European play-offs games of Thursday

CAIRO – 9 November 2017: The European zone play-offs start on Thursday to decide the last four countries that will compete in the 2018 World Cup European teams.

So far 23 teams qualified to the World Cup and another nine teams are to be decided on next week; four from Europe, three from Africa and two teams from Asia-Concacaf clashes.

Croatia is set to meet Greece in the first match of the European playoffs in a great competition to decide which team will qualify Thursday at 09:45 p.m. (Cairo Local time).

Croatia wasted their advantage in Group I and ended up surrendering to Iceland in an unexpected manner. They have a powerful group of high quality players in their squad but they have been irregular in form.

Luka Modric, the Croatian Real Madrid play-maker will try to give his best with the national team despite his bad performance with Madrid, alongside Ivan Rakitic, Barcelona’s midfielder, who will also try to create chances for Mario Mandzukic to score. All three players will do their utmost to have Croatia in the World Cup.

Greece, which could not surpass Belgium but assumed second place in the European group H ahead of Bosnia, could become the first team to qualify after three consecutive World Cup repeats.

Greece has the theoretical advantage as the first-leg will be played at the Maksimir stadium in Zagreb, Croatia, and the second-leg will played at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium in Piraeus, Greece.

The other European play-off will be between Northern Ireland and Switzerland in Windsor Park at 09:45 p.m. (Cairo Local time).

Northern Ireland`s progress is commendable after many years of drought since the team played in the World Cup of Spain in 1982 and Mexico in 1986. Switzerland lost first place in its group after its defeat to Portugal in their last match in the group stage.