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England are a healthy 1/2
with Bet365 to win this group, while Poland
are 7/1
with Victor Chandler. Wales can be best backed
at 15/2
with Bet Direct.
England’s national coach Sven-Göran Eriksson
was delighted with this “interesting group”
and is especially pleased to be drawn against Wales
and Northern Ireland. As he said, “They are
local derbies, more or less.” This two-edged
sword means that the English will know their rivals
but have to deflect their no-doubt ample desire
to defeat them.
The Three Lions also have ample experience against
Poland, having played them no less than four times
in the last five FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. The
English are keen to forget an encounter with the
Poles in 1974 when the East Europeans caused a sensation
by holding out for a 1-1 draw at Wembley to make
the finals at England’s expense.
Austria were happy enough with the draw. National
coach Hans Krankl commented: "It could have
been worse, but I'm delighted that we are going
to play three British teams." Meanwhile, Welsh
coach Mark Hughes was obviously relishing the challenge
too: “It’s wonderful to be in the same
group as England. There’s no doubt that it’s
going to be tough but we’ve already proved
in the Qualifiers for EURO 2004 that we are able
to hold our own at the highest level."
Northern Ireland, FIFA World Cup qualifiers in
1982 and 1986, are outside shots at fighting for
a play-off place, while Azerbaijan will likely find
it almost impossible to compete in this top-class
group. However, their home games in Baku Stadium
could prove a stumbling block for some opponents
-- Switzerland lost a qualifying match there in
1996 (0-1).
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