The majority of European leagues have ended for the summer but the international calendar is no respecter of holidays with 37 Euro 2004 qualifiers scheduled for the next 10 days.
After 19 games next Saturday and another 18 the following Wednesday the qualification picture should start to look much clearer, with most teams down to their last two or three fixtures.
Having failed to impress in any of their three qualifiers to date, three-times champions Germany can nevertheless take a stranglehold on Group Five by beating Scotland and the Faroe Islands in two away games.
Germany, Scotland and Lithuania are all on seven points but the Germans, held to a 1-1 home draw by Lithuania last time out after scraping a 2-1 home win over the Faroes, have games in hand.
They warmed up with an easy 4-1 win over Canada on Sunday but will be wary of Scotland, managed by their former coach Berti Vogts.
Spain, the consummate qualifiers, are in a better position. A home win over Greece and an away success at hapless Northern Ireland -- who have yet to score in the competition -- will have Group Six just about done and dusted with two games to spare.
Defending champions France, away and clear with a maximum 15 points in Group One, are not in action so the interest is in the scramble for second place, which Israel's home game against Slovenia could go a long way towards settling.
MUCH TIGHTER
In the other seven groups things are much tighter.
Norway, leading Group Two on 10 points, make the short trip to Denmark (second on seven) before hosting Romania (third on six).
Fourth-placed Bosnia are also on six and could further muddy the waters when they visit Romania on Saturday.
Russia started their campaign with two big wins but shock defeats to Albania and Georgia have allowed Switzerland to take the initiative in Group 10.
The top two meet in Basel on Saturday -- the Swiss on eight points with the Russians on six.
Ireland, who lost their first two games, and Albania, are also still in the mix. To stay in the running Ireland, on four points, must win their back-to-back home games against Albania and Georgia. Albania (five points) face the difficult task of moving from Dublin to face the Swiss away four days later.
Group Seven leaders England's only game is a home match against Slovakia on June 11 -- exactly a month after the end of the premier league season.
KEEP SHARP
They will try to keep sharp with a home friendly against Serbia and Montenegro on Tuesday and hope that second-placed Turkey drop points on Saturday away to the Slovaks.
England have 10 points while the Turks, World Cup semi-finalists last year, have seven. They also host Macedonia next week.
Latvia, surprise leaders of a wide-open Group Four on 10 points, face a test of their credentials when they travel to Hungary (five points) on Saturday.
Sweden (five) against Poland (seven) on June 11 is another huge game for the group.
Wales, seeking to reach their first major finals since 1958, can put their feet up, relieved that the ban on Azerbaijan has been lifted and that the six points and six goals they took from them remain safe.
Wales lead Group Nine on 12 points and Italy, second on seven, cannot afford a slip on their trip to Finland on June 11.
Bulgaria (10 points) can tighten their grip on Group Eight with a home win against Belgium (third on six) while Croatia (second on seven) face an awkward trip to Estonia (fourth on five).
The Czech Republic and the Netherlands, locked together on 10 points at the top of Group Three, each play once.
The Dutch visit Belarus on Saturday then sit back as the Czechs try to match them at home to Moldova -- four games four defeats -- four days later.
© 2024 Rediff.com -