Preview: Decisive WC Qualifiers
Domestic football has once again gone on a break to allow for some decisive international fixtures. With the European WC qualifiers coming to an end, let’s take a look at some of the games in the upcoming days!
England – Serbia
Thursday @ 20:45 CET
England
England have already qualified for next year’s tournament, having won all of their 6 matches so far. In other words, for the home side, this is more about keeping the momentum going, possibly giving some players that aren’t usually playing some minutes and avoiding injuries.
There are a few interesting aspects to consider here as well, though, with Harry Kane looking to score in his 5th successive match at Wembley, and the Bayern Munich striker has been on fire this season. Maybe even more incredible is the fact that England have yet to concede any goals during this qualifier! Their goal difference of 18-0 is impressive, and Serbia would love to be the team that finally grabs a goal against tonight’s favourites.
England beat Serbia 5-0 in their first meeting during these qualifiers, and although that seems unlikely to happen again here, you simply never know when you have players like Kane, Saka and a newly invigorated Rashford in the team.
England are clear favourites, though Serbia are desperate for a chance to grab the 2nd spot in the group in this one.
England to win: 1.27
England up at HT: 1.70
Serbia
Serbia have lost two matches during these qualifiers, and although the 0-5 loss to England was embarrassing, losing 0-1 at home to Albania was in many ways worse, considering how it hampers their qualification chances.
Both of Serbia’s losses in these qualifiers came at home, and they are actually undefeated away from home in their last 7 qualifiers. Mitrovic is missing, so the away supporters will be hoping to see Juventus striker Vlahovic cause problems for the England defense.
Can Serbia manager Dragan Stojkovic pull off a miracle in London this evening?
Serbia to win: 11.50
Serbia up at HT: 8.30
Poland – Netherlands
Friday @ 20:45 CET
Poland
Poland are hoping to ruin the party for the Netherlands tomorrow, with the visitors securing their spot in the WC with a win in Warsaw. These two teams are currently 1st and 2nd in Group G, with Netherlands 3 points ahead of their opponents ahead of kick-off.
Poland’s 1-2 loss against Finland back in June was a shock, but the hosts should be able to secure at least 2nd place in the group considering they have Malta away left in their final fixture of the qualifiers. A win at home tomorrow will open up the door to winning the group however, so the home supporters will be out in numbers to spur their team on to a famous victory.
Poland do struggle with beating Netherlands, having only beaten them 3 times in their last 21 fixtures, with their last win coming all the way back in 1979. It seems unlikely that Poland will grab a win here, but we’ve definitely seen bigger upsets in the WC qualifiers. Lewandowski will be key if they are to succeed here, with Szymanski, Zielinski, Kiwior and Cash also expected to play their part in tomorrow’s big match.
Poland to win: 4.95
Poland up at HT: 4.70
Netherlands
Ronald Koeman and Netherlands can secure their spot in next summer’s big tournament with a win Friday night, and they’re clear odds favourites to do just that. Weghorst has withdrawn from the squad, but De Ligt is back in, having played well for a Man Utd team that are showing signs of improvement lately. Frenkie De Jong will probably partner up with Gravenberch in midfield, with Depay, Kluivert, Malen and Gakpo a likely attacking selection.
Netherlands have gone through these qualifiers without a loss, but they only managed a draw at home against Poland, so they will certainly not take anything for granted in tomorrow’s match in Warsaw.
Will we see Netherlands secure a spot in next year’s WC, or will Poland at least delay the celebration with a result here?
Netherlands to win: 1.68
Netherlands up at HT: 2.22
Greece – Scotland
Saturday @ 18:45
Greece
The last match we’ll take a closer look at today is Greece – Scotland, with Scotland still in with a chance to win group C. Greece are however going through a tough period, having only won 1 of their four matches in the qualifiers so far. With only their honour left to play for, can Scotland make them pay for it?
Greece lost 1-3 away at Scotland in October, and it’s hard to see how Greece would do much better in this fixture. Vangelis Pavlidis will need to be in goalscoring form this weekend if they are to ruin the night for Scotland, with Roma defender Tsimikas also hoping to contribute after having shown good form in Italy this season.
Konstantinos Mavropanos and Fotis Ioannidis are out due to injury.
Greece to win: 2.28
Greece up at HT: 2.98
Scotland
Scotland beat Greece 3-1 in the reverse fixture during these qualifiers, and despite being underdogs in the odds, they certainly won’t be lacking any motivation going in to this match. A win here will set them up nicely ahead of their final WC qualifying match next week at home against Denmark, meaning they’ll be able to secure the top spot and qualification to next year’s WC tournament.
Lennon Miller and Ross McCrorie are out with injury, with Napoli’s Billy Gilmour also out against Greece, though Scotland manager Steve Clarke is hoping to have him ready by the potential decider against Denmark on Tuesday.
Craig Gordon, now 42 years old, could feature due to Angus Gunn’s injury, while the key players for Scotland here will likely be McTominay, Adams and McGinn.
Scotland to win: 3.35
Scotland up at HT: 3.95
Enjoy the international football break!
Odds might have changed since the writing and/or publication of this article.
Last Updated: 01.12.2025
