WCQ Preview: Europe - Group 7

Saturday 6th September (all kick-off times CET)

20:00 Romania v Lithuania

20:15 Serbia v Faroe Islands

20:30 Austria v France

Romania v Lithuania

Euro 2008 qualifiers Romania will face an uncomfortable evening in Cluj-napoca against a Lithuanian side that has made some strong nations sweat on their own grounds in recent months without ever quite getting so far as taking a result.

Romania are coming off the back of a decent run of form themselves, drawing with France in Euro 2008 and coming within a missed penalty of beating Italy. Adrian Mutu’s saved spot kick in Zurich allowed Italy to steal a barely-deserved point. Romania never performed against a flying Dutch side and were sent home early, left to rue missed chances.

Their first hope at redemption comes against Lithuania on Saturday as competitive international football begins once again. Without some of their top names such as Cristian Chivu, Adrian Mutu and Răzvan Raţ, who are all injured, and winger Florentin Petre, who, for logistical reasons, sits out, this will be a stern test for the Romanians.

Lithuania have never qualified for a major footballing finals and will find the going tough in a group packed with class. Against a Romanian side shorn of some of its top players, the Lithuanians, who beat Ukraine 2-0 as recently as last November, must fancy their chances.

They do, however, have a couple of injury problems themselves as regular starting centre-backs Tomas Žvirgždauskas and Andrius Skerla are both sidelined.

Serbia v Faroe Islands

If Serbia wish to qualify for their first major competition as a wholly independent state, then Saturday’s kick-off against the Faroe Islands must end in victory. In the sweltering heat of the late Belgrade summer, the experienced Balkan side must expect to comfortably beat a side comprised largely of part-time players.

Of course, there is no Mateja Kežman; he has been frozen out of the national set-up since being sent-off in the World Cup of 2006 against Argentina while playing for Serbia and Montenegro. Nikola Žigic instead carries the goal scoring hopes of the nation, although Danko Lanzovic’s rise to ascendancy is quickly taking some of the pressure from the big striker’s shoulders.

It’s hard to see how the Faroe Islands can cope with such an awkward attacking force. With Žigic’s giant frame such an obvious target a largely new-look defence that is unaccustomed to dealing with such skilful giants will have their work cut out.

Christian Jacobsen is one of the few Faroe players to play football on a full-time basis; plying his trade in the Danish First Division for AB. Jakup Borg, who will play alongside him after being left on the bench for the recent friendly against Portugal (a 5-0 loss), possesses a wealth of international experience while Rogvi Jacobsen in attack is the only player in the squad to have managed ten international goals.

Although the Faroes shipped five goals to Portugal, three of these were lost in the last five minutes. The heat in Belgrade will be intense – unlike anything any of the players have played in before – and the physical exertions may take their toll in a similar manner.

With a trip to France looming in midweek, anything other than a comfortable home win would be registered as a massive shock and a potentially fatal blow to the qualifying hopes of the nation.

Austria v France

The Euro 2008 hosts did not disgrace themselves in the manner feared by many of their fans in the pre-competition build-up. Karel Brückner, the new boss of the side, has certainly been given some kind of foundation after the Swiss-Austro championships.

A solid defensive unite was certainly in evidence in the summer as Austria conceded only three goals and generally looked comfortable as Croatia, Poland and Germany all toiled to break down the so-called minnows of their group. Despite this, Brückner has elected to recall Paul Scharner to the side, a player exiled by the previous Hickersberger regime after criticising team-mates.

Goal scoring is likely to prove Austria’s biggest problem in this campaign. Throughout their squad there remains a distinct dearth of scoring potential. Werder Bremen forward Roland Linz has notched up seven strikes in 35 internationals while captain and midfield driving force Andreas Ivanschitz has six in 43 starts.

It seems Austria’s best hope of success is to keep the back door closed against a French side promising a more offensive attitude after a disappointing campaign in the summer.

Les Bleus also struggled for goals at the Euros but should be reinvigorated by the likes of Samir Nasri, who will start the weekend’s fixture. It is very much a new-look French team as Claude Makélélé and Lillian Thuram, key players from the spine of the team, elected to hang up their international boots in the summer.

With Ribéry and Vieira still missing and Hatem Ben Arfa having withdrawn from the squad, the depth of the midfield will be tested. A recent 3-2 victory away to Sweden suggests les Bleus should be fine in this match but it will undoubtedly be tight.