Wednesday's Euro Qualifying Matches: Group C
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by Foolsgold
Norway vs. Greece, Ullevål - Oslo
Every group so far seems to have an incredible match and this one is no different. First place is at stake and because Norway has a game in hand, it means much more to them. Leapfrogging the Greeks means that the Turks home tie with Greece on October 17th will cost one or both of their opponents points, essentially rendering the game-in-hand of their closest competitors useless.
For Greece, their schedule after this tie, save the Turkey fixture, is only as hard as they make it for themselves. Bosnia at home, Malta at home, and at Hungary are very winnable fixtures, so a draw here doesn't exactly hurt them. They will still be sitting atop the group and even if Turkey wins, they'll be two points better than their most-hated rival.
Both teams suffered minor injuries in their matches on Saturday with Greece losing striker Ioannis Amanatidis to a rib injury and Defender Kjetil Wæhler is out while Alexander Tettey is doubtful for the Norwegians. Even though they only beat Moldova 1-0 on Saturday, Norway seems to be in good form and I have to believe they will beat the Greeks in Oslo, 2-0.
Turkey vs. Hungary, Inönü - Istanbul
Hungary at this point are playing for pride. Despite not being mathematically eliminated, they would need to win all their remaining matches including this one, and then pray for everyone else above them to falter massively for them to advance. It's just not going to happen, but that doesn't mean the fun has to stop as they now get to play the role of spoiler.
A win for Turkey here and they are in a advantageous spot. Though they do have arguably the toughest schedule remaining of the top four countries in the group, three of their future four fixtures are very winnable. They did themselves no favors by drawing with Malta on Saturday though, a win there and they could have pretty much wrapped up a qualifying spot tomorrow.
The Turks will be looking to make-up for their weekend blunder, so I look for them to be highly motivated. Not to mention the fact that they'll be playing in Istanbul. Turkey, 3-1.
Bosnia & Herzegovina vs. Moldova
Just as every group so far has had a big match, they've also each had a push-over. If Bosnia can't win at home against Moldova, they deserve to be eliminated. Bosnia, 3-0.
Originally posted here
