The first round of matches in the Euro 2024 qualifying comes to a close throughout the course of a lengthy day of action on Saturday when the three groups which are yet to begin start their pathway towards the main draw.
We are yet to see the likes of Spain, Croatia and Switzerland show what they have to offer this competition but that will change on Saturday when all three are in action in their respective group openers.
Group A
We begin in Group A where the action actually gets going for the day. The starter comes from Hampden Park where Scotland will know there is no room for slip ups when they host Cyprus in Glasgow. The reason why there is no room to slip up is because they are in a group with the former champions Spain. The Spanish get their campaign underway against the other highly rated team in the section in the form of Norway, albeit one which won’t be able to call on the services of Erling Haaland.
Group D
We have two different kick off times in Group D where it is Croatia who are the standout side in the section. They will be involved in the second match of the evening when they host a Wales team who will be looking to make up for a disappointing World Cup campaign as they begin life without Gareth Bale. The other match in this group is the early kick off which comes from Yerevan as Armenia take on a Turkey side who will be looking to qualify for a second Euros in succession.
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Group I
The other group which sets out on its journey on Saturday is Group I where we have three matches taking place. The first two come in the middle kick off time with Switzerland the standard setters in the section. They head on their travels to take on Belarus in their group opener while Israel will look to stake an early claim for second place when they play host to Kosovo. The other match in the group sees Romania making the trip to Andorra for a contest they will know they have to win.
Betting
Wales looked a bit of a shambles at the World Cup and while they are a proud bunch this is a seriously young squad which will go to Croatia in what looks to be the toughest match they have in the group. Wales have seven debutants in their squad for this contest and there are another six players who are still in single figures for caps. It isn’t just Bale who has retired since the World Cup, Joe Allen has gone too while the likes of Ben Davies, Wayne Hennessey and Brennan Johnson are unavailable here.
Croatia remain one of the best sides in Europe. They finished third at the World Cup and were a little unfortunate to run into the eventual champions Argentina in fine form in the semi-final. The majority of their key players are signed up to go again with the exception of Dejan Lovren but whether he would have started with the emergence of Josko Gvardiol is open to debate anyway. The likes of Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic, Andrej Kramaric and Mateo Kovacic are likely to have a fair bit too much for this inexperienced Welsh side.
Tips
Back Croatia (-1.25AH) to beat Wales for a 3/10 stake at 1.98 with Bet365
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