WHILE MOST IRISH fans will be fully focused on the events at Stadion Bilino Polje in Zenica on Friday evening, the beauty of the Euro 2016 qualifiers is that football fans can look forward to six consecutive days of do-or-die matches.
And it all kicks off this evening.
Norway v Hungary
First leg
Where: Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo
What channel: Sky Sports 3
When: 7.45pm – Thursday, 12 November
Second leg
Where: Groupama Arena, Budapest
What channel: Sky Sports 5
When: 7.45pm – Sunday, 15 November
Norway finished their qualification campaign in some style, taking nine points from their last four games but have failed to win a single home game in November in the last 20 years.
Hungary were on course for automatic qualification as the best third place team until Turkey’s late goal and their own loss to Greece in the final round of qualifiers sent them into the playoffs.
Norway’s only appearance at a European Championship saw them crash out at the group stage in 2000 despite a 1-0 win over Spain while Hungary’s last major championships came back at the 1986 World Cup.
Norway are currently 4/6 favourites to advance to the Euros while Hungary are 9/4.
Ukraine v Slovenia
First leg
Where: Lviv Arena, Lviv
What channel: Sky Sports 1
When: 5.00pm – Saturday, 14 November
Second leg
Where: Ljudski vrt, Maribor
What channel: Sky Sports 4
When: 7.45pm – Tuesday, 17 November
Revenge is a dish best served 16 years later and the first leg hosts will look to do better than they did in 1999 when they lost to the same opponents in the playoffs for Euro 2000.
Slovenia have a very good record when it comes to playoffs, winning both their World Cup ones and one of their two European championship playoffs.
Ukraine made their first Euros appearance when they were co-hosts in 2012 but do have a World Cup quarter-finals (2006) to their name while Slovenia has only reached the Euros once before, going out in the group stages at the turn of the millennium.
Ukraine (8/15) are heavy favourites to advance with Solvenia available at 6/4 to make the trip to France.
Sweden v Denmark
First leg
Where: Friends Arena, Stockholm
What channel: Sky Sports 1
When: 7.45pm – Saturday, 14 November
Second leg
Where: Telia Parken, Copenhagen
What channel: Sky Sports 1
When: 7.45pm – Tuesday, 17 November
Quite possibly the pick of the the playoffs, these two sides have met a remarkable 104 times with Sweden winning 46 to Denmark’s 40.
Denmark beat their neighbours in the 2010 World Cup playoffs and secured a 1-0 victory the last time they met in 2014. Indeed, Sweden has never beaten Demark in a home qualifying game.
While the Swedes come into the game on the back of two successive 2-0 wins, the Danes have not scored in their last three competitive fixtures which is why the first leg hosts are 4/5 favourites to advance to Euro 2016 with Denmark available at evens.
