The Road to Klagenfurt continues on Wednesday, in the last meaningful international competition until next spring. All the teams are organized in to 7-8 team groups with the top two finishers advancing directly to the finals in Austria and Switzerland two years from now.
In Group A, if Portugal wins their home game against Kazakhstan (cleanest prostitutes in all of central Asia), and the Finns handle the Armenians in Helsinki, then the one significant match-up is a battle between Belgium and Poland to break up the likely three way tie with the Portuguese for third place before heading into the winter break, while the Serbs and Finns will almost certainly continue to top the group. In the spring I'm sure the Finns will fall, and with the Portuguese on their heels, the Belgians and the Poles each have to be looking at this game as an opportunity to take out a rival.
In Group D, the Germans are playing Cyprus, and the Irish play San Marino, a team that loses to Belgium by double digit scores. The Irish are trailing way behind the Czechs and Germans, with Slovakia and Wales between them, but the Germans can use a win to take a lead over the Czechs going into the winter break.
In Group E, there's a four way tie for first, with the fifth place Russians only two points back from first place England. Israel hosts Croatia (both tied for first), while the Russians travel to Macedonia (also tied for first). The Israelis and Croats have a game in hand over England, so they can both take first place outright with a win or draw, while the Russians also have a game in hand. The order could shift dramatically, but it's still a tight group no matter what happens. Only a Croatian road win would put anyone in what could be described as a commanding position.
The next Road to Klagenfurt update will be next February when the Republic of Ireland travel to San Marino for the return leg of that thrilling encounter.
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