It’s time for the World Cup qualifiers in Europe to start once again
The best teams on the continent are about to secure their participation at the biggest football event of 2018, which will be held in Russia.
In Group F of the European World Cup qualifiers we will have the chance to witness the intriguing clash between two teams, who participated at the Euro 2016 in France - Slovakia and England. It’s even more interesting that these two teams met at the European Championship as well, sharing the points with a 0-0 draw in Saint-Etienne.
Things are all different for England now. The FA decided to part ways with the manager Roy Hodgson, appointing another experienced tactician at his place - Sam Allardyce. The visit in Trnava is going to be Allardyce’s first game as a manager of England, so the whole country will be watching.
If you expected that Allardyce is about to make some huge changes in England’s squad after the dissapointing performance at the Euro 2016, we should inform you that this didn’t happen. West Ham’s former manager kept the faith in the same players who we watched in France, with Manchester City’s young defender John Stones being the only notable new addition in the squad.
Slovakia didn’t make any major changes after their participation at the Euro 2016. The manager Ján Kozák kept his job, despite the fact that the team didn’t continue after the group stages of the tournament. Former national player of Czechoslovakia, Kozák is at the helm of the Slovakian national team since 2013.
Prediction: This is not an easy start for Sam Allardyce as England’s manager. Playing in Trnava is always complicated, especially against a strong Slovakian team like this one. Just remember that Slovakia managed to beat a team like Spain in front of their own fans during the European Championship qualifications in 2014. If you’re feeling adventurous, you could try to use the good odds and try a win for the home team. The far more cautious approach is to go for the draw, with the under 2.5 goals also looking as a good pick for this game.
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