Beginning Saturday, eight nations in Europe will compete for the last four remaining UEFA spots in the 2010 World Cup. Winners of the two leg playoffs will secure a spot in the World Cup draw on December 4, and the losers endure the pain of watching next summer's tournament from home.
Perennial powers France and Portugal find themselves in danger of missing out on the World Cup. France, which has struggled since their 2006 run to the World Cup final, finished second in group play to a clinical Serbia. Portugal, which finished second to Denmark in its group, must beat Bosnia-Herzegovina to avoid missing out. It's a task that must be accomplished without Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been ruled out of both legs by the Portuguese medical staff.
The other two match-ups feature Greece against Ukraine and Russia going up against Slovenia. Greece, the shock European Champions from 2004, will be hoping to qualify for the World Cup after missing out last time around. Ukraine stands in the way, with Andriy Shevchenko leading the attack. A talented Russian side, boasting the likes of Andrey Arshavin, Alan Dzagoev, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Igor Akinfeev, is favored to get past Slovenia.
Here's a question for SBI Readers: Who will win these four playoff matches? Have your vote after the jump.
What do you think of these match-ups? Which ones are you looking forward to?
Share your thoughts below.
