2008 Euro qualifying Group B match previews: Italy vs France, Scotland vs Lithuania, Georgia vs Ukraine

by Foolsgold

Italy vs France, Saturday, 1450 EST Stadio Giuseppe Meazza - Milan

Italy versus France, the quintessential match of the weekend, the second re-match of the 2006 World Cup final sans Zinedane Zidane and Marco Materazzi except this time instead of being held in Germany or France, it'll be played in Milan. At least it's not Rome.

Other than no Matrix, who is out due to knee injury, the other controversy is French head coach Raymond Domenech was suspended for this match because he spoke the truth about Italy and their knack to pay off refs. I mean, if it wasn't true, they'd just call him crazy and ignore it, right? Anyhow...

Being that it is in Italy obviously gives the Azzurri the upper hand and they've still got a pretty decent squad with Buffon in goal, Cannavaro, Zambrotta, Grosso, and Chiellini on the back line, De Rossi, Gattuso, and Pirlo in the middle, and Del Piero and Inzaghi up front. Of course, that's not who I think will start (that's only ten players, muppets), I'm just saying they have some okay players to choose from. Hopefully Donadoni will have a little fun with this one.

France is not exactly hurting for talent either, though you might not think that with the inclusion of poacher extraordinaire, David Trezeguet. The squad is loaded with big names like Henry, Abidal, Makelele, Veira, and Evra. The only exception being at keeper where an injured Coupet is missing.

What it might come down to is what team needs the points most here. I believe France would settle for a draw, but an Italian win would be huge. It would move them past Les Bleus by a point and with trips to the Ukraine and Scotland still left on their schedule, could be crucial to them qualifying. Ultimately, the Azzurri at home, desperately needing a win and France without their head coach, might be a little off their game. I'll take Italy to beat France in regulation for the first time in twenty-nine years, 2-1. And yes, there will be a refereeing scandal.

Scotland vs Lithuania, Saturday, 1000 EST Hampden Park - Glasgow

Well, it's do or die time for Lithuania. They pretty much need to win this match and the next couple more to have any shot at qualifying. The problem is, even if they do win this one and the next against the Faroe Islands, which they should, they still have to go to France and also have the Ukraine at home. With just seven points to show for their effort so far, they really are only playing for pride.

Scotland on the other hand pretty much have to win this match to stay in contention. They still have to go to France and have Italy and Ukraine make visits, so any points they can get outside of those three matches would be huge. The only big absence from the Scottish side will be captain Barry Ferguson, but other than that, they have a pretty solid, fit squad.

Lithuania will be at full strength as well and even though they feature six players from Scottish club, Hearts, they won't feel very welcome in Hampden Park. The Lithuanians are a capable side as their draw with Italy about a year ago showed and they will have most of their major players including Edgaras Jankauskas, Tomas Danilevičius, and Deividas Šemberas, but I just don't see them going to Scotland and pulling off the upset here. The Tartan Army will be ready to go to war and though I don't see it being a simple affair, I'll say Scotland, 2-1.

Georgia vs. Ukraine, Saturday, 1000 EST Boris Paichadze - Tbilisi

I'm not going to even bother writing a full preview for this one. Georgia has one player I have ever heard of and that's Kakha Kaladze from AC Milan. In the meantime, the Ukraine other than Andriy Voronin and Andriy Shevchenko, are pretty much a mixture of two parts Shaktar Donetsk, two parts FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk and a couple of drops Dynamo Kyiv. In other words, they're like a Ukranian League All-star team. If they can't beat Georgia, they don't deserve to go to Euro 2008.

Originally posted here