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Europe World Cup Qualifications - Europe

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spkutano

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England vs Albania Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

England:
Pickford; Walker, Guehi, Colwill, Lewis-Skelly; Henderson, Rice; Foden, Bellingham, Rashford; Kane

Albania:
Strakosha; Balliu, Ismajli, Djimsiti, Aliji; Asllani, Ramadani; Asani, Bajrami, Muci; Manaj

England will host Albania at Wembley as both national teams are hoping to make the first step towards qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. They are part of Group K together with Serbia, Latvia and Andorra. Only the top team from each of 12 groups will qualify automatically for the finals, while the second-placed sides must participate in the playoffs. The Three Lions will start the campaign with a new coach as Gareth Southgate decided to withdraw. The punters are divided about him, but I think he did a solid job. His successor is the German tactician Thomas Tuchel who worked in Chelsea, Bayern Munich and some other clubs. Tuchel decided to recall the former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, now at Ajax, and Newcastle centre-back Dan Burn. One of the key players - Cole Palmer - withdrew due to injury. His absence is a huge handicap as he is one of the most important players in Chelsea. Tuchel has confirmed that Harry Kane will continue as captain. He is in fine form, scoring a brace against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League. Furthermore, Kane "love" to play against Albania as he has been directly involved in six goals in two games against the current opponents.

Albania will fight for the second place and their main rivals will be Serbia. According to me, the first place is reserved for England, but surprises are not impossible. Many fans were shocked to see Albania and Serbia put in the same group due to past incidents in the 2016 Euro qualification games. As some of You know, the previous mutual game played on 14 October 2014 in Belgrade was abandoned. The reverse fixture was mostly free of tensions because of the heavy security measures. However, the players from both national teams have to be focused on sport aspect only. Albania are in mixed form, they have one win, one draw and one defeat on the last three matches played in 2024. They beat Georgia, drew with Czech Republic and lost 2:1 to Ukraine. Coach Sylvinho has the majority of his players ready, but Lazio's Elseid Hysaj, is sidelined by injury. Mario Mitaj of Al-Ittihad is also out as he had a groin surgery. First-choice strikers Armando Broja and Rey Manaj were both unavailable in November, but both return to national-team duty this month and will compete to start up front. The presence of Broja could be very important due to his Premier League experience.

England vs Albania Prediction:

England are huge favorites in this match. And I agree, the quality is on their side, plus the home advantage. However, Albania are not naive team, I truly believe they are able to upset Pickford. Albania were solid on the last EURO. They lost 2:1 to Italy, played 2:2 with Croatia and lost 1:0 to Spain. I am well aware their last results are not at the same level, but I think they are going to Wembley fully motivated. Scoring a goal should not be rated as miracle.

England vs Albania Pick: Both teams to score - Yes @ 2.82 with Pinnacle
 
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Romania vs Bosnia-Herzegovina Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Romania:
Nita; Ratiu, Burca, Chipciu, Bancu; R Marin, M Marin, Stanciu; Hagi, Birligea, Alibec

Bosnia-Herzegovina:
Zlomislic; Bicakcic, Barisic, Muharemovic, Kolasinac; Tahirovic, Sunjic, Tahirovic, Gigovic; Demirovic, Dzeko

Romania host Bosnia-Herzegovina in the first round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. Both sides look to make a good start, but their objectives are different. While the guests would be satisfied with a point, Romania will definitely go for a win. Good start is very important because details could decide the winners and runners-up of Group H. Romania and Bosnia, together with Austria, are the teams that will fight for
the first and second place. Cyprus should not be underestimated, they are able to steel a point here or there, but I don't see them battling for the top. Of course, San Marino are clear outsiders. Romania will try to continue the winning series as they ended 2024 with six victories. The players confidence is currently very high and coach Mircea Lucescu will try to use the momentum. But he has some injury issues ahead of this match. The biggest problem is the absence of the injured Tottenham Hotspur defender Radu Dragusin. To be worse, Valentin Mihaila and Alexandru Pascanu are also unavailable for selection. But there is a replacement - Rayo Vallecano defender Andrei Ratiu has an impressive season in La Liga.

Bosnia-Herzegovina ended 2024 with poor results, three defeats and just one draw on the last four matches. The defeats are always bad for the atmosphere in the squad, but sometimes it is worse than that. Bosnia lost 7:0 to Germany and it was a shameful performance. Overall, the Bosnian national team were very inconsistent and that was the reason why two coaches are changed in 2023. Bosnia started the Nations League campaign under Faruk Hadzibegic, but three defeats in the first four rounds were enough to trigger the first change. Meho Kodro was appointed in August, 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. Milosevic came under big pressure as Bosnian fans did not like him very much and quit in April 2024, when Sergej Barbarez started his reign. The results are poor again, but it will be stupid to bring new boss. Barbarez will try to remain unbeaten, while his players could register two easy wins in the next two fixtures against Cyprus and San Marino, both at home. But first task is not to lose in this match. Captain Edin Dzeko should lead the line, looking for his 68th goal for the national team.

Romania vs Bosnia-Herzegovina Prediction:

As I already wrote above, Bosnia-Herzegovina would be satisfied with a point. They will try to remain unbeaten here, so I expect a defensive approach. Barbarez has a simple calculation - point here, plus six in the next two fixtures against Cyprus and San Marino, both at home. With seven points from the opening three matches, the Bosnian national team would be first, or at least second. But Romania will definitely go for a win. Given Romania's form, home advantage and the head-to-head record, I expect Lucesku's men to win. The Bosnians will try to upset the hosts through Dzeko, but I think the 39-year-old striker isn't fast as previously.

Romania vs Bosnia-Herzegovina Pick: Romania to win @ 1.83 with Pinnacle
 
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