Road To Rio

This week sees the road to Rio begin for UEFA's 53 member nations. From Spain to Slovenia, Italy to Iceland and France to Finland, all of Europe's national teams will compete for the 13 places available at Rio as UEFA's representatives.

Each group has thrown up some interesting head-to-heads, including the Euro 2012 co-hosts Ukraine and Poland, as well as two previous World Cup winners in the shape of Spain and France.

Group A:

The top seeds in group A are Croatia. Igor Stimac helped them achieve third place in the 1998 World Cup, and now he has been named successor to Slaven Bilic as manager of the once Yugoslavian state. The former Derby County and West Ham defender has very little managerial experience, having never managed a club outwith Croatia. However, Stimac strongly believes his side has what it takes to meet expectations and qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. And with star players such as Luka Modric of Real Madrid, Mario Mandzukic of Bayern Munich and Dario Srna of Shaktar Donetsk, qualification should be no problem for the nation ranked ninth in the world.

Croatia's biggest challenge to top spot in the group will be expected to come from Serbia. Like Croatia, they also have a new man in charge. Sinisa Mihajlovic, is regarded as one of his nations greatest ever players, and the 43 year old will be hoping that his experience gained in a career based mainly in Italy, will be enough to guide Serbia to Brazil in two years time. His first squad selection raised a few eyebrows, with the absence of some notable players, although it seems that he is ready to put faith in youth, rather than experience. He has an enviable defence consisting of Ivanovic (Chelsea), Subotic (Dortmund), Kolarov (Man City) and Lukovic (Zenit), but the Serbs do lack in midfield and upfront. Their gradual demise down the FIFA rankings proves they are a dying threat.

A more likely challenge to the top spot in group A is likely to come from Belgium. The Belgium's are ranked 53rd in the world, but are a nation on the rise. I will temporarily limit my views on Belgium for the time being, as the next blog post will be dedicated to Marc Wilmots side. However, I will say that I truly believe that they will top group A, as their squad, captained by Vincent Kompany, is peaking just at the right time.

Fourth seeds in the group are Scotland. The Scots have always possessed the fighting spirit that puts fear into opposing sides, however since their hay days of the 70s and 80s, Scotland have never had a squad capable of realistically challenging on the international stage. They will believe they can beat anyone in Scotland, but they must pick up points on the road. Their squad, however, is gradually improving with more and more becoming first team regulars in the English Premiership. Keep a particular eye out for Norwich City man Robert Snodgrass who could prove to be Scotland's key man. The lack of a true minnow in the group could possibly be a positive for Scotland, as a lapse in concentration against the likes of Liechtenstein, Faroe Islands and San Marino often costs the Scots.

The bottom seeded side in group A is Wales. They, too, have a new manager at the helm. But, many are asking if Chris Coleman is the right man for the job. There is no doubt Wales have a talented squad with the likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, justified by their leap up the FIFA rankings from 112th to 37th in just two years, however their recent form does not match the same signs of progress. They should have enough to beat fourth seeds Macedonia, in the group, but can forget about qualifying from what is a rather misleadingly hard group. However, it must also be said that Macedonia themself have some decent players, such as Goran Pandev, Goran Popov and Darko Tasevski, and may make life difficult for the group leaders who travel to Skopje.

Group qualifiers: Croatia and Belgium

Group B:

European Championship runners up, Italy, are the number one seed in group B. The Azzurri will be expected to top the group, but may face some stiff opposition. They begin their journey on Friday in Bulgaria, before facing Malta. Nothing other than six points will be a disappointment, which may lead to a troublesome campaign. However, I believe they will begin with a 100% start, and real trouble will come when they face Denmark and Czech Republic.

Denmark looked impressive at the European Championships and have the squad capable of challenging for top spot in the group. They stunned number one seeds Portugal in their Euro qualifying group, by winning it, and will be hoping to do the same again. They sit 10th in the FIFA world rankings thanks to players such as Daniel Agger, Michael Krohn-Dehli and Christian Eriksen, and should qualify for their fifth World Cup.

Third seeds Czech Republic have only qualified for one world cup since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, quite surprising considering the quality of players they have had at their disposal. They somewhat overachieved at the Euros, which they qualified for by the skin of their teeth. They will be looking to challenge the top two, although I expect them to fall short.

Bulgaria find themselves on the same course as Czech Republic, as a once great footballing nation falling down the ranks into mediocrity. The days of Hristo Stoichkov and World Cup semi-finals are well behind them. Now their squad, minus Stillyan Petrov who everyone wishes a speedy recovery to full health, is almost unrecognisable. They face a long qualifying campaign, that should be used to nurture young talent.

Armenia are very much an unknown quantity on the international stage. However, in the last few years they have shot up the FIFA rankings, with a current ranking of 56th. They rely firmly on Shaktar Donetsk midfielder Henrikh Mykhitaryan, who runs the show in midfield. Their last World Cup qualifying campaign saw them bottom the group, however they went on to impress in the Euro qualifiers, finishing third in the group as the groups top scorers. This group could allow them to further enhance their FIFA ranking, which will stand them in good stead for future qualification campaigns.

The group minnows are Malta. They have very little pedigree at this level, although they have won their last three friendlies, albeit against Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and San Marino. Those who closely follow the English Championship may recognise star player Michael Mifsud upfront who formerly played for Coventry, amongst others.

Group qualifiers: Italy and Denmark

Group C:

Joachim Low's Germany are top dogs in group C. The German conveyor belt of football players just keeps churning out superstars and they are unlikely to be challenged. Incredibly, the last time Germany lost a qualifier for any tournament, was in October 2007, where an inform Czech side beat them 3-0 in Munich. Don't bet against them extending the run, especially with players like Ozil, Schweinsteiger and Podolski in the squad.

The Germans main challengers are likely to be Sweden and Republic of Ireland. Both come off the back of a disappointing European Championship and will be looking to rectify proceedings. Ireland manager Giovani Trapattoni has a difficult task on his hands with many senior players choosing to retire. He will be hoping young prospects James McLean and James McCarthy will step up to the plate, or else he will be saying 'Ciao' to Ireland's chances of qualification. Sweden, on the other hand, will be very happy with the draw, as they have a very realistic chance of making second spot theirs. People may see Ibrahimovic as having his best days behind him, as he moves into what has to be said a rather weak league, with PSG. However, many would be a fool to think this, as the Bosnian born Swede still has plenty experience and goals to offer.

Fourth seeds in the group are Austria. On paper, the Austrians have a decent looking side. Nine squad members play in the German Bundesliga, including the crudely named Andres Ivanschitz and Christian Fuchs, and it is hoped that they will provide useful insight on their German opponents when they meet. Hot head Marko Arnautovic has always offered potential upfront, although his arrogance has sometimes got the better of him. If they can get off to a good start, they might turn a few heads as the group progresses.

Group C is unique, in that in possess two of Europe's recognised cannon fodder. An unexpected surge up the rankings from Faroe Islands saw them creep up into pot five in the draw. When the draw was made, the Faroes were ranked 112th, with 8 European countries below them. They now sit at a more commonly associated 153rd, as Europe's third lowest ranked team. In fact, they are now ranked below the group's sixth seed team Kazakhstan. Neither team will be expected to mix it with the big boys.

Group qualifiers: Germany and Sweden
Group D:

Group D is likely to be dominated by the Netherlands. They have turned to Louis Van Gaal to manage the team for a second time, after he stepped down in 2002 due to an ill fated qualifying campaign, which saw the Dutch fail to qualify for the 2002 World Cup. He has big boots to fill, as no one can deny that Bert Van Marwijk succeeded expectations as Oranje manager. Van Gaal is one of another long list of managers to put faith in youngsters. Although it has to be said, that the youngsters he has chosen are of a very high standard.

If the race for 1st in the group was a foregone conclusion, with it being hard to see past Holland; the race for second will be an intriguing one. The front runners are expected to be Turkey, who have a very strong looking midfield and strike force, but lack in the defensive department. The Turks are always good for a bit of drama and never do things the easy way.

They will be run close for second place by Hungary and Romania. Hungary were once a dominant force in world football, finishing as runners up in 1938 and 1954. A long time ago I hear you cry, and you would be right. They have never matched the same dizzying heights of the Magical Magyars which included the legendary Ferenc Puskas, having qualified for only three World Cups since 1970. However, the future looks to be good with their Under 20 side finishing third at the 2009 U-20 World Cup. The players that made up that squad are beginning to make their mark on the first team, such as Balazs Dzsudzsak, Vladimir Koman and Adam Szalai.

Romania's glory days are a not so distant memory. You only need to rewind back less than twenty years to see the likes of Gheorghe Hagi, Florin Raducioiu and Illie Dumitrescu take Romania to the quarter final of the World Cup and then the same position at the 2000 European Championship. They are on a decent run, having lost just two of their last eleven matches.

The team to avoid in pot five was definitely Estonia. Although they lack any star names, they managed to finish second in their Euro 2012 qualifying group, before losing a playoff against Ireland. However, they probably excelled in the last qualifying campaign and may fail to meet the same high standards. They will look forward to meeting group minnows Andorra, as they are somewhat of a bogey team for the Catalans. The two nations have met nine times, with Estonia winning every time. In fact Andorra have only ever won one World Cup qualifying match since they first auditioned in 1998, and scored just 11 goals.

Group qualifiers: Netherlands and Turkey

Group E:

You may be forgiven for thinking group E does not have a pot one team. In fact, Norway, were ranked 12th when the draw was made, only to drop 13 places since, and were therefore a pot one team. The Scandinavians have only played in 3 out of a 19 possible World Cups. They did, however, look impressive in the Euro 2012 qualification, finishing joint second with Portugal.

Pot two's representatives in the group are Slovenia. They start with two crucial matches against Switzerland and Norway, two must wins if they want to top the group. If they can win their first two matches they will put themselves in pole position to qualify for their third World Cup. Look out for PSV striker Tim Matavz, who is a born goal scorer.

The highest ranked team in the group are Switzerland, yet they are in pot three. They will, however, feel they have a good chance in this group. In 2006 they broke records for all the wrong reasons at the World Cup. They were the first team to be eliminated without loosing a game, going out to Ukraine on penalties. Incidentally, they missed every penalty in the shootout, again the first team to do so at a World Cup. However, on the plus side they did set the record in the 2010 World Cup for the most consecutive minutes without conceding a goal, stringing back to the unfortunate 2006 campaign. They will be expecting to qualify from what is an unchallenging group.

The bottom seeds in the group, may have their best ever chance of qualifying for a major tournament. Although Iceland are without golden boy, Eidur Gudjohnsen, they have a very handy squad. Aficionado's of Icelandic football will be well aware of the quality their squad has, however implementing it onto the pitch may be a problem. The likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson (Tottenham), Johan Berg Gudmundsson (AZ Alkmaar) and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson (Ajax) are all under the age of 23 but are highly rated across Europe. Maybe it is one campaign to early for Iceland's young guns.

The two remaining teams in group E are Albania and Cyprus. No one is expecting them to gatecrash the top two qualifying spots and their finishing places in the group is a toss up really. Albania may have a slight edge with experienced players such as ex Sunderland and current Lazio man Lorik Cana, as well as Erjon Bogdani. Albania's biggest ever win came three years ago against Cyprus, and judging by the Cypriot squad that has plummeted 43 ranking places in the last two years, a similar score may well occur.

Group qualifiers: Slovenia and Switzerland

Group F:

If ever there was a two horse race, group F is it. Portugal are the front runners in the group, having impressed at Euro 2012. With Cristiano Ronaldo captaining the side, it is hard to see past them not qualifying for a fourth straight World Cup finals.

Their only rivals in the group will be Russia. After match day one of Euro 2012, some people were tipping them to go all the way. Although the longer the tournament went on, cracks and weaknesses became apparent. The 2018 hosts will want to enter their World Cup with confidence and quality, and that project starts now with Fabio Capello at the helm. Alan Dzagoev is certainly one for the future, in a Russian side that should aim for no worse than second place in the group.

Europe's second worst team of the last two years has officially been Israel. They have plunged into international wilderness with a lowly FIFA ranking of 82nd. It is in fact their lowest ever ranking, giving the side little belief that they can qualify for Israel's second World Cup. English Premiership fans will be well aware of the quality that Israel captain Yossi Benayoun possess, however he is about the only quality player in the squad.

Northern Ireland are another team that has suffered in the last two years, ranked 62nd in 2010, but now sit 101st. They are without influential trio Paddy McCourt, Martin Paterson and Shane Ferguson for their opening qualifiers. They will be hoping to rekindle some of the magic that occurred in their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, which saw them beat Spain, Sweden and Denmark, only to finish third. Had it not been for two uncharacteristic losses to Iceland, they would have qualified.

The bottom two sides in the group are Azerbaijan and Luxembourg. Under the guidance of Berti Vogts, Azerbaijan have seen a gradual improvement. Despite having no big name players to choose from, or indeed hardly any from outwith Azerbaijan, Vogts has achieved the most qualification points compared to any of his predecessors. However, they have never beaten any of the sides in their group, apart from Luxembourg. Luxembourg's squad for the first two games have only sixteen international goals combined. Portugal and Russia scored 17 and 19 respectively in their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaigns. Draw from that your own conclusions.

Group qualifiers: Portugal and Russia

Group G:

Since Greece stunned Europe in 2004 by winning the European Championships, they have surprised many by managing to maintain a competitive side. Most people saw it as a freak incident, that would do nothing but put pressure on future Greek sides to match the incredible feet. However, they have qualified for every major tournament since and shocked a few people with their swashbuckling displays in this years Euros. They have been handed a rather fortuitous draw, that they will surely take advantage of.

Barring a Greek demise that coincides with their recent economy, the chase for second place will be contested by Slovakia and Bosnia. Although Slovakia are some way off their highest ranking of 15th, they still have enough quality players to qualify for a second consecutive World Cup. Captain Marek Hamsik is supported in midfield by tricky wingers Vladimir Weiss and Miroslav Stoch. Their problem may be in the goalscoring department, especially since strikers Filip Holosko, Stanislav Sestak and Erin Jendrisek all failed to make the squad for the first two qualifiers. They may be wishing they had one of Bosnia's key frontmen, consisting of Man City's Edin Dzeko and Stuttgart's Vedad Ibisevic. Both will pose a threat to any national side and they are backed up well by a solid midfield. After narrowly missing out on Euro 2012 qualification, this may be the year for Bosnia.

Baltic rivals Lithuania and Latvia fill the fourth and fifth seed places in group G. In the recent Baltic Cup, Latvia hammered Lithuania 5-0, if that is anything to go by. Latvia, actually far from embarrassed themselves in the last World Cup qualification process. They finished third in their group just four points behind group winners Switzerland. Reading centre half Kaspars Gorkss captains the side, who will turn to veteran striker Maris Verpakovskis for goals, in what may be his last campaign for the national side. Their neighbours Lithuania are regular mid-group finishers and are draw specialists. However, I expect a more troublesome campaign ahead.

Liechtenstein will hope that this qualifying campaign goes something like their 2006 qualifying campaign. Their first ever qualifying wins came against Luxembourg, although arguably more notably, they drew with Portugal and Slovakia. Their Euro 2012 qualifiers involved a win and a draw against Lithuania. So they may look to pick up a few points with Slovakia and Lithuania in their group again.

Group qualifiers: Greece and Bosnia

Group H:

The out right favourites for group H is England. As they enter a new era led by Roy Hodgson, they will be hoping that group H will be as straight forward as it seems. That said, lets move on to their opponents.

Montenegro only played their first match as an independent nation in 2007, but have made quite an impression. Their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign saw them draw twice with current group opponents England, which saw them earn a play-off against Czech Republic. They went their first four games without conceding a goal and only lost twice. However, they disappointed against Czech Republic losing 3-0 on aggregate. Since then they have slowly dropped down the rankings and may struggle to qualify.

European Championship co-hosts Poland and Ukraine were ironically drawn together in group H, and are more likely to challenge for second spot. Both teams failed to qualify from their groups at the Euros, however they did not go out without a fight. Poland have Dortmund trio Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Robert Lewandowski as their main men, and will rely on them being fit and on form if they are to qualify. Ukraine are planning for life without hero Andriy Shevchenko, which may be difficult. Shevchenko defined Ukrainian football and progress without him may be slow and gradual. Therefore Poland may pip them to second spot.

Group H is completed by lacklustre duo Moldova and San Marino. Moldova will enjoy being drawn with San Marino again, as they beat them twice in Euro 2012 qualifying. However, they are officially Europe's worst side of the last two years, dropping 52 places in the FIFA rankings. San Marino are equally as bad and have the undesirable tag as the worlds lowest ranked team. They have only ever won one match and I would not be surprised if England put double digits past them.

Group qualifiers: England and Poland

Group I:

The phrase 'last but certainly not least' would be appropriate for group I. World and European champions Spain fill the top spot and are likely to do so come the end of the campaign. Their side of superstars will be to much for their opponents, with only France capable of taking points off them.

France may feel slightly hard done by in being drawn with Spain. However, they went through a playoff to qualify for the 2010 World Cup and may have to plan for a similar outcome. Their squad is not as strong as previous years, but they should still have enough to finish second. Their clashes with Spain are likely to be the highlights of all UEFA qualification fixtures.

Belarus were the only team to beat France in the Euro 2012 qualifiers and they will be hoping they can do the same again this time. If they do, they will give them self a realistic chance of qualifying. They have a good young team, that did well at the Olympics and the 2011 Under 21 European Championships. If they can refrain from leaking goals, which has proved a habit in past campaigns, they may have a slim chance of causing an upset in the group.

The final two teams in the group are Georgia and Finland. The closest Georgia came to qualification was in 1998, when they finished fourth in their group. They assembled a competitive squad that reached 42 in the FIFA rankings. However, despite turning to experienced Argentinian manager Hector Cupar, they could not progress, and have since seen a dramatic demise. They have now turned to one of their ex-stars in the shape of Temuri Ketsbaia to lead the team to greater things. But it must be said, that the former Newcastle man has a real challenge on his hands.

Like Georgia, Finland also have a former player in charge. Mixu Paatelainen also has a tough job ahead and will do well to pick up a few wins in the group. They have, however, began the year well, winning four of their six games and losing just one. He will put a lot of faith in brothers Roman and Alexei Eremenko, along with Ajax man Niklas Moisander. However, playing in the five team group always makes things harder for lesser teams, as they do not have the possibility of a confidence boosting mauling of Europe's whipping boys.

Group qualifiers: Spain and France