Soccer:The last three group winners, the best runner-up and the eight teams to take part in the play-offs for Euro 2012 will all be decided following 22 fixtures across the nine groups on Tuesday night.
We take a look at the favourites to make it to Poland and Ukraine next year and why a victory over Armenia at the Aviva is likely to see the Republic of Ireland as one of the top four seeds in next month’s play-offs.
Qualified as hosts:Poland and Ukraine.
Qualified as group winners:Germany (Group A), Italy (Group B), Netherlands (Group C), England (Group G), Spain (Group I).
Group A. Qualified: Germany.
Final fixtures:Germany v Belgium; Turkey v Azerbaijan; Kazakhstan v Austria.
Standings
Germany P9 W9 F31 A6 GD+25 Pts 27 (Q)
Belgium P9 W4 D3 L2 F20 A12 GD +8 Pts 15
Turkey P9 W4 D2 L3 F12 A11 GD +1 Pts 14
Germany was the first team to qualify from the group stages and will be looking the complete the perfect 10 wins against Belgium in Dusseldorf on Tuesday. Belgium needs to win the game to stay ahead of Turkey and seal the play-off spot, as the Turks will fancy their chances at home to Azerbaijan. If Belgium lose, then even a draw will be good enough as Turkey took four points off Belgium in the head-to-heads.
Group B
Final fixtures:Russia v Andorra; Republic of Ireland v Armenia; FYR Macedonia v Slovakia.
Standings
Russia P9 W6 D2 L1 F11 A4 GD +7 Pts 20
Republic of Ireland P9 W5 D3 L1 F13 A6 GD +7 Pts 18
Armenia P9 W5 D2 L2 F21 A8 GD +13 Pts 17
Russia just needs a point at home to Andorra to take the automatic qualification spot, while the Republic of Ireland will seal a play-off spot with a draw or better against Armenia.
Group C. Qualified: Italy.
Final fixtures:Slovenia v Serbia; Italy v Northern Ireland.
Standings
Italy P9 W7 D2 F17 A2 GD+15 Pts 23 (Q)
Estonia P10 W5 D1 L4 F15 A14 GD+1 Pts 16
Serbia P9 W4 D3 L2 F13 A11 GD+2 Pts 15
Italy has already qualified, conceding just two goals in nine games, and finish up with a home clash against Northern Ireland, who will be looking for a new manager after Nigel Worthington announced he was stepping down after the game. Estonia completed their campaign with a 2-1 win over Worthington’s side at Windsor Park last Friday. Serbia need to beat Slovenia away on Tuesday to secure the play-off spot as Estonia took four points over their two group meetings.
Group D
Final fixtures:Albania v Romania; France v Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Standings
France P9 W6 D2 L1 F14 A3 GD+11 Pts 20
Bosnia & Hertz P9 W6 D1 L2 F16 A7 GD+9 Pts 19
A straight shoot-out for the automatic qualification spot at the Stade de France on Tuesday. A draw is enough for Laurent Blanc’s side, who have not conceded a goal at home since their shock opening defeat to Belarus in his first game as manager. If France lose, it could also see the Republic of Ireland miss out on a top seeding in the play-offs due to France’s higher ranking. It could also see the sides meet again after the dramatic play-off meeting ahead of the last World Cup.
Group E. Qualified: Netherlands.
Final fixtures:Hungary v Finland; Moldova v San Marino; Sweden v Netherlands.
Standings
Netherlands P9 W9 F35 A5 GD+30 Pts 27 (Q)
Sweden P9 W7 L2 F28 A9 GD+19 Pts 21
Hungary P9 W6 L3 F22 A14 GD+8 Pts 18
Sweden has already booked a place in the play-offs thanks to the away goal they scored against Hungary, with each side winning the home leg between the sides. The Swedes host an unbeaten Dutch side in their final outing, knowing a victory would guarantee them the automatic qualification spot as best runner-up.
Group F
Final fixtures:Croatia v Latvia; Georgia v Greece; Malta v Israel.
Standings
Greece P9 W6 D3 F12 A4 GD +8 Pts 21
Croatia P9 W6 D1 L2 F16 A7 GD+9 Pts 19
Greece just needs a point away to Georgia in Tbilisi after earning a point away to Croatia before beating them 2-0 at home last Friday. Croatia will contest the play-offs and have an outside chance of getting the automatic berth.
Group G. Qualified:England.
Play-off:Montenegro
Final fixtures:Bulgaria v Wales; Switzerland v Montenegro.
Standings
England P8 W5 D3 F17 A5 GD+12 Pts 18 (Q)
Montenegro P7 W3 D3 L1 F7 A5 GD+2 Pts 12 (PO)
The only group where everything is done and dusted. England went through automatically after their 2-2 with Montenegro, who qualified for the play-offs for the first time
Group H
Final fixtures:Denmark v Portugal; Norway v Cyprus.
Standings
Portugal P7 W5 D1 L1 F20 A10 GD +10 Pts 16
Denmark P7 W5 D1 L1 F13 A5 GD+8. Pts 16
Norway P7 W4 D1 L2 F7 A6 GD+1 Pts 13
Denmark takes on Portugal in Copenhagen in one of the key games of the final round of fixtures. The Danes need to win after losing 1-3 in Portugal and that could open the way for Norway, who host Cyprus, to claim second spot on goal difference after both sides won 1-0 in their home matches against each other. They would need to make up a sizeable goal difference though. If Sweden fails to beat the Netherlands, the best runner-up could also come from this group.
Group I. Qualified: Spain.
Final fixtures:Lithuania v Czech Republic; Spain v Scotland.
Standings
Spain P7 W7 F23 A5 GD+18 Pts 21 (Q)
Scotland P7 W3 D2 L2 F8 A7 GD+1 Pts11
Czech Republic P7 W3 D1 L3 F8 A7 GD+1 Pts 10
With Spain already qualified, Scotland holds a one-point advantage over the Czech Republic in the race for a play-off spot. Realistically, though, Scotland will need to end Spain’s unbeaten run in Alicante as the Czechs took four points from the two meeting with Craig Levein’s side. If Scotland loses, then the Czechs will only need a point away to Lithuania to take the play-off slot.
PLAY-OFF SEEDINGS
If the Republic of Ireland can claim a play-off spot, then they will be hoping that France can beat Bosnia so that they can hold on to one of the top four seedings ahead of Thursday's draw.
At present Ireland are ranked 15th in the interim rankings, which will be updated after the final round of fixtures. Looking through the other groups, that places them in a likely fifth position, but one of the higher ranked teams (possibly Sweden, Denmark or Croatia) will earn automatic qualification as best runner-up, pushing Ireland into the top seedings and ensuring the second leg will be played at home on November 15th.
At this stage the four likely bottom seeds are Bosnia, Czech Republic, Turkey and Montenegro.
