Friday’s Euro 2012 Qualifiers

September 2nd, 2010 | by: chris | Comments Off

Euro 2012 qualifying is back upon us, with Yossi Benayoun protesting the move to Israel’s holy Sabbath with an aggressive hat-trick against Malta. This comes after qualifying was initially kicked off back in August as any major tournament should: with Estonia and the Faroe Islands. (The Faroes sadly fell.)

Tomorrow, however, is the big opening and we have the scoop below.

Five Games To Watch

Liechtenstein v Spain: The defending world and European champions are getting proper world and European defending champion treatment.

Pray for Liechtenstein.

Belgium v Germany: The Belgians form one of the most intriguing teams in 2012 qualifying. They’re young, gifted, brimming with promise and entirely dysfunctional – a powerkeg waiting to explode for good or bad. Their foils are well-documented and Dick Advocaat up and left town for the money and the simple fact he wouldn’t have to deal with a bunch of cliques and spoiled children.

Germany, on the other hand, are young, gifted, brimming with promise and close to functioning like a machin. Jogi’s boys are the clear favorites, but Belgium could turn it around and switch from clique to click; if not, they’ll at least get a lesson in how its done.

France v Belarus: No one needs a fresh start more than France, but perhaps what’s more is that everyone’s expecting a fresh start. Not necessarily a win, but the nature of the performances by the new and old faces highlighting the missing serving to inspire faith SA2010 is a complete bygone.

No one should have much pressure on the first day of qualifying after a World Cup, but France have a great deal piggybacking along for the short ride to Paris.

Latvia v Croatia: Well, maybe Croatia has more pressure? If you remember, they were one of Europe’s up and coming young national teams with the results to back it up. You could also say they were the best European team, if not the best team period, not to get a ticket to South Africa. Just an enormous disappointment.

This game smells of vengeance and reclaiming their place climbing the ladder. All while Slaven smokes three packs on the sidelines.

(Yes, it’s the return of Slaven Bilic.)

Sweden v Hungary: Part of the difficulty when perusing qualifying schedules for a good watch, particularly in Europe, is finding games which are both evenly matched and intriguing. Spain versus Liechtenstein is intriguing because we want to see if the champs can crack 100, but it’s not quite balanced. Conversely, Montenegro versus Wales is probably evenly balanced, but it’s not going to break rating records in the coldest circle of hell.

This game seems both balanced and intriguing enough, since Hungary made strides during World Cup qualifying in reclaiming some footballing legitimacy while there’s every chance a blubbering Zlatan unveils a t-shirt reading Why Don’t You Love Me, Pep? whilst celebrating someone else’s goal. (It’s Sweden, ergo…)

Streams: MyP2P.eu; atdhe.
World Time Clock: Because we care.

Schedule: