International football: 10 things to look out for in World Cup 2018 qualifying
Ramsey’s
Wales return, Yiadom’s controversial Ghana inclusion, Southgate and
Strachan heading in opposite directions and a fairytale comeback for
Falcao
Andy Yiadom of Barnsley, Scotland’s manager Gordon Strachan, Aaron
Ramsey of Wales and Radamel Falcao of Colombia all have a big few days
ahead.
Composite: Rex/Shutterstock; Getty Images; EPA
3) Argentina relying on Messi again but watch out for Neymar
Having inspired Barcelona to victory against Sevilla, the next task on Leo Messi’s list is to work his magic for Argentina. They badly missed him when he was injured last month, sliding into sixth place in South American qualifying after drawing in Peru and losing at home to Paraguay. The defeat to Paraguay was laced with farce, generous finishing and a penalty miss from
Sergio Agüero turning up the heat on Argentina before Thursday night’s
match against Brazil. Messi’s return to fitness has lifted Argentinian
spirits. The best player in the world could beat Brazil on his own if he
is in the mood. One potential problem with that theory, however, is
that Neymar could do the same to Argentina. Messi’s Barcelona team-mate
has been in excellent goalscoring form for Brazil and is one goal away
from his 50th for his country. JS •Jonathan Wilson: Brazil look to banish Belo Horizonte demons against Argentina
Argentina’s Lionel Messi. Photograph: Douglas Magno/AFP/Getty Images
4) Griezmann and Gameiro should get nod for France
Kevin Gameiro ridiculed his five-year absence from the France team by making a decisive return last month, scoring twice against Bulgaria and immediately showing a thrillingly sharp understanding with Antoine Griezmann. France followed that up with a 1-0 win in Holland and on Friday they
could take sole lead of Group A by winning at home to Sweden, with whom
they are currently level at the top with an identical points tally and goal difference after three games. Sweden have been weakened by injuries both in defence and attack, as their first-choice full-backs, Martin Olsson and Mikael Lustig, will be missing and so will the striker Marcus Berg. Olivier Giroud is fit enough to return to the French squad but Didier Deschamps need look no further than Griezmann and Gameiro for his starting attack. PD •Kompany pulls out shortly before Belgium’s draw in Holland
France’s Kevin Gameiro, left, and Antoine Griezmann will reprise their
thrilling partnership against Sweden. Photograph: Michel Euler/AP
5) Republic of Ireland’s Austria test sure to intrigue
Although he occasionally lapses into negativity, Martin
O’Neill’s main contribution to the Republic of Ireland has been to
instil a belief that they can get results anywhere, against anyone,
somehow. His team are not often fluent and not often solid, yet they are
devilishly hard to beat and can sometimes force a win when needed.
Predictions for their game against Austria on Saturday have to be as
uncertain as the predictions of all their big games in recent years
because Ireland could be trounced, especially given the slew of injuries,
or they could keep themselves very much in the qualification hunt
thanks to their spirit and flashes of class from the likes of Robbie
Brady, Jeff Hendrick, Wes Hoolahan and maybe also two newcomers, Harry
Arter, who should make his competitive debut in Vienna, and Daryl
Horgan, the Dundalk winger who has the ability to make a big impact on
his first appearance for his country, whether from the start or off the
bench. PD •McCarthy out of Republic of Ireland’s trip to Austria due to injury •Roy Keane hits out at Koeman over Everton and Ireland row
6) A crucial match for Northern Ireland
With Germany looking untouchable, the intrigue in Group C lies in the race to qualify for the play-offs. Opening their campaign with a 1-0 away win against San Marino did not suggest that Azerbaijan would feature in that conversation, but they have surprisingly risen to second place after picking up seven points from their first three matches. They scored early and held on for another 1-0 win when they hosted Norway last month and demonstrated their defensive resilience by leaving the Czech Republic with a precious draw three days later. Yet to concede a goal, it seems that they have worked out how to frustrate their opponents and Northern Ireland will need to be patient when Azerbaijan visit Windsor Park on Friday night. Defeat would see Michael O’Neill’s side fall six points behind the group’s surprise package. JS •Klose confirms retirement and joins Germany coaching staff •Löw extends contract with Germany by two years until 2020
7) Will Ghana’s wishes be granted in land of the Pharaohs?
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Ghana
are already playing catchup in the unforgiving last group stage of
African qualification. Their scoreless home draw with Uganda in their
opening match raised the stakes of this Sunday’s clash with Egypt,
who lead the group thanks to their victory in Congo. André Ayew makes a
timely return for the Black Stars but they will be still without the
injured Kwadwo Asamoah, and Asamoah Gyan is also absent. Egypt’s
goalkeeper, Essan El-Hadary, made no effort to underplay the importance
of the match, declaring that a victory for his team, which would leave
them five points clear of the country they see as their main rivals,
would be “the gateway to the World Cup”. What a context, then, for
Barnsley’s Andy Yiadom to make his international debut. The London-born
defender received his Ghanaian passport a few days ago and has a chance
of going straight into Avram Grant’s side for the duel in Alexandria. A
good pep-talk would do him a power of good. It doesn’t sound like he’ll
be getting one from the vice-president of Ghana’s FA. “I hadn’t heard of
any player called Andy Yiadom until Avram Grant added to his list,”
George Afriye told Ghanaian radio this week. “If I were to be the coach
of the Black Stars, instead of Yiadom, I would’ve preferred either
Samuel Inkoom, Godfred Saka of Aduana Stars or Yaw Frimpong of TP
Mazembe for the right-back position because they are tried and tested.
However, I’m not in that position to select players for the team so I
will have to go with Grant’s decision.” PD •2017 Africa Cup of Nations draw: Algeria and Senegal face off in Group B
Andre Ayew will make a timely return for Ghana against Egypt with Avram
Grant’s side in danger of missing out on Russia 2018. Photograph: Carl
de Souza/AFP/Getty Images
8) Revenge will be sweet in Group I
Croatia and Iceland have both continued to impress since the Euros, the former shrugging off the disappointment of their tepid defeat to Portugal in the last 16, the latter showing that their run to the last eight was no fluke. Goal difference separates them at the top of Group I after three qualifiers and the stakes will be high when they meet on Saturday night. Croatia are formidable at home, possess enviable individual talent and will start as favourites, but Iceland remain compact, organised and efficient at both ends of the pitch. This is a tough match to call and an added incentive for Iceland is that it was Croatia who dashed their hopes of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, edging a tight play-off. JS •Tourism, cheese and Nordic noir: how football made Iceland a hot property
Ivan Perisic is likely to lineup for Croatia against Iceland, who they
beat to reach the 2014 World Cup. Photograph: Paul Gilham/Getty Images
9) Will Falcao further dent Chile’s fortunes?
Chile and Peru got a major break at the start of this month when Bolivia were found to have fielded an ineligible player, Nelson Cabrera, in two matches in the South American qualifying league, a 2-0 win over Peru and 0-0 draw with Chile. Fifa quashed those results and awarded 3-0 victories to Peru and Chile instead. That lifted Chile from seventh to fifth in the table, one point below the fourth automatic qualification spot, which is currently occupied by Colombia. And on Thursday Colombia host Chile. Less encouragingly for Chile, Alexis Sánchez will miss that match after suffering a “low-grade muscle injury”
during training this week and he may also miss next week’s home game
against Uruguay. Colombia, on the other hand, are in the happy position
of being able to reward Radamel Falcao’s long-awaited return to form
with a recall to the national team. The fairytale scenario is for Falcao
to score against either Chile or next week’s opponent’s Argentina, the
other team who are currently just a point below Colombia. PD •Arsenal forced to play waiting game over Sánchez injury
10) Heavyweights meet in Nigeria
There is little room for error in Group B in African qualifying. Nigeria are top after the first round of matches, Algeria and Cameroon are level on one point apiece, and Zambia are bottom. Picking a winner is far from straightforward, although we might get a better idea of the group’s strongest side when Nigeria host Algeria on Saturday evening. Nigeria will look to their emerging stars. Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho were on the scoresheet when they beat Zambia 2-1. But Algeria’s threat will not be underestimated and Nigeria’s back four is unlikely to relish marking Yacine Brahimi, Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani. JS
