Euro 2020 Qualifiers, Matchday 5 Preview: Spain, Italy, Germany, Belgium, England seek to continue perfect record

Following the first 24-team Euros in 2016, Euro 2020 will also have the same number of teams, comprising six groups of four teams each.

However, in a first, the 2020 Euro finals will be a multi-country affair, with a pre-determined pair of six different host cities for the respective groups.

In another first, there will be no automatic qualifying berths for host countries. That means all the 55 UEFA member nations enter 10 qualifying groups - five groups of five countries and another five groups of six countries each. All the 10 group winners and runner-ups from qualifiers would qualify automatically for the finals.

The 16 winners of the inaugural UEFA Nations League, clubbed into four groups of four teams each, would contest single-leg semifinals and finals in their respective groups, to determine the four remaining places in the competition proper.

Qualification for Euro 2020 commenced in March this year. A total of 315 goals have been scored in 100 games across four matchdays.

Qualifying resumes this week (5th to 7th September 2019) with Matchday-5 qualifiers, where 50 of the 55 teams would be in action. Here is a brief preview of the various matches across the groups on Matchday-5:

5 September 2019

#1 Group D: Republic of Ireland (10 pts) vs Switzerland (4 pts)

Group leaders Ireland welcome third-placed Switzerland to Dublin on matchday-5. Both Ireland and Switzerland are unbeaten after four and two games respectively.

Ireland have 8 wins and 5 losses in 16 previous meetings with Switzerland but have won 2 and lost 3 of their 8 competitive fixtures with the Alpine nation.

In their last group games, Ireland beat Gibraltar 2-0 in Dublin while Switzerland split points with Denmark after a 3-3 draw in Basel.

#2 Group D: Gibraltar (0 pts) vs Denmark (5 pts)

Denmark, the third unbeaten team in Group D, travel to Gibraltar on matchday-5. This would be the first meeting between the two sides.

The 1992 Euro winners would be highly favored to take all three points against Gibraltar, who are yet to open their account and score a goal after 3 games.

In their last group games, Denmark beat Georgia 5-1 in Copenhagen and Gibraltar lost 2-0 against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.

#3 Group F: Romania (7 pts) vs Spain (12 pts)

Spain would look to extend their perfect start in qualifying to five wins out of five when they play Romania in Bucharest on matchday-5. Claudio Keseru of Romania, with 5 goals, is the top scorer in the group.

Spain have 5 wins and 3 losses from their 12 previous competitive meetings with Romania.

In their last group games on matchday-4, Spain beat Belgium 3-0 in Madrid and Romania drew 2-2 with Norway in Oslo.

#4 Group F: Norway (5 pts) vs Malta (3 pts)

Fourth-placed Norway welcome fifth-placed Malta to Oslo in a game both sides need to win, to stay within touching distance of group leaders Spain.

Norway have beaten Malta in each of the six previous competitive meetings between the pair.

In their last games on matchday-4, Norway beat Faroe Islands 2-0 in Torshavn and Malta lost 0-4 to Romania in Ta'Qali.

#5 Group F: Faroe Islands (0 pts) vs Sweden (7 pts)

Second-placed Sweden travel to Torshavn where they face winless hosts Faroe Islands who are yet to open their account. The Swedes would be favoured to take all three points against the bottom-placed team in their group and close the gap on section leaders Spain.

The Nordic nation have won both of their previous competitive fixtures with Faroe Islands.

In their last group games on Matchday-4, Sweden lost 0-3 to Spain in Madrid and Faroe Islands lost 0-2 against Norway in Torshavn.

#6 Group G: Israel (7 pts) vs North Macedonia (4 points)

Eran Zahavi of Israel is the top scorer in Euro 2020 qualifying, with seven goals

Second-placed Israel welcome fifth-placed North Macedonia to Beersheba on matchday-5.

Israel have won three and lost one of their four previous competitive games with Macedonia.

In their previous group games on matchday-4, Israel lost 0-4 to Poland in Warsaw and North Macedonia lost 1-4 to visiting Austria in Skopje.

Eran Zahavi of Israel is the top-scorer in Euro 2020 qualifying, with seven goals.

#7 Group J: Armenia (6 pts) vs Italy (12 pts)

Italy v Bosnia and Herzegovina - UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifier

Third-placed Armenia welcome section leaders Italy to Yerevan on Matchday-5. The Italians have won all four of their group games, scoring 13 goals and conceding just one.

The Azzurri have one win and one draw from two previous competitive games against Armenia (2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers).

In their last group games on matchday-4, Armenia beat Greece 3-2 in Athens and Italy beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-1 in Turin.

#8 Bosnia and Herzegovina (4 pts) vs Liechtenstein (0 pts)

The two bottom-placed teams in Group J square off in Zenica where Bosnia and Herzegovina play host to visiting Liechtenstein, who are yet to open their account.

Bosnia have won all four of their previous competitive meetings with Liechtenstein.

In their last group games, Bosnia lost 1-2 to Italy in Turin and Liechtenstein were beaten 0-2 while visiting Finland in Vaduz.

#9 Finland (9 pts) vs Greece (4 pts)

Second-placed Finland would strive to close the gap on section leaders Italy when they welcome Greece to Tampere on matchday-5.

Finland have won 5 and lost 6 times in their 14 previous competitive meetings with Greece.

In their last group games on matchday-4, Finland beat Liechtenstein 2-0 in Vaduz and Greece lost 2-3 in Athens to Armenia.

6 September 2019

#10 Group C: Germany (9 pts) vs Netherland (3 pts)

In their fourth qualifying game in the group, second-placed Germany face eternal rivals Netherlands in Hamburg. The 1996 Euro winners enjoy a 16-11 head-to-head record against the Oranje in all games, and a 5-3 lead in 13 competitive games.

With a victory, Germany would extend their perfect record in the group to 4 games and go top of the section, ahead of Ireland on goal difference.

In their last group games, Germany trounced Estonia 8-0 in Mainz on matchday-4 and Netherlands lost 2-3 in Amsterdam to Germany on matchday-3.

#11 Group C: Estonia (0 pts) vs Belarus (0 pts)

The two bottom-placed teams of Group C, who are yet to open their accounts, go head to head on matchday-5 when Estonia welcome Belarus to Talinn.

Both teams have a victory apiece in two competitive matches (1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers) between the pair.

In their last group games, Estonia lost 0-8 to Germany in Hamburg and Belarus lost 0-1 to Northern Ireland in Barysaw.

#12 Group E: Slovakia (6 pts) vs Croatia (6 pts)

Second meets third in this Group E qualifier on Matchday-5 as Slovakia host Croatia in Trnava. Both teams have an identical 6 points from 3 games, with Slovakia topping the group on account of a superior goal difference.

Slovakia and Croatia have never met before in a competitive game. In 13 previous international friendlies between the pair, Croatia beat Slovakia 8 times and lost twice.

In their last group games, Slovakia beat Azerbaijan 5-1 in Baku and Croatia beat Wales 2-1 in Osijek.

#13 Group E: Wales (3 pts) vs Azerbaijan (0 pts)

Fourth-placed Wales would look to haul themselves into contention in Group E when they host bottom-placed Azerbaijan in Cardiff.

Wales have five wins in six previous games (all competitive) between the two sides, and would fancy their chances of a win to stay in touch with the group leaders.

In their previous group games, Azerbaijan lost 1-5 to visiting Slovakia in Baku and Wales lost 1-2 to Croatia in Osijek.

#14 Group G: Slovenia (5 pts) vs Poland (12 pts)

In this Group G matchday-5 fixture, Slovenia welcome group leaders Poland to Ljubljana. Poland have won all their four games in the group, scoring 8 goals, and are yet to concede. Strikers Krzysztof Piatek and Robert Lewandowski have scored 5 of Poland's 8 goals in the group.

Slovakia have one win and two losses in five previous games against Poland, with their lone win against the Poles coming in a competitive fixture (2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers).

Both sides enjoyed handsome wins in their last group games, Poland trouncing Israel 4-0 in Warsaw and Slovakia scoring 5 unanswered goals past Latvia in Riga.

#15 Group G: Austria (6 pts) vs Latvia (0 pts)

Third-placed Austria welcome bottom-placed Latvia to Wals-Siezenheim on matchday-5. The visitors have lost all their four group games.

Austria have four victories in five competitive games against Latvia. Latvia's only victory against Austria came in a 1996 Euro qualifier which they won 3-2.

In their last group games, Austria beat North Macedonia 4-1 in Skopje and Latvia lost 0-5 at home to Slovenia.

#16 Group I: San Marino (0 pts) vs Belgium (12 pts)

Table-toppers Belgium, who have won all their four group games, would seek to extend their perfect record when they visit San Marino on matchday-5.

The Red Devils have won all six previous competitive meetings between the two sides, scoring 33 goals and conceding just three.

In their last group games, Belgium beat Scotland 3-0 in Brussels and San Marino lost 0-4 to Kazakhstan in Nur-Sultan.

#17 Group I: Scotland (6 pts) vs Russia (9 pts)

Fourth meets second when Scotland host Russia on matchday-5 in Glasgow. The two sides have drawn both their two previous competitive games (Euro 1996 qualifiers).

In their last group games, Scotland lost 0-3 to Belgium in Brussels and Russia beat Cyprus 1-0 in Nizhny Novgorod.

Artem Dzyuba of Russia is the top-scorer in the group with 5 goals.

#18 Group I: Cyprus (3 pts) vs Kazakhstan (6 pts)

Fifth-placed Cyprus host third-placed Kazakhstan in Nicosia. Cyprus have won both their previous meetings with their matchday-5 visitors.

In their last group games, Cyprus lost 0-1 to Russia in Nizhny Novgorod and Kazakhstan beat San Marino 4-0 in Nur-Sultan.

7 September 2019

#19 Group A: Kosovo (5 pts) vs Czech Republic (6 pts)

Third-placed Kosovo host second-placed Czech Republic in this matchday-5 fixture in Pristina. This is the first meeting between the two sides.

In their last group games, Kosovo beat Bulgaria 3-2 in Sofia and the Czech Republic beat Montenegro 3-0 in Olomouc.

#20 Group A: England (6 pts) vs Bulgaria (2 pts)

Group leaders England would look to extend their perfect start in the section to three games when they host bottom-placed Bulgaria at the Wembley Stadium in London.

In 10 previous games between the two sides, England have won 6 and drawn 4, which includes four wins and three draws in seven competitive fixtures.

In their last group games, Bulgaria lost 2-3 to Kosovo in Sofia on matchday-4 and England beat Montenegro 5-1 in Podgorica on matchday-2.

Raheem Sterling is the top-scorer in the group with four goals.

#21 Group B: Lithuania (1 pt) vs Ukraine (10 pts)

Group leaders Ukraine travel to Vilnius to face bottom-placed Lithuania on matchday-5.

Ukraine have 5 wins and 2 defeats in 8 previous games with Lithuania, which includes 3 wins and a defeat in 4 competitive meetings.

In their last group games, Ukraine beat Luxembourg 1-0 in Lviv and Lithuania lost 1-4 to Serbia in Belgrade.

Viktor Tsyhankov of Ukraine is the top-scorer in the group with 3 goals.

#22 Group B: Serbia (4 pts) vs Portugal (2 pts)

Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal would look for their first win in the group when the fourth-placed 2016 Euro winners travel to Belgrade to face Serbia.

Portugal have won thrice and drawn twice with their matchday-5 hosts in five previous competitive fixtures between the two sides.

In their last group games, Portugal drew 1-1 with Serbia in Lisbon on matchday-2 and Serbia trounced Lithuania 4-1 in Belgrade on matchday-4.

#23 Group H: Iceland (9 pts) vs Moldova (3 pts)

Third-placed Iceland welcome fifth-placed Moldova in this Group-H matchday-5 fixture in Reykjavik. This is the first meeting between the two sides.

In their previous games, Iceland beat Turkey 2-1 in Reykvajik and Moldova lost 0-2 to Albania in Elbasan.

#24 Group H: France (9 pts) vs Albania (6 pts)

Group leaders France welcome Albania to St. Denis on matchday-5. The 2018 FIFA World Cup champions have won all five of their previous competitive fixtures against their visitors.

In their last group games, France beat Andorra 4-0 in Andorra la Velle and Albania beat Moldova 2-0 in Elbasan.

Kylian Mbappe of France is the top-scorer in the group with three goals.

#25 Group H: Turkey (9 pts) vs Andorra (0 pts)

Second-placed Turkey host bottom-placed Andorra in Istanbul.

Turkey have won both their two previous competitive games against their matchday-5 visitors, who are without a goal or a point in the group after four games.

In their previous group games, Turkey lost 1-2 to Iceland in Reykvajik and Andorra lost 0-4 to France in Andorra la Vella.

Edited by Musab Abid