Europe EURO 2024 Qualifiers (21.03)

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Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Ukraine Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Bosnia-Herzegovina:
Sehic; Gazibegovic, Ahmedhodzic, Hadzikadunic, Kolasinac; Cimirot, Pjanic, Krunic; Hamulic, Dzeko, Demirovic

Ukraine:
Trubin; Konoplya, Matviyenko, Zabarnyi, Mykolenko; Sydorchuk; Tsyhankov, Sudakov, Zinchenko, Mudryk; Dovbyk

Bosnia-Herzegovina will welcome Ukraine to Zenica in a Euro 2024 qualification playoff semi-final in Path B on Thursday. The winners will face either Israel or Iceland in a playoff final for a ticket to Germany. Bosnia-Herzegovina have good individuals, but the results in the qualifications were poor. The Federation officials made the matters worse with the frequent coaching changes. They started the campaign under Faruk Hadzibegic, but three defeats in the first four rounds provoked the first change. Meho Kodro was appointed in August 2023, but he was sacked after just two qualifying matches. In the meantime the former Serbian striker Savo Milosevic was established as new coach. He was an excellent player, but the same couldn't be said as coach. To be worse, some of the fans don't like him because he's Serbian. Milosevic has some additional issues ahead of this match as defender Adrian Leon Barisic is out of the squad due to injury, while centre-back Renato Gojkovic is suspended. The latter was sent off in Bosnia's final group-stage qualifier against Slovakia. The defense is arguably the biggest problem for Milosevic as Bosnia have conceded 11 goals on the three matches under his guidance. Anel Ahmedhodzic from Sheffield United will probably start in the heart of the defense alongside Dennis Hadzikadunic.

Ukraine had very difficult group in the qualifications, with two former World Cup champions as opponents - England and Italy. Indeed, the Blue-Yellows were superior in the matches against Macedonian national team and European minnows Malta, collecting maximal 12 points from those four matches. But the results against England and Italy were not equally good. They failed to register any victory and finished as third in the group, albeit on goal difference. Ukraine need a victory against the Azzurri in the final match, but played just a goalless draw. There was a controversial referee's decision on that match as Ukraine players were asking for a last-minute penalty, but VAR didn't change the initial decision. That means Ukraine need two more victories to secure a ticket for Germany. And I think they are able to beat the Bosnians here. Coach Rebrov has most of his key players ready for this clash, including the Premier League stars Mykhaylo Mudrik from Chelsea, Oleksandr Zinchenko from Arsenal and Vitalii Mykolenko from Everton. Striker Artem Dovbyk, who exploded with Girona in La Liga this season, is expected to lead the line. Midfielder Taras Stepanenko is sidelined due to injury.

Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Ukraine Prediction:

Bosnia-Herzegovina will try to win the match in order to secure a playoff final for EURO 2024. They have the home advantage, but that doesn't seem a problem for Ukraine. The Eastern European nation all the matches play away from home due to the war situation in the country after the Russian attack. Rebrov and his men have adapted well and I don't expect to have problems in Zenica. The quality is on Ukraine side, no doubt about that. Bosnia will depend on Edin Dzeko's form, but he celebrated his 38th birthday last Sunday. He is old and slow and I doubt he could decide the game. On contrary, Mudrik, Zinchenko, Mykolenko and Dovbyk are players able to make a difference in this match.

Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Ukraine Pick: Ukraine to win @ 1.95 with Everygame

 

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Georgia vs Luxembourg Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Georgia:
Mamardashvili; Kakabadze, Kashia, Kvirkvelia, Lochoshvili, Gocholeishvili; Kvekveskiri, Kankava; Chakvetadze; Mikautadze, Kvilitaia

Luxembourg:
Moris; Korac, Chanot, M. Martins; Jans, C. Martins, Barreiro, Pinto; S. Thill; Borges Sanches, Rodrigues

Georgia welcome Luxembourg to Tbilisi in the Euro 2024 qualifying semifinal playoffs. The winners will face either Greece or Kazakhstan in next Tuesday's final, where the main prize will be a ticket for Germany. Georgia were unable to compete with Spain and Scotland in the EURO qualifiers, so this is another chance through UEFA Nations League. Coach Willi Sagnol will ask the maximum from his players. Generally, the home form is solid, Georgia have suffered just a single defeat in their 11 appearances in Tbilisi – but the defeat from Spain was very painful as they lost 7:1 in September 2023. But Spain is a different level, they are class above the other. Luxembourg are nowhere near the Spanish national team and I think Georgia could win the game. The biggest star in the team is Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from Napoli, a player able to make a difference in any game. The 23-year-old played very good in Serie A, but won't be able to help the national team. Khvicha is suspended following a yellow-card accumulation and his absence is a huge handicap. Another player that could make a difference is Ligue 1 striker Georges Mikautadze from Metz. He has eight goals to his name - five scored and three assists.

Luxembourg were quite solid in the group stage, but failed to secure an automatic qualification. To be honest, nobody was expecting the European minnows to be competitive until the last round. I agree that positive result against Liechtenstein wasn't a surprise, but everything else could be evaluated as big success. That includes a 2:0 away win at Bosnia-Herzegovina and a 4:1 home win against the same opponents, as well as a 3:1 win against Iceland. The goalless draw with Slovakia in Bratislava could be evaluated as good result too. Nevertheless, two high defeats from Portugal were very painful for the fans. Luxembourg lost 6:0 at home and 9:0 away. Sebastien Thill, one of three Thill brothers in the national team, is expected to start, while Vincent Thill and Olivier Thill will wait for their chance. Coach Holtz is doing an excellent job and the fans are pleased. Most of them are hoping to see the national team at the European Championship. Germany isn't far away and many fans are expecting to follow the national team. But Holtz has problems too. Striker Danel Sinani is banned after saw a red card against Liechtenstein in November. In his absence, the all-time leading scorer Gerson Rodrigues should lead the line. He scored five goals in Group J and - with total of 20 - has surpassed the previous top scorer Leon Mart (16).

Georgia vs Luxembourg Prediction:

I expect Under 2.5 goals in Tbilisi. The importance of the match is the main reason for my pick. Both coaches will be careful and nobody will risk. But there is more. Both national teams will be missing the best scorers. Georgia will play without Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, while Luxembourg are going to miss Danel Sinani due to suspension.. Their absences are huge handicaps as they are simply irreplaceable.

Georgia vs Luxembourg Pick: Under 2.5 goals @ 1.60 with Pinnacle