Nero

Kazakhstan VS Croatia
14/10/09, 23:30

England – 24 points
Ukraine – 18 points
Croatia – 17 points


England had booked their tickets to the WC 2010 Finals in South Africa even before they lost 0-1 to Ukraine last Saturday. It is now the battle between Ukraine and Croatia to decide who will take the second position and win that opportunity to join them through a play-off match.


The Ukrainians are odds on favorite to get the nod because they are 1 point ahead in this last match of the series and they travel to play cellar team Andorra. It is most likely that both teams will end up as victors but that slim lead will be the decider!


When Croatia hosted Kazakhstan last year, they beat their visitors 3-0. It was an easy win and the Croats were seen to be playing at half clutch. With the likes of Ivica Olic and Eduardo in their ranks, they could have easily doubled their scores. Today they're chasing a win that is well within reach but it may not serve their purpose if the Ukrainians beat their hosts in the other deciding match.


Nevertheless, the Croats will have to play to win and to hope that Andorra can hold their visitors to a draw. With Petric, Olic and Eduardo to form that lethal 3-pronged attack, it hard top think how the Kazakhstanis will stop that flow of goals from the visitors.


Likewise, it is equally hard to envisage the home side scoring a goal or two that will make it harder for the visitors to win this match. The Croat defence mounted by the seasoned Robert Kovac and flanked by Simunic and Corluka looks to be impregnable in as far as Kazakhstan is concerned. The Croats have conceded only 12 goals in total and 9 of those had been at the hands of England! After all the Kazakhstanis have scored only 10 goals in the 9 matches played and 6 of those had been in their wins (3-0 and 3-1) over Andorra!


An easy for the visitors – bet on it!

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