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The last European qualifiers in September take place on Wednesday with key competitions in all ten groups.
UEFA.com takes stock of the situation as the qualifying table emerges.
Classification of groups
Wednesday, September 8
Group B: Greece vs Sweden, Kosovo vs Spain
Group C: Italy vs Lithuania, Northern Ireland vs Switzerland
Group E: Belarus vs Belgium, Wales vs Estonia
Group I: Albania vs San Marino, Hungary vs Andorra, Poland vs England
Group J: Armenia vs Liechtenstein (6:00 p.m.), Iceland vs Germany, North Macedonia vs Romania
All kick-offs at 8:45 p.m. CET unless otherwise specified
The big match
Poland vs England
England and Poland dominated Group I despite attempts by Hungary and Albania to strengthen their one-on-one. The EURO finalists beat the March meeting at Wembley 2-1, meaning the home side need three points in the second leg to restore balance.
The BiaÅ‚o-czerwoni have an earlier form when it comes to thwarting the Three Lions – just ask Jan Tomaszewski and his teammates about their famous exploits in the 1973 qualifiers. However, Poland did not beat it. England for 48 years, and injuries to Bartosz BereszyÅ„ski and Piotr ZieliÅ„ski have weakened Paulo Sousa’s side, although they will have Robert Lewandowski – who missed the loss at Wembley. The Portuguese coach of Poland continued to be confident: “The players have to believe in themselves,” he said. “It won’t be easy, but we hope to win. “
After winning 4-0 in Hungary, England rested most of their first team for the 4-0 loss to Andorra on Sunday and are now five points clear at the top of Group I. However, manager Gareth Southgate is eager to keep his team on their toes, aware that a positive result could make England feel ‘we’re better than we are’ as they clash with ‘one of the best finishers of European football “.
Worth the detour
• Iceland became the least populous country to reach a World Cup in 2018 and their chances of a repeat offender will take a turning point when they play their third home game of the week against mighty Germany. The hosts, who were eliminated 3-0 in the second leg and never won against the Germans, are underdogs; however, North Macedonia was in a similar position when they surprised Die Mannschaft in Group J in March.
Tuesday, September 7
group A: Azerbaijan 0-3 Portugal, Republic of Ireland vs Serbia
Group D: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Kazakhstan, France vs Finland
Group F: Austria vs Scotland, Denmark vs Israel, Faroe Islands vs Moldova
Group G: Montenegro against Latvia, Netherlands against Turkey, Norway against Gibraltar
Group H: Croatia vs Slovenia, Russia vs Malta, Slovakia vs Cyprus
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