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Sweden are a great price of 13/8
with Victor Chandler, while Croatia are a nice
price of 2/1
with BetDirect. Bulgaria are a nice price of
12/5
with Capital Sports. It is anyone's guess which
two teams will come out on top in the finely balanced
Group 8 of the European Qualifying Zone.
The parity among the sides and the absence of “major”
footballing nations means at least five of the six
sides are very realistic contenders for reaching
the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™. Sweden look
strongest in theory - as is reflected in their FIFA
ranking and their position as seeded nation - but
they will have to be on top of their game to bag
first place.
This is mainly due to the presence of the Croatians
and Bulgarians, both hard-to-beat Eastern European
sides with a grudge. Otto Baric’s Croatia are
out to show that their third place finish at France
’98 was no fluke, while Bulgaria are attempting
to do the same in relation to their fourth place
finish at USA ’94.
The evenness of the group puts Lothar Mathaeus-led
Hungary in with a chance as they pin their hopes
on star striker Imre Szabics. Iceland could also
be tricky opposition at home though their potential
to cause problems as visitors is unproven. Malta,
the "Cinderella" of the group, are going
to have to play out of their skins to get a sniff
of a ticket to the ball in Germany.
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