The European Qualifiers get back underway on Thursday and include some major matchups that will have huge implications for their respective groups. The top two sides in each group make it through to the tournament, while the third place sides duke it out in a playoff.Here are the matches with biggest implications on Thursday.
Anytime that the idea of best player in the world is brought up the list starts and ends with two names - Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. When looking at 2014, picking the top player between Messi and Ronaldo seems like a futile and uninteresting task. So instead, Latin Post.com's David Salazar and Edwin Molina, as part of our Best of Soccer in 2014 feature series, are looking at players not named Ronaldo or Messi, who deserve some credit in 2014.
Having lost two of their first three qualifier matches, the Netherlands finally came through with a huge 6-0 win over Latvia but ended up losing Daley Blind to a knee injury. Meanwhile, Italy and Croatia ended up unbeaten after playing to 1-1 tie while Israel stays undefeated at the top of Group B with a win over Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Wayne Rooney celebrated his 100th cap with the national team scoring in England's 3-1 victory over Slovenia. Also, Spain rolls on in the Euro 2016 qualifiers while Russia is upset by Austria and Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic returns to action, coming back from a heel injury.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 23rd career European Championship goal, surpassing Denmark's Jon Dahl Tomasson on the all-time scorers list, lifting Portugal past Armenia 1-0. Also, Germany coach Joachim Low was displeased with his team despite a 4-0 win over Gibraltar while the Faroe Islands stunned Greece -- who has struggled since the World Cup.
England's national team head coach, Roy Hodgson, has been very critical of English Football Association (FA) for scheduling National Football League (NFL) games prior to his team's Euro 2016 qualifier games.
Also, after losing to Poland on Saturday, current World Cup winners Germany struggled yet again ending their game against the Republic of Ireland in 1-1 draw while the Serbia-Albania game is delayed due to a drone interrupting match.
World Cup winners Germany were upset 2-0 on Saturday by Poland in the Euro 2016 qualifiers, giving Poland their first win over their neighbors in 18 previous games. Also, LA Galaxy's Robbie Keane scored a hat-trick for the Republic of Ireland against Gibraltar in their 7-0 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Spain and Slovakia will look to score their second win in the 2014 European Championship qualifiers when they collide on Thursday at the Stadion MSK Zilina in Slovakia.
The qualifiers for the Euro 2016 get back underway on Thursday with a number of major games. This tournament is one to look out for, especially with the restructuring of major soccer powers underway. Here is a look at some of the most interesting games of the first round of qualifiers this upcoming week.
Mario Balotelli was left out of the Italy squad for their upcoming Euro 2016 qualifying matches, but coach Antonio Conte reiterated that the door is still open for the striker.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho recently said that he wants Diego Costa to skip Spain’s upcoming match in the Euro 2016 qualifier in order to recover from a recurring hamstring injury.
Cristiano Ronaldo will not play in Portugal’s Euro 2016 qualifying match against Albania on Sept. 7 as coach Paulo Bento decided not to include the star forward in his 24-man squad.
