Friday sees interesting matches as the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers sees a number of teams in action. Which countries are in action and at what time will they be in action? Here is the schedule with times and all matchups.
The game everybody has been talking about, well, at least those over at ESPN; Portugal vs. Sweden.
This will be the first of three matches as Portugal and Sweden finished in the top 2 of their Group. In the first round, Sweden finished with a 6-2-2 record in 10 matches. They finished behind the undefeated German gang in Group C. Portugal went 6-3-1, racking up 21 points, falling one behind Russia, who collected 22 points in the first round. As a result, the battle in the first leg of the playoffs will feature two great teams, Portugal and Sweden.
Portugal vs. Sweden: Match Time- 2:45 p.m. ET
Also in the hunt out of the European division, France and Ukraine. The french team had a strong performance, but unfortunately for them, it was all about Spain in Group I. The Spaniards went undefeated, collecting 20 points in the first round, while France could only manage 17 after going 5-2-1. Ukraine could not match England's 22 points, going 6-3-1 good for only 21 points in their 10 games in the first round of the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers. What time is this match? They will be competing against the match mentioned above.
France vs. Ukraine: 2:45 p.m. ET
The qualifiers remains in Europe as Croatia and Iceland face off at 12 p.m. ET. Similar to all the teams in the playoffs, both squads held their own, good enough to participate in the second round. Croatia went 5-2-3, collecting 17 points in a Group A division dominated by Belgium. Iceland finished in second place behind Switzerland, going 5-2-3 in 10 games played, similar to Croatia.
Wrapping up the action of 2014 World Cup Qualifiers, catch Greece vs. Romania at 2:45 p.m. ET. After a terrific first round, Greece is a favorite to escape the second round advance into the World Cup. They went 8-1-1 in their 10 games, matching Bosnia-Herzegovina's efforts in the qualifiers. However, Bosnia-Herzegovina scored 30 goals in 10 matches, compared to Greece's 12. Romania had a strong qualifier as well, but went 6-1-3. Do not be fooled by the record, Romania can light up a scoreboard and if they play tighter defense, their chances of winning increase dramatically. They scored 19 goals, while allowing 12 in the 10 games of the first round.
