considering the stats I have given I find it surprising Coral go at 1.4 for Turkey winning to nil, Hills for example have the same bet at 1.12, I would say it should be about 1.2-1.22. Regardless of what faults you pick in Turkeys current form, they have been playing against sides far better than Andorra. Andorra are organised defensively and a pretty dogged outfit these days, they have very little attacking ability though and will have no more than a couple of efforts on target, if that. Regular followers of these threads will know this is one of my favourite bets and it certainly comes in most times you play it, at 1.4 it’s a no-brainer for me, I expect this to finish 2 or 3-0. Turkey to Win to Nil - 1.4 - coral - 10 Points

I have gone for this as well. Mug punter logic tells me one of these bets is going to go wrong sooner or later, as I've had a good run of them winning. It's going to be another nervous 90 minutes, especially considering Turkey's poor form, but even so, there's no denying the value there.

[kevshat]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March 4pts Sweden vs RoI - Over 2.5 goals 11/10 Paddy Power Having been so defensively strong in the qualifying for Euro 2012 it is strange that this Irish defence worries me greatly but it does, especially against capable attacks like Sweden have. Both sides have shown a tendency to concede goals and I see no reason why that is going to change here so while I’m surprised the over 2.5 goals is odds against I’m happy to take that as I would expect to see at least three goals with the attacking options on display. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/sweden-vs-republic-of-ireland-betting-stockholm-should-see-plenty-of-goals-once-again-20130322

[kevshat]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March 4pts Spain vs Finland - Over 3.5 goals 21/20 BetVictor I would expect Spain to win this and I would expect them to score a few goals in the process but Finland have goals in them even though they are likely to ship them quite alarmingly too so perhaps the best bet in this match is to take the over 3.5 goals which is odds against. It wouldn’t be too much of a surprise were Spain to cover this on their own but Finland could contribute too which makes it appeal. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/spain-vs-finland-betting-gijon-should-play-host-to-a-few-goals-in-world-cup-qualifier-20130322

[composite]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March Conceptually, betting on 1.01 shouldn't be dismissed automatically. If you think about it, insurance companies do this all the time. When you pay your auto insurance premium, the insurer is "betting" you won't get into a major accident that costs them $$$. If you don't, they keep the premium you pay them and they "won" their bet. That premium is a fraction of their costs if you get into a major accident. The question is: if England played San Marino 1000 times, would they win at least 990? Personally, I wouldn't have the foggiest idea. But if you think they would, then go ahead and make the bet. It has value.

[jackierubberleg]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March

Sweden - Ireland 1 Croatia - Serbia Croatia DNB Kazakhstan - Germany Germany -1.5 Hungary - Romania Romania to score Probable line-up Hungary (4-3-3): Bogdan - Laczko, Juhasz, Liptak, Vanczak - Korcsmar, Hajnal, Koman - Dzsudzsak, Szalai, Priskin Romania (4-2-3-1): Tatarusanu - Tamas, Chiriches, Goian, Rat - Pintilii, Bourceanu - Torje, Stancu, Grozav - Mutu Romania is in a good form, they scored every time in their last 8 matches while Hungary, lately, received goals except the matches with Andorra and Liechtenstein. I think that Romanians are over these 2 teams and they have force to score tomorrow. GOOD LUCK!!!

Had to laugh at this. When asked to provide reasoning by kev, he pastes other members draughts, apart from the bit on Romania. I think in school they would have said something like "Well done for being inventive!"

[zteinter]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March Macedonia welcomes Belgium tonight in Skopje. It's a very important match for both teams and it's the 1st of 2 matches these teams will play in the next 5 days. The Belgians are obvious favorites here. Looking at their squad, it's really intimidating and they can even compare themselves to Europe's bests like Spain or Germany. It's easily their best generation of players in quite some time, at least in the last 20 years. Having guys like Felaini, Witsel, De Bruyne, Hazard... is a blessing and they are a side to be looked at carefully in following years. They've started these qualifications on the right foot, with away wins in Wales and Serbia as well as a home win against Scotland and a draw against Croatia. With 3 wins and a draw they are tied for 1st place and with Croatia the biggest contenders for a World Cup berth. There is still a lot of football to be played so they'll need at least few more wins. Macedonia is a side that has never had any notable success in qualifications since their independence 20 years ago. They have done some surprises here and there, but overall usually finish 4th in their groups. The Macedonian football league is piss-poor at the moment and has been for a very long time. This is the biggest reason why there hasn't been a lot of improvement in the country's results as almost all of the players selected come from the European leagues. After few questionable decisions about coaches, Cede Janevski is the coach for these qualifications. And the change of climate was noticed from day 1. What was lethargic football, no motivation, weird starting 11s is now a very likeable team, playing to win in every match and really the best Macedonia in quite some time. A fine win over Serbia, a draw in Scotland which should have been a win, a decent fight in Croatia and an unlucky 1-2 loss to the Croatians in Skopje are their results so far. They beat Denmark in a friendly with convincing 3-0 and though friendlies can't be taken for granted, it was another solid performance. People in this country absolutely love football and they are finally seeing some improvement and they show their satisfaction. It should be close to full capacity tonight in Skopje and a very big support for the players. I will take Macedonia in this one. Belgium has of course more quality but they are yet to impress and Macedonia is playing the best football in the last 10 years. This will be a tight encounter and I see the hosts staying undefeated. Macedonia +0.75 (1.96)

[Abd El Kader french]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March Bonjour Everybody Today i have a double , i think is safe First Spain to win both halves @ 1.65 , i think Spain at home gone quickly take the ball control and score fast ,Finland's players dont play in the same category we all know that , Spain have to secure the 1st Place, LA FRANCE:hope play today too at home against Georgia they have 7pts too and i think they gone win ... So Spain gone take this match very professionally Second bet is Bosnia to score @ 1.25 ,it's not a big high , specially when you see the H2H ,but i think this time Bosnia at home can easily score Of course it's gone be a hard match for the lead of the group Spain To Win Both Halves @ 1.65 Bosnia OT 0.5 @ 1.25 @2.06 on marathon

[Smurf]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March Does anyone have any information to offer on the Poland v Ukraine game? I am liking the look of Poland @ 6/5 at home. They have some good players and some of them are performing well in the German Bundesliga. Any reason why they are at these odds at home to Ukraine? I know Ukraine aren't a poor side but it seems value to me for Poland. Any thoughts of anyone with better knowledge on the two teams?

[Aidymac]

Re: WC > Europe Qualification > 22 - 23 March There is only 1 positive for Ireland tonight, and that is that they are unbeaten away from home for nearly 6 years, which is incredible. But, that has to come to an end sooner rather than later.