England will face Russia in their second last qualifying match of EURO 2008. Russia vs England match of group E will be held in Russia on 17 October. The match has a great importance to England and Russia. Both the teams have chance to make it to the final competition of EURO 2008. Though England is now ahead of Russia 2 points, England can not be in relaxed mode as Russia still has good chance to qualify for the EURO 2008 over England.
Last month England defeated Russia in their home match by 3-0. So, Russia will try their best to win the match as they have no alternative having just 3 matches at hand. England now stands at the second position in the group table whereas Russia is in now third position. Croatia is leading in Group E with 23 points and they are more or less certain to make it to the final competition from this group. So, the main competition is now between England and Russia to get the second place of the group. Israel is now in fourth place with 17 points, just one point short to Russia and three to England. So, Israel’s chance now relies on some what if analysis.
England impressed their fans in the last month encounter with Russia at home. With the 3-0 victory over Russia, naturally English players are now determined to play more well in the upcoming matches. Before the match against Russia, England will play against Estonia on 13 October. So, the next week England will play two important matches of qualifying round of EURO 2008. So, England can ensure their entrance in EURO 2008 winning the upcoming two matches. However, the match against Russia will be very crucial for England.
No doubt, England is now in driving seat and has better chance to make it to the EURO 2008. England line up also looks very strong. In the last few matches, England played excellently well. England won their last four qualifying matches of EURO 2008 with big margin of 3-0. So, you can understand easily that England team is now in their prime form. If they can continue their current form then it would not be a problem for them to get the ticket of EURO 2008.
On other hand, Russia had been playing superb before match against England last month. It was the first defeat for Russia in this tournament. Before the Russian team looks balanced and they have some excellent players who can be vital for England in the upcoming match. Coach Steve McClaren must be happy with the performance of England in the last few matches. Forward Michael Owen is now in his prime form scoring four goals in the last three matches. Owen scored in the last three matches of England in qualifying round of EURO 2008. Owen Hargreaves and Frank Lampard missed the last match against Russia due to their injury. However, it has been reported that England will get the Chelsea striker Frank Lampard for the next two matches of EURO 20087 qualifying matches. Striker Michael Owen has gone through a minor surgery on stomach and groin injuries. However, Coach Steve McClaren is hopeful that Owen will be available for the next matches. Slightly injured captain John Terry is also expected to play in the upcoming qualifying round matches of EURO 2008.
Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen are expected to appear in the two wings of England for the next two matches. However, Michael Carrick and David Beckham have been out of the England squad for the next two matches because of their injury. Steven Gerrard and Gareth Barry are expected to appear in the midfield as there are not too options for Steve McClaren. John Teerry and Frank Lampard are almost certain for the upcoming two important matches of qualifying matches of EURO 2008. Currently England is missing some of their key players including Ledley King, Kieron Dyer, Emile Heskey and almost certainly Gary Neville as well as Beckham, Carrick, Hargreaves and Parker because of injury problem. However, the way England is playing these days, it seems that they will not have so much problem for the injured players. They have some inform footballers who can play a big part against Russia in the upcoming match.
On other hand, Russia will try to put pressure on England using the home advantage. Russian playing formation is very much different than that of England. So, England may have some problem to cope up with the new situation in Russia. Moreover, Russian striker Aleksandr Kerzhakov and Andrey Arshavin are now in good form. They can be vital for England in the upcoming match. No doubt, England is going to face a strong challenge from Russia. So, England players have to be up to the mark if they want to save point against Russia.
It is very hard to predict anything before the match is taken place. However, I think, England has better chance to win the match. Though they have some injury problems, England players are now in good form and they have the capability to take away the match from Russia. England has been playing tremendously well in the last few matches. Moreover, their confidence level is now very high after winning some consecutive matches in style. However, Russia has the chance to come up with some impressive performances against England at their home soil. I hope that fans will get to experience a competitive match between Russia and England.
Source:
Wikipedia
UEFA
Telegraph
Online Live Scores and Updates
Many of you are now excited to watch the Russia vs England qualifying match of EURO 2008. No doubt, you will be happy to enjoy the match in your television sets. However, it is also true that many of you will not be able to watch the match live because of your personal and professional works. However, you can get the live scores and updates of the match from different websites. I have arranged some of the website links where you can get the online live scores and updates of the Russia vs England match. The website links are given below:
Footie Scorez
Live Score
Goal.com
Goalzz
Sportpress
ESPN Soccernet
Gooners Guide
