Hello world!
Tonight we have seven 7.45pm kick-offs to keep an eye on. Here is a list of those games, with something to say about each of them:
Bosnia-Herzegovina v Greece
Robert Prosinecki, Bosnia’s coach, says: “When we are ready and fit, as we are now, it’s hard to win against us.” This is true: they have lost only two of their last 14 games (and they probably weren’t ready and fit for those ones). “I’m sure there will be a good atmosphere. It will not be easy, but we will be motivated. This will be a tactical, and very intense game.”
Italy v Liechtenstein
Never mind winning, just being on the same pitch as Italy is an honour for Liechtenstein. “It does not matter if we score or not It’s an honour for us to face the Azzurri,” says Helgi Kolvidsson. This is a good attitude, because they are going to lose.
Switzerland v Denmark
Switzerland have won 11 of their last 12 competitive home games (the last team to beat them in Switzerland? England, obviously). This is Denmark’s first game in qualifying; the Swiss beat Georgia 2-0 at the weekend. “I hope they are tired after playing on an artificial surface in Tbilisi and having such a long journey home,” said the Danes’ head coach, Age Hareide.
Malta v Spain
Malta’s home games against Spain have tended to have perhaps surprisingly sober scorelines: 2-3, 0-2 and 0-3. In Spain however they’ve lost 12-1, 4-0 and 4-0.
Norway v Sweden
Norway’s last 10 home results: WDDWWWWWWW. The third of those results was against Sweden in a friendly in June 2017.
Republic of Ireland v Georgia
The referee for this game, Holland’s Serdar Gözübüyük, has an unusual number of umlauts. This is his first European qualifier, and his first game in charge of either of these teams.
Romania v Faroe Islands
The Faroes’ last seven away results: LDLLLLDL. They did win two away games in 2016, though.
Back to the Republic, then, and here’s Vladimir Weiss on Georgia’s task. Weiss sounds like an interesting chap. He’s the father of the former Manchester City player Vladimir Weiss, and the son of the former Czech international Vladimir Weiss. It seems that Vladimir Weisses inherit good football genes and bad original-naming genes. He is also a big fan of Martin O’Neill, who he says is “a lovely, lovely guy. I love him so much and I wish him all the best at his club”. Anyway, as I was saying, here’s Vladimir Weiss on Georgia’s task against the Republic:
We have a chance next year to do something amazing for Georgia football, but we must play now at this moment. Two teams go through and we will try to do it also in the group, which would be something unbelievable. But it’s not easy. The favourite in the group is of course Switzerland, then Ireland and Denmark and we and Gibraltar, we will try to do it. Sometimes in life, miracles happen. It won’t be an easy game, but we want to win and we will try to do our best.
Anyway, and most importantly, hello. Let’s hope for some fun times, eh?