England’s clash against the Czech Republic is one of the fixtures to watch over the weekend, with the Three Lions having already got one over the Central Europeans.
As if Gareth Southgate's side wasn't exciting enough—they’ve already won all four of their matches to date—they’ve now added Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori to their ranks.
The duo are eligible for Nigeria, but after excelling at the start of the season, having been promoted to Chelsea’s first team, they’ve been brought into the England fold for a competitive fixture.
Abraham, in particular, has been in excellent form in recent months—following a difficult start to the campaign—and will surely relish proving the critics wrong when he finally makes his competitive bow for the Three Lions.
England aren’t short of a goal threat, they’ve scored 19 goals across their four matches to date, but an away trip to face Czech Republic is, on paper, the trickiest match of the campaign.
Spain, like England, have a 100 percent record in qualification so far, having impressed under new coach Robert Moreno.
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Don’t expect them to be troubled too much away at either Norway or Sweden, although it will be fascinating to see Santi Cazorla make his La Roja return.
Sergio Reguilon, Gerard Moreno and Pau Torres have all been handed maiden call-ups following an impressive start to the Liga season, but can they make the step up to international football?
The Netherlands’ meeting with Northern Ireland is another tantalising fixture, over in Group C, where Germany lead the standings with 12 points from five matches.
The 2014 Fifa World Cup champions have been on a miserable run, being dumped out of Russia 2018 in the first round before struggling in the Nations League, but they’re rediscovering some of their former quality in the Euro qualifiers.
They’ll be overwhelming favourites to beat Estonia, but things are likely to be much tighter for the Dutch.
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Northern Ireland currently sit ahead of Holland with 12 points from their five matches, and they are a well-organised outfit under Michael O’Neill.
In Group D, the Republic of Ireland are the early pace-setters, taking 11 points from their first five matches.
They can extend their advantage over Switzerland—third with eight points—with a victory in Geneva on Tuesday, although Denmark could deal a significant blow to Swiss hopes if they win the meeting between the two on Saturday.
This is a fascinating three-horse race for qualification, and this week may well prove decisive.
One of the more intriguing bouts in Group E this week will be Wales’ showdown with World Cup finalists Croatia.
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The Eastern Europeans have dropped five of their last six possible points, meaning that Ryan Giggs’ side—who have already lost two—is still alive.
If they can heap further woe on Croatia in Sunday’s game at home, then they breathe life into their hopes of qualification.
Elsewhere, there are tantalising fixtures for France, away at Iceland on Friday and then at home against Turkey on Monday, and Italy, who host Greece on Saturday.
The Azzurri are on the comeback trail after missing out on the World Cup, but they, like Belgium, have won all six matches so far, and appear on course to cruise to next year’s European championships.
Notable fixtures
Friday
Czech Republic v England SS3 & SS1 10 (ROA) Kickoff at 20.45 (CAT)
Tuesday
Sweden v Spain SS3 & SS1 10 (ROA) Kickoff at 20.45 (CAT)
Switzerland v Republic of Ireland Kickoff at 20.45 (CAT)
All fixtures can be found on the SuperSport TV Guide
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