| Russia - Slovakia | 1 | ||
| Serbia - Slovenia | 1 | ||
| Switzerland - England | 0-2 | ||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina - France | 0-2 | ||
| ____________________________________________ | |||
| Betfair | 7.36 | ||
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Tiket 07.09.2010.
07.09. (Tue) 20:30 Norway - Portugal
Norway commenced their Euro 2012 adventure with a 2-1 comeback win against Iceland away from home on Friday in their opening game of the qualifying campaign. It wasn't a very convincing victory for Egil Olsen's side but it was an important win nevertheless.
Norway welcome a dysfunctional Portugal at Oslo on Tuesday and will make all possible effort to gain maximum points. Former Manchester United and Norway striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes that they can emerge victorious in this fixture.
"It's going to be a massive test for our boys," Solskjaer told Uefa.com. "Three or four of them play abroad but most play in Norway and they can make the step up in tempo, in quality of passing. You might get just one or two chances to score.
"We've got a hard group, that's for sure. Portugal are one of the greatest teams in the world. We are quite realistic about our chances. I think maybe Portugal will run away to win [the group], but we've got a good chance of being number two. We started really well this season with a win against France in a friendly a couple of weeks ago. We've got to be positive."
Bouncing Back
Portugal have had a disappointing World Cup in South Africa and their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign started on a sour note as well, as the Euro 2004 finalists were held to a 4-4 draw by Cyprus at home. It was a thrilling match but was also marred by some horrendous defensive performance from the Portuguese.
After the match, Portugal's temporary coach Agostinho Oliveira tried to explain, "I admit there was a lack of competence in a defence that is usually competent.
"It's not easy explaining this. This defence is solid. We had two men in front of the centre backs and this result is hard for me to swallow."
Centre-back Ricardo Carvalho has now called for his side to tighten up at the back and said, "Our focus was good going into the game. But we started badly, and even though we got into a winning position we didn't manage to go on and get the win.
"We could have scored a fifth goal [when leading 4-3] but didn't and in the end we ended up with the draw. We have to be more compact, especially at the back. We played well going forward but we're normally more secure in defence."
TEAM NEWS
Norway
Coach Olsen is likely to start with the same players who started against Iceland on Friday.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Knudsen, Hangeland, Waehler, Hogli, Riise; Pedersen, Hauger, B. Riise, Grindhelm; Huseklepp, Abdellaoui
Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo was already absent from the squad and now Fabio Coentrao has been ruled out because of injury.
Probable Lineup (4-5-1): Eduardo, Miguel, Carvalho, Alves, Silvio; Quaresma, Danny, Meireles, Fernandes, Nani; Almeida
Prediction
Portugal were shocked by Cyprus at home last week and without their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo, they indeed look out of their depth. Norway's away victory on Friday has certainly given them hope and they will look for a draw against the Euro 2004 finalists.
Norway 1-1 Portugal 
07.09. (Tue) 20:30 Netherlands - Finland
The Netherlands reached the final of the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa and lost 1-0 to Spain in extra-time. However, the competition heralded a new winning mentality among the Dutch and now they are eager to carry on with the momentum.
Striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored a brilliant hat-trick against San Marino on Friday to help his side win 5-0 and the Dutchman will aspire to do something similar on Tuesday too. Veteran striker Ruud van Nistelrooy scored for the Oranje and coach Bert van Marwijk was happy for that.
"That is really nice for him; he is a true lover of the game.Everyone expected us to beat San Marino, but it could have been a bit better. It is about split seconds; fast decisions and fast action. In the first half we failed in that respect."
A home win against Finland is expected for the Dutch.
Disappointing Start
Finland went down 2-0 to Moldova in their qualifying game on Friday and indeed this result was far from expected. As coach Stuart Baxter sighed after the match, "The defeat was a huge disappointment; it will not be easy after that result."
Finland will have to make do without the service of their veteran defender Sami Hyypia, who was sent off against Moldova. They also have history against them as Finland's only win against the Netherlands was a 4-1 victory in a friendly international in Helsinki in June 1950.
TEAM NEWS
Netherlands
Van Marwijk could start with the same set of players who began the match against Finland. John Heitinga missed the match against San Marino due to suspension, but has returned to the squad for Tuesday's clash.
Wesley Sneijder missed training at the weekend due to a minor injury problem but will be fit to play against Finland. Dirk Kuyt has reportedly suffered an injury and he will be replaced by Rafael Van der Vaart.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Stekelenburg; Van der Wiel, Heitinga, Mathijsen, Pieters; Van Bommel, De Jong; Van der Vaart, Sneijder, Elia; Huntelaar
Finland
Sami Hyypia is out because of suspension but Joonas Kolkka and Teemu Tainio are back.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Fredrikson, Pasanen, Portin, Heikkinen, Moisander; Litmanen, Sparv, R. Eremenko; Johansson, A. Eremenko, Porokara
Prediction
The Dutch defeated minnows San Marino on Friday and they will be expected to win once again on Tuesday. Perhaps a five-goal victory against the Fins would be a little too much to ask, but the 2010 World Cup finalists will certainly win.
Netherlands 3-0 Finland 
07.09. (Tue) 22:00 Argentina - Spain
New Argentina coach Sergio Batista is looking to re-create Argentina in his own vision and has already made changes to the squad that failed to reach the semi-finals at the 2010 World Cups in South Africa. With the expectations of the football fanatics in the South American country as high as ever, indeed Batista will have to deliver right from the start.
Last week the 47-year-old, who won the 1986 World Cup with Argentina, told reporters, "In both national teams there are good ball players, attackers of a similar standard. The style is similar. This Argentina could play like Spain, easily."
Indeed, defensive midfielder Esteban Cambiasso, overlooked by former coach Diego Armando Maradona for the South Africa extravagenza, says that Spanish football is a model to follow and adds, "(Batista's) idea is for the team to have that (Spanish) identity ... holding possession as much time as possible. We have to try that, we have the players to achieve it. One shouldn't die before trying to play like Spain."
Star player Lionel Messi too emphasised the importance of maintaining possession of the ball and explained, "It is a great game to be able to play in. I am sure it will be an open match, Spain plays possession football and that will allow us to play as well.
"We will have to get the ball of them, it is not going to be easy, but when we have the ball then you will see that both sides have similar ideas of playing the game.
Argentina has got great players and that I why I think we can win an open game. But I repeat that it is very important for us to have the ball."
Goals Galore
Reigning European and world champions Spain commenced their conquest for the Euro 2012 finals in perfect style on Friday when they defeated Lichtenstein 4-0 in their opening game of the qualifying campaign. Striker Fernando Torres struck twice and David Villa scored once to equal Raul's all-time record of 44 international goals for his nation.
The last time Spain took on Argentina was in another friendly in November 2009 in Madrid. At the time la Furia Roja won the match 2-1 with the Spain defenders and midfielders smothering the threat of Messi to marvellous effect.
Coach Vicente del Bosque knows the significance of stopping the 23-year-old and said, "We have players who know him perfectly well but, however much you control or know him, he's capable of finding solutions to any problem he faces.
"He's an extraordinary player who, at the World Cup, without scoring a goal, showed he could have scored seven or eight in the group games."
Right-back Sergio Ramos too has identified Messi as a major threat but warns that his Real Madrid teammate Gonzalo Higuain too is a cause for concern.
“[Gonazlo] Higuain and [Lionel] Messi are two players who are always in contact with the goal, and we must be very attentive to them. We also have our own style and we’ll worry about ourselves.
“I think we know the wide range of ability that the Argentines have, but we will try and continue with our own philosophy, which has led us to so many successes.”
TEAM NEWS
Argentina
Andres D'Alessandro is back in the Argentina squad after five years. He inspired Internacional to the Libertadores Cup triumph last month and is likely to slot in just behind the front-three. Javier Zanetti should start at right-back while Gabriel Milito is likely to partner Walter Samuel in central defence.
Probable Lineup (4-2-1-3): Romero, Zanetti, Samuel, Milito, Heinze; Mascherano, Cambiasso; D'Alessandro; Messi, Milito, Tevez
Spain
Del Bosque is likely to begin the match with the same line-up that started on Friday even though this is a friendly international.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Casillas, Ramos, Pique, Marchena, Capdevila; Xavi, Alonso, Busquets, Iniesta; Villa, Torres
Prediction
It promises to be an entertaining match and one can expect goals. However, it is a new era for Argentina while Spain are already a well-functioning and well settled side. A win for the world champions looks more likely than a win for the hosts, but don't be surprised if the game ends in a draw.
Argentina 2-2 Spain 
07.09. (Tue) 21:00 Bosnia and Herzegovina - France
Friday night gave Bosnia a perfect start to their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign as they defeated Luxembourg 3-0 while group favourites France crashed to a shock home loss to Belarus. Now Group D’s supposed top two are due to meet in Sarajevo, and the hosts can open up a large looking lead should they pick up maximum points.
There were no problems whatsoever for Safet Susic’s side when they turned out at the Stade Josy Barthel at the beginning of the weekend. Three goals were struck in the first 16 minutes of play, including one from former Luxembourg youth internationalist Miralem Pjanic, to put the game comprehensively out of sight.
A victory was certainly anticipated on Friday, but even given the turbulence in the France camp over the last year, the Ljiljani will not simply expect to pick up maximum points on Tuesday. That’s not to say there’s a lack of confidence in the camp though.
“I'm not afraid of France even if I have great respect this team,” Emir Spahic, who has enjoyed tremendous success in Ligue 1 with upstarts Montpellier over the last year, declared to RMC. “After that I am aware that there are very good players who play in this squad. But we also have our qualities. I think this will be a very interesting match.”
Should Bosnia play to their potential, they have every chance of recording three points against a side still clearly in a state of disorganisation.
Still Singing The Bleus
The distance that France have to come in a short space of time was made extremely evident to new coach Laurent Blanc on Friday night, when his side toiled to a 1-0 reverse against Belarus at home.
Just as they appeared during Raymond Domenech’s era, les Bleus were rather one-paced and one-dimensional for long periods of that encounter, though they did carve out opportunities and might have put the ball in the net had they received more favourable breaks in the penalty box. Blanc’s men dominated the encounter but looked susceptible to a counterattack, which was exactly what caught them out just before the close of play.
Former Olympique de Marseille coach Rolland Courbis has explained to France Football that he feels ‘Le President’ tried to impress too much in the opening fixture. “With the team fielded on Friday, it was hard to do better,” he stated. “Laurent Blanc may have been too optimistic with his idea of beautiful game.
“Obviously, everyone would prefer to see the beautiful game. It's like with women; we would all prefer to go out with Miss France rather than an ugly one. But we must not close our eyes. This team is worse than we think. The situation is not complicated, it is very complicated.
“Laurent will have to leave aside his idea of beautiful game and return to simple things; building on successful recovery of the ball and real strength. This does not prevent us from scoring goals. You see, everything will be rectified Tuesday against Bosnia. I am under no concern.”
Should France lose in Sarajevo, which is a prospect not unthinkable, Blanc, who has promised to resign if les Bleus don’t reach Euro 2012, would suddenly find his dream job in the balance after just three fixtures.
TEAM NEWS
Bosnia
There are unlikely to be big changes in the Bosnia side ahead of the France match, though it may well be that they elect to start with an additional midfielder. Miralem Pjanic is liable to be handed a creative role, while Emir Spahic, the captain, will marshal the defence; both men are based in France.
Offensive midfielder Haris Medunjanin recently turned out against Paris Saint-Germain in the Europa League, causing the Parc des Princes club problems in Israel for his Maccabi Tel Aviv side.
Eden Dzeko will be the main offensive threat.
Probable Starting XI: Hasagic; Mujdza, Nadarevic, Spahic, Jahic; Rahimic, Ibricic; Misimovic, Pjanic, Medunjanin; Dzeko
France
With Yoann Gourcuff still banned by FIFA, Laurent Blanc will not be able to field his favoured 4-2-3-1 system. Franck Ribery, Patrice Evra and Nicolas Anelka are all still banned by the FFF (French FA) following misdemeanours at the World Cup. Jeremy Toulalan is available again but wasn’t selected for the squad.
Karim Benzema and Mathieu Valbuena are likely to be drafted in for the injured Guillaume Hoarau and Loic Remy. Louis Saha has also pulled out due to injury, following Lassana Diarra and Yohan Cabaye.
Probable Starting XI: Lloris; Sagna, Mexes, Rami, Clichy - M'Vila, A. Diarra, Diaby - Valbuena, Benzema, Malouda
Prediction
It’s difficult to see France bouncing back to win in Bosnia after the weekend’s defeat, but at the same time it’s hard to see Laurent Blanc’s men not improving offensively. Questions still have to be answered about their defensive capabilities, and if these aren’t given a positive response on Tuesday, the hosts may well celebrate a tremendous victory.
Bosnia 1-1France 
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