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The one peice of news that is coming out of the Scottish Camp ahead of what is now a prety important game against Lithuania is that Barry Ferguson and Steven Thompson have pulled out from the squad. IOt is likely either McNamara or Cameron will come into a shuffled pack. Maurice Ross is available for selection, he was under a suspension for the Iceland game as was the now missing Thompson. SO really it is only Ferguson who is missing from the team that had a narrow victory over Iceland.
Any more news or views on the upcoming international games???
I will try to post info about Slovenia v Cyprus game, this is a match I am afraid of, things in our team are far from being perfect, now. Internal problems, injuries, etc. Will post latest news, but I am afraid it can be a no-bet game at the end of the day.
were missing four players against Germany including Skerla from Dunfermline, all four were important and now it is feared Jankauskas of Porto will also be missing after he limped off near the end of the Germny game so this could also be bad news for Lithuania. Scotland will be going for three points, according to an interview with Christian Dailly this is the way Vogts wants his teams to play, for three points accept no substitute!
I think there are some bankers among these games. Chech R. , France and Greece X2 (around 1.25).
Slovenia - Cyprus is definitelly a no bet game. I heard the game against Israel on the radio and Cyprus played very badly (by the way israel was even worse). Maybe some value on Cyprus but I will stay away. Cheers.
"If it walks, looks and quacks like a duck... then it's a duck"
Republic have been really disappointing but after their win in Georgia I fancy them to beat Albania (who mind you handed a 3-1 gubbing to Russia) 8/13 looks too short. (too late bet has been placed !!!)
Scotland will also be very disappointed if they don't come back with all 3 points - Lithuania had a fantastic result in Germany but I honestly don't think they will slip up again against the minnows.
Iceland have already gubbed them 3-0 and Scotland have now beat Iceland home & away - form looks good. (OK they did beat the Faroes 2-0 and we drew 2-2)
England have a tough game against the Turks (World Cup semi-finalists) - both these teams where knocked out by eventual winners Brazil but I think home advantage will just swing this into Englands court. Sol Campbell being fit is also a massive boost for England.
All 3 must win and IMO will.
Another I may be interested in is Switzerland away to Georgia (Switz won 4-1 in Sept - Switz also beat Rep of Ireland who beat Georgia at the weekend - form looks pretty good on paper).
Moldova-Holland - Euro 2004 Qualification 2 @1.20
Lithuania-Scotland - Euro 2004 Qualification 1X @3.15 @3.10
N.Ireland-Greece - Euro 2004 Qualification 2 @2.00
Estonia-Bulgaria - Euro 2004 Qualification 2 @1.70
Albania-Rep.Ireland - Euro 2004 Qualification 1X @4.50 @3.20
Holland because this game is a "must win" for them
Greece because of is the last change for Oto Rehagel to prove something.
Bulgaria because of the solid team that they have.
Also i don't think that Scotland or Rep Ireland will win again. Both of them will be satisfy with the draw at least.
Good luck to all!
Agogon - I don't want to put a damper on you bets but Scotland certainly will not go there to settle for a draw. When this draw was made Lithiuania are a minnow side as far as I'm concerned and if Scotland don't beat these guys home and away then automatic qualification isn't an option.
I know we slipped up away to the Faroes but I honestly can't see Scotland doing it again !
Scotland will be going for a win..they will want to try and be level or have more points when they come up against Germany in June..once again Good Luck Scotland..just don't go to sleep like you did for the 1st 20 mins in the 2nd half on Saturday.
But Greece must have a decent chance v Northern Ireland..Sammy McIlroys team just don't seem to be able to score just now and sit bottom of the group..confidence is low for the NI team and if you can secure over 2.00 for Greece it might be worth taking a shot on.
1X2 02 Apr 03 20:45
Home Draw Away
Israel v France
8.30 4.50 1.30
Benayoun missing
Besides the loss of home advantage, Israel face the reigning European champions and Group 1 leaders with only one fit foreign-based player in Galatasaray SK's Haim Revivo after Real Racing Club Santander's Yossi Benayoun was left nursing a broken toe following Saturday's 1-1 draw with Cyprus in Limassol. Eyal Berkovic was already missing after a hernia operation and coach Avraham Grant admitted on arrival in Sicily that he was "already thinking of a few changes". One likely change is a starting role for Maccabi Tel-Aviv's Avi Nimni, a second-half substitute in Limassol.
France on course
Saturday's 6-0 victory over Malta was their fourth in succession and means they have already opened up an eight-point gap over the second-placed Israelis, who have four points from their two games, and Cyprus. Santini admitted: "If we win on Wednesday we will be on 15 points and very close to qualification. But mathematically even with a victory we won't be qualified."
Vieira to return
The France coach warned that he was "expecting a much tougher challenge" from Israel than Malta presented, but it does not help the 'home' side's chances that Patrick Vieira is expected to return in midfield alongside Claude Makelele. The Arsenal FC captain missed the Malta match with a knee strain, his place passing to FC Sochaux-Montbéliard's Benoît Pedretti. Vieira said: "My knee is better, I hope I'll play".
I have to notice that my bet is my view on these games. My approximation is based on comparision of two betting companies odds. I 've decide to post it because of its high performance last Saturday. Although in my opinion betting is betting and is better to avoid International games, i have to wish (Bigslim and other Scotish members) good luck to Scotland.
To say that Turkey have better players than England is ridiculous in my opinion. There is no doubt that England have better players and greater strength in depth. However, at the moment, there appears no real desire from England, and I would say this is the beginning of the end for Sven Goran Eriksson if this game goes wrong.
Turkey are better organised and are much more familiar with each other and play more as a team. As a result, I would rate England's chances of winning at slightly under 50%. I'm not going to bet on the game, but just going to watch with my fingers crossed that England win!!
For me is a no bet game and unfortunately always will be!
They lack flair a good goalscorer and are to inconsistent.
As the 2-2 showed away to the Faroes and just because they beat Iceland and iceland beat Lithuania that means nothing with Scotland.
I personally wouldnt back them away to Boston let alone Lithuania.
My head says Draw and my heart really hopes for an away win.
With a surname like mine i wish i had more confidence in them but not many people can have!
A decisive match for shaken Slovenia side, wounds we got on World cup are still much alive, Katanec resigned then and Zahovic, our main player is not what he was before.
What can SLovenia in such state and injury problems (Acimovic,Tottenham, Knavs,Kaiserslautern, Cimerotic,Lecce), three important players missing. Still, the rest of the squad are determined to win and to stay in race for second place in the group.
The game will be played in Ljubljana, on rainy weather, at 20.15 local time.
My prediction: a hard game, as it will be any for our team. I still hope for a home win, but it wont be a stroll, it will be a muddy fight.
So, at low odds as they are, NO BET for me.
I think it is decent enoug value as Scotland have great incentive to win and if they take points now it saves them having to worry as much about playing Germany, but it is far from easy and also pretty much a no bet for me, but X2 or just bak away with draw seems a very good chance IMO.
like they did in Iceland and for most of Saturdays game then i would say yes 2.30 is good odds ..but you can never be certain how we will play..over the years when you expect Scotland to win they don't and when you expect them to lose they win.
I would be more than happy with a play off place from this group as it is well known this isn't the strongest squad we have ever had,but fair play to them they are sitting top for the moment and not many of us thought we would see that.
Rab Douglas is 50/50 to be in goals for tonights match..a match for me to watch and not for betting in.
A thigh injury could yet prevent Scotland keeper Rab Douglas from playing in the crucial Euro 2004 qualifier against Lithuania.
Scotland coach Berti Vogts named Douglas as a doubt for the game immediately following Saturday's win over Iceland, but he was subsequently declared fit.
However, renewed concerns over his fitness have surfaced and that would mean a competitive debut for Dundee United's Paul Gallacher.
Vogts is staying tight-lipped about his selection and will not name the injured Barry Ferguson's replacement until just before kick off.
There are a number of options open to Vogts, the most obvious of which would be to bring in one of Scot Gemmill, Colin Cameron or Jackie McNamara as a direct replacement.
However, there are less conventional alternatives, such as dropping Don Hutchison back beside Paul Lambert and bringing Paul Devlin or Bradford's Andy Gray into the starting line-up.
Lithuania are our strongest opponent for second place now
Berti Vogts
Devlin impressed as a substitute against Iceland on Saturday, but Hutchison also performed well as the link between midfield and attack.
Concerns have been aired about the conditions the Scots will have to play in, but Vogts has no complaints.
"The stadium is okay and the pitch is as well. It is not easy for Lithuanians with the weather conditions here," he said.
The Lithuanians were themselves missing four of their best players when recording a 1-1 draw with Germany in Nuremberg.
That result against the side ranked 106th in the world shook the group favourites and left the Scots top of the section, ahead of the Germans on goal difference.
They hope to have top striker Edgaras Jankauskas fit to face the Scots and could make another couple of changes, despite the fantastic result in Germany.
Rolandas Dziaukstas appears likely to replace Vadimas Petrenka in defence, while Darius Maceiulevius could come in for Arunas Pukelevicius.
I'm shocked with some results today- Denmark loose to Bosnia 0-2,Lithuania beat Scotland,Holland had problem in Moldova.It's intersting whether Spain win tonight...
although disappointed they lost,they needn't feel to bad..Lithunia dived at every opportunity tonight no matter where they were on the park a fact noted by Rudi Voeller when interviewed on radio tonight after the game..it came as no suprise when they got near the box that he went down ..Jackie McNamara actually ran across the back of the player trying to pull out of a tackle and any contact was slight but down he went ...as i say no suprise as they done it all night..we are still in 2nd place with a game in hand of Lithuania ,so a play off place is still on the cards something many of us would have taken at the start of the tournie...i only saw the 2nd half of the England game so can't say if anything happened in the 1st half but for me Turkey were going in for tackles after England scored looking to injure ,one of my fav players Tugay done himself no favours with indiscipline near the end .
Turkey were a disgrace throughout. They were going down after the slightest touch, and then giving the England players a pounding off the ball. How Alpay wasn't at least booked, I will never know. Everyone knew Turkey would be like that though, must have been taking lessons from Argentina!
They'll do the same in Istanbul, just hope the referee there isn't a homer
Lithuania are our strongest opponent for second place now 
