Euro 2012 Qualiying, Group F Preview: Greece, Georgia Look To Take Group Lead
Meanwhile, Israel and Latvia look to keep up in the race for second, both nations having stumbled in round three. Neither team were favored in their matches, with Israel losing to Croatia while Latvia lost at Greece, but at some point in qualifying, the Israelis and Latvians are going to have to spring a surprise. Neither team was expected to get to Poland and Ukraine, which means they will have to pick-up some unexpected points if they intend to make the trip.
Tuesday is another opportunity to do so.
Latvia versus Georgia, 1:00 p.m. Eastern, Skonto Stadium, Riga - I'm not sure we are to the point where Georgia can be favored at Latvia. In fact, the upstart, undefeated side is probably the underdog, but there'll be little reason to believe Temuri Ketsbaia's can take the his team to the next level if he can't get a result at the nation slated to finish fifth. To do so, they will have to overcome the absence of defender Zurab Khizanishvili, suspended for this match.
Greece versus Israel, 2:45 p.m. Eastern, Karaiskaskis Stadium, Pireaus - The effects of Yossi Benayoun's loss can not be understated. The Israeli captain is probably out until 2011 with an Achilles injury, severely undermining the team's ability to take advantage of this open group. Whereas once Israel looked to have a chance to qualify for this first major tournament in over 40 years, now their task is survival, with the hopes that 2011 will see a healthy Benayoun return to faint Israeli hopes. Greece being without Vassilios Torossidis (suspended) and goalkeeper Alexandros Tziolis (broken leg) will help.
Picks
- Latvia 1, Georgia 0
- Greece 0, Israel 0
