England vs Russia Preview: Euro 2008 Qualifier

For live score and updates of the England vs Russia match, follow this link:

England vs Russia Live Score and Updates

http://techblogbiz.blogspot.com/2007/09/england-vs-russia-live-score-and.html

England is going to play against Russia within less than 24 hours. The match is going to take place on 12 September England evening time. England and Russia both will want to win the match as a win in the match will help either of the team to go a long way in the qualification for Euro 2008. I am giving you the information you need to know about this match.

Group E Standing

Russia and England both are in Group E of qualifying round of Euro 2008. Croatia is now at the top of the group with 20 points from 8 matches. In fact, tomorrow, Croatia has an easy opponent to deal with Andorra vs. Croatia match. Russia is in the second place with 17 points and then there is England with 17 points from 8 matches. After that in Group E, there is Israel with 17 points from 9 matches. FYR Macedonia, Estonia and Andorra are in the bottom 3 places and they are out of any chance of qualifying for Euro 2008 finals. So, I don’t need to emphasize to the fact that England has to win tomorrow’s match. England is going to travel to Russia next month.

England Squad

It is interesting to see that England has not announced its final squad yet although there are less than 24 hours to go. There is some speculation that England will have the same squad that defeated Israel 3 days ago. The players of that squad are:

Robinson, Richards, Ferdinand, Terry, Ashley Cole, Wright-Phillips (Bentley 83), Gerrard (Neville 71), Barry, Joe Cole, Heskey (Johnson 71), Owen.

Subs Not Used: Brown, James, Downing, Defoe.

Now, there is speculation that some changes may happen for England. BBC reported:

McClaren was impressed with the way England beat Israel 3-0 on Saturday but said: "This is a tougher challenge.

"Russia play a different system. They have an excellent defensive record and will be difficult to break down.

"As much as I would like to keep the same shape, formation and personnel, we may have to tweak one or two things."

Russia Squad

I could find the final squad of Russia too for this match. However, I think that Russian coach will field the same side that defeated Macedonia a few days ago.

Live Radio Commentary

The match between England and Russia has become a crucial one for England. England has to win this match. The match is going to take place in the historical Wembley stadium. If you cannot go to the stadium then no problem. You can enjoy live commentary of the match in BBC Radio 5.

You can get more information about it in the following webpage:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive/sport/commentaries.shtml

Live in ESPN TV Channel

You know that now, many important football matches are broadcast live in Asia. So, if you are in Asia and want to watch the match tomorrow live in TV then you should watch England vs Russia live in ESPN. This is what you can see in ESPN tomorrow:

EURO QUALIFIERS (ENGLAND) PRE-SHOW (SOCCER/FUTBOL)

England Vs Russia (L)

EURO QUALIFIERS (ENGLAND) (SOCCER/FUTBOL)

LONDON, ENGLAND England Vs Russia (L)

For details go to this webpage:

http://www.espnstar.com/tvtimes/search-tvtimes.cmd

Live Online Score

Russia has been showing some impressive performances in Euro 2008 qualifying competition. In the last World Cup in 2006, Russia could not make it to the final tournament. However, the current squad looks impressive. Russia has not lost any match yet after playing eight matches.

So, undoubtedly, England will have to face a hard challenge from Russia. Both England and Russia are in good form at this moment as both of the won their last match of Euro 2008 in style. England defeated Israel by 3-0 and Russia defeated FYR Macedonia by 3-0. So, it is needless to say that both teams are now determined to win in the upcoming match. Fans are also delighted to see their stars playing well in such an important match.

It is hard to predict anything when both competing teams are in good form. So, I just hope to see a competitive match. I think, all the football fans wish the same. Here, I am giving some links of the website that will provide England vs Russia match:

Sport Press

Live Football Scores

Live Score

Goalzz.com
Goal.com
Footie Scorez

Injury Problem for England

England will miss two of their key players in the upcoming match of Euro 2008 against Russia. Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves and Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard have been out of the final line up of England against Russia. Both the players also missed the recent match against Israel. The upcoming will have great importance for both England and Russia. Russia is ahead of England by one point and they are in second position of the point table. England stands in third position. With four matches remaining, England is now under huge pressure because any slip of can make them out of the Euro 2007.

John Terry about the Match

English and Russia are going to face each other in the qualifying match of Euro 2008 on 12 September. Russia is at this moment one point ahead of England and stands in the second position of the group E. There are four matches left for both England and Russia. So, the upcoming England vs Russia match will be very competitive. That is why, England captain John Terry has said that Russia will throw a big challenge for England and they need to overcome it.

As England is in the third position of point table, they are now under pressure. However, Terry is determined that his men will be bale to overcome the challenge as they did it in the past. England’s recent performance is impressive. England defeated Israel by 3-0 recently.

Revenge of Guus Hiddink?

Guus Hiddink is one of the leading football coaches in the world. He has impressive track record. Guus Hiddink is currently the coach of Russian national football team. Russia is going to play against England on 12 September and the match will take place in England. So, England is the host team in the Euro 2008 match of England vs Russia. England is now in tough position and cannot afford to lose any more match if they want to qualify for Euro 2008 Football. Guus Hiddink is keen to see Russia trounce England convincingly. He has personal reasons for it.

Last year, when the position of England coach became vacant, Guus Hiddink was eager to get selected. However, he was not eager to give any interview for this position and felt that his track record was enough. FA Officials did not agree to this matter and Guus Hiddink was not selected. Naturally, Guus Hiddink got annoyed with this matter and he is now eager to see Russia defeating England convincing in the match of 12 September 2007.

Who will win?

This is a very tough question. I think that England will have slight edge over Russia despite the fact that England is suffering from injury problem. I think that England is a different team in their own home ground. England played very well against Germany last month. So, I think that either the match will be a draw or England will win it.

What is your idea about the match? Share your ideas in the comment section.