TFT Issue 3387!

The quality gap should be way too big here, especially after Japan’s convincing derby victory over South Korea last time out. Away win.

Hungary U21 may be at home in this tournament, but they’re simply out of their depth. They were missing too many players at the start of this tournament, have now lost two from two, being outplayed in both, and are now missing an extra man tonight after Szoke was dismissed in their derby against Romania. I may be somewhat unconvinced by the Dutch U21 team but there’s a very clear gulf in quality between these two teams right now, and I would be surprised to see Netherlands fail to take advantage of such.

A win in Benin means Nigeria have now qualified for the African Nations. It was never in doubt anyway, to be honest, but the win made sure of it. They played well against a tough opponent too, and only good goalkeeping prevented the goal from coming sooner than it did. I can’t see Nigeria struggling against an inept Lesotho team today, even after inevitable rotation. 

This group is basically over, at least as far as these two teams are concerned. Senegal should really want to celebrate their qualification for the African Nations with a win, and hosting one of the weakest teams in their group makes the task that bit easier. I doubt there’ll be that much in it, but I really can’t doubt the home win.

I quite like Palestine’s team nowadays. They play some really good football at times. It goes without saying that they’re not the most efficient of teams, but they do like to keep things entertaining, and I feel like it’s only a matter of time before they end up playing at the Asian Cup. Having said that, taking on Saudi Arabia away from home should be a bridge too far, really. The hosts aren’t patient enough with their managers, and foreign integration in their domestic league hasn’t quite had the desired effect on the national team as of yet. However, Saudi Arabia are fast, good goal-scorers, and very strong at home so I only see one winner here.

The quality gap is way too big here. This is the worst Belarusian team I’ve seen for a long time, and Belgium are just ruthless in front of goal, whether they play well or not. No handicaps for me as this team is very inconsistent to me, but Belgium should not struggle to win the match by a couple of goals at a minimum. 

It was a bit untidy, but ultimately Croatia got the three points that they needed against Cyprus. I’m expecting another gritty display tonight too, as Malta are better at defending than Cyprus, and they offer more threats on the break. I still think it’s quite the poor Maltese team, but it’s one that has a good tactical setup to frustrate opponents. This may not be a great Croatian team, but there’s still enough match-winners in it to decide this match in their favour.

The Dutch are obviously going to win this one, and the manner of the victory will hinge entirely upon when they get their first goal. If it’s early enough, they could win this game by five or six. If not, I can see them under-performing tonight. Don’t get me wrong; they’ll still win either way. I just don’t think it’s a good time for this team, and Gibraltar can be annoying to get that first goal against. For now, I’ll leave handicaps off the table unless I see a lot of drive and energy in-play, but the away win cannot be doubted.

Back-to-back outstanding displays have seen Turkey beat both Norway and The Netherlands now, and the Turks are beside themselves at how well they’re defending now. Some of them have described their defence as ‘world class’. I don’t agree with that at that point, but I’m happy to admit it’s their best ever defence, and we’re only at the tip of the iceberg so in the future, this could become a world class defence. Their entire squad is good, although I do fear for goals whenever Yilmaz hangs up his boots unless Tosun moves somewhere where he’ll play regularly. In a way, tonight’s game is a bigger test for Turkey than either of their last two games because they’re the favourites, expected to break down a team that has only set out with the intention of defending against them. It’ll be interesting to see if Turkey blitz them or not. This is a pretty terrible Latvian team, all things considered, so anything but a home win would surprise me tonight. I’ve not really made up my mind on the manner of their victory, though.

Burundi need to head to North Africa and win in order to stand a chance of qualifying for the African Nations, and it goes without saying that I don’t fancy their chances. In general, African teams tend to do the same thing against Morocco i.e. sit back, and hurt them with superior acceleration on the break, and Burundi can do that quite well. Morocco possess some truly gifted creators but aren’t always the hardest-working of teams, at least not when it comes to this tournament. In World Cups though, they tend to be seriously good. Morocco may already have qualified for the African Nations, but being attacked at home is going to afford them room that they don’t normally have, and that should only really result in one outcome.