After the thrilling conclusion to the UEFA Nations League, the second set of European Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2022 begin on Monday evening on a night which could be pivotal for so many countries as they look to close in on either a spot in the tournament or in the playoffs to get there.
Four groups continue on Monday evening and there is no shortage of importance in them so we should be in for a dramatic, tense and nervy night of action across the continent as the battle for three valuable points take place.
Group E
With Belgium not in action in this international break it is all about the race for second spot in the section. Czech Republic currently occupy that on goal difference but they know Wales have a game in hand of them and the tiebreaker between the two so it is imperative that the Czechs win away to Belarus. Wales are a goal behind on that goal difference to the Czechs so they might well have an eye on building on that when they make the trip to Tallinn to take on an improving Estonia side.
Group G
The most compelling group of the lot on Monday night is Group G where the Dutch sit on top spot but they have a queue of sides behind them looking to get the better of them. The Netherlands will be widely expected to stay in control of their own destiny when they host Gibraltar on Monday evening while second placed Norway have the much tougher assignment when they host Montenegro, who could actually go above their hosts with a decent sized win. Turkey are the other team chasing either qualification or a playoff spot and they should stay on track when they head to Latvia.
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Group H
The results on Friday night confirmed that the race to win Group H is very much a two horse race but the two competitors don’t face each other so both will be looking to maintain their position ahead of meeting in the final game of the group. Croatia lead the way on goal difference and they host Slovakia on Monday. Russia make the trip to Slovenia in the other match of significance on the evening. The action actually gets underway in this group on Monday when the two minnows battle it out as Cyprus entertain Malta.
Group J
Germany have the chance to secure their place in the finals of the World Cup when they travel out to Skopje to take on a North Macedonia side who are their nearest challengers in the group. One of the reasons for that is because North Macedonia won in Germany earlier in the group but if the Germans exact revenge they can secure qualification if third placed Armenia do not come away from their trip to Romania with all three points. The other match in the group carries little significance as Iceland and Liechtenstein continue their campaign against each other in Reykjavik.
Betting
I backed the overs when Wales played Estonia in the last international break and came a cropper when the two sides drew 0-0 but I think with the way the group is situated now I can get the majority of my money back by backing over 2 goals in the reverse fixture between the two. I highlighted last month how there is an improvement in Estonia and how they are suddenly scoring a number of goals. They have eight goals in their five matches despite failing to score in Cardiff. That includes a brace against Belgium.
Wales have to win the game but we are getting to the stage where they are going to have to look at improving their goal difference because they still have to play Belgium yet, which could cancel out the game in hand they have of the Czech Republic. The Czechs play the bottom two in their last two matches and if we make the assumption that Belgium beat Wales on the final night, then Wales need to match the Czechs results against the bottom two sides in their next two games which come against the same sides, and better the goal difference in the process. If Wales lead early just playing out a 1-0 here isn’t an option so I expect this to be a high scoring contest either with Wales scoring a few or them allowing Estonia back into it as they chase running up the score.
Tips
Back Estonia vs Wales – Over 2 goals for a 3/10 stake at 1.86 with Bet365
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