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Win and they're in Six World Cup places up for grabs in final qualifiers
LONDON (AP) -- A German stands in England's way of qualifying for the World Cup finals. Last month, England hammered Germany 5-1 in Munich to take control of Group 9. Now comes Greece with a German coach, Otto Rehhagel. England needs a victory over Greece on Saturday at Old Trafford in Manchester to finish top of the group and clinch a spot in next year's tournament in Japan and South Korea. Rehhagel could do a big favor for three-time champion Germany by beating England. A loss or draw by England would allow Germany to win the group if its beats Finland on Saturday. The second-place group finisher will have to settle for the uncertainty of a place in the playoffs. Coming off its own 5-1 defeat to Finland last month, Greece is not given much of a chance against resurgent England. "I hope to offer to my friends in Germany a favor, but first of all we have to do ourselves a favor and forget the defeat by Finland," Rehhagel said. "I hope in this way that the bad result in Finland will be made up for with the good from England." It will be Rehhagel's second match in charge and he admits he barely knows his squad. Partially, the match is a public-relations exercise. "We will fight for the image of Greece and lessen the bad impressions we made in the game against Finland," he said. "We don't expect however to be underestimated by England." England has won all five of its World Cup qualifiers under Swedish coach Sven-Goran Eriksson. Striker Michael Owen, who scored a hat trick against Germany, is out with a hamstring injury and is expected to be replaced up front by Robbie Fowler. Goalkeeper David Seaman is also out injured, with Nigel Martyn set to start for England. Poland, Sweden and Spain have already reached the World Cup finals from Europe, joining defending champion France. Six more countries will join them Saturday -- the winners of the six undecided qualifying groups. England heads a list of the likely qualifiers, which also includes Italy, Russia, Portugal, Belgium and Denmark. Three-time champion Italy can qualify with a win or draw against Hungary in Parma in Group 8. A loss means Romania could win the group by beating Georgia. Italy will be without injured defender Alessandro Nesta, and striker Christian Vieri is slowed by a heel injury. Also lost for the season is injured striker Enrico Chiesa. In Group 1, Russia is guaranteed of making the playoffs, but a draw or victory against Switzerland would clinch first. Slovenia (17) needs to defeat the Faeroe Islands to guarantee second and a playoff. If that happens, Yugoslavia (16) is out no matter what it does against winless Luxembourg. Portugal and Ireland (21 points) will finish as the top two teams in Group 2. Portugal, with a better goal difference, will win the group by beating Estonia before a 70,000 sellout in the Stadium of Light in Lisbon where the Portuguese haven't lost in 20 years. Ireland is home to Cyprus and gets the No. 2 spot barring a massive upset by Estonia. Belgium (17 points) and Croatia (15) face each other Saturday in Zagreb in Group 6. A win or draw guarantees Belgium the group with Croatia facing a playoff. A win, and Croatia claims the group. Croatia, the surprise third-place finisher in '98 in France, is a mere shadow of that team. Former captain Zvonimir Boban and Aljosa Asanovic have retired. Veterans Davor Suker, Robert Jarni and Robert Prosinecki have seen their best days. The team is also plagued with injuries. They include: Niko Kovac, Igor Tudor, Marco Stanic, Boris Zivkovic and libero Igor Stimac. On the other hand, striker Alen Boksic is making a comeback after injuries and is expected to play up front with either Bosko Balaban or Goran Vlaovic. Belgium's only injury worry is midfielder Marc Wilmots as it tries for its sixth straight World Cup final appearance. In Group 3, Denmark needs only a draw at home against Iceland to win the group. The real battle is in Prague where the Czech Republic faces Bulgaria in what amounts to a playoff for the playoff spot. They each have 17 points, but the Czechs have the edge with a better goal difference and can clinch second with a win or draw. Bulgaria must win. After all the group winners are determined, the nine second-place sides go into a two-legged playoff Nov. 10-11 and Nov. 14, with five survivors advancing. Eight of those nine spots will be settled by Sunday. The ninth spot was thrown into question when FIFA -- the governing body of world soccer -- postponed Sunday's Group 7 match between Israel and Austria in Tel Aviv citing security concerns after a plane bound from Tel Aviv to Siberia exploded over the Black Sea. FIFA has yet to reschedule the game. Israel has a better goal difference and would claim second with a victory. Austria will advance with a victory or draw. In Group 5, the Poles are home Saturday to neighboring Ukraine, which gets a playoff place with a victory. If Ukraine stumbles, Belarus can get the playoff place with a victory at Wales. In Group 4, Sweden has won the group and Turkey is guaranteed of second. They face meaningless matches: Sweden vs. Azerbaijan and Moldova vs. Turkey.
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