England must cope with injuries, artificial surface as six teams hope to reach Euro 2008

By STUART CONDIE, AP Sports Writer
October 16, 2007

LONDON (AP) -- England is among several teams hoping to advance to next year's European Championship on Wednesday and must contend with injuries and an unfamiliar artificial surface to do so.

England will qualify for a sixth straight European tournament appearance with a win, but several key players may be out and those that do play at Russia face the fake grass of Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.

Greece, Czech Republic and Sweden could also clinch a berth with a month of qualifying still to go, while Croatia and Poland can advance without even playing.

England is on a streak of five straight 3-0 wins that have revived the team. England beat Russia last month and that reportedly prompted the Russian soccer federation to decide against installing a new surface at the Luzhniki Stadium.

The experience of playing on that surface could give Russia an advantage.

England trained on a similar surface before traveling and the Football Association has taken extra insurance to cover its players in case they get injured.

Russia needs a victory for a realistic chance of becoming one of two teams to advance from Group E and coach Guus Hiddink is counting on the intimidating surroundings giving his team an edge it lacked at Wembley

"The psychological aspect gives us a huge advantage and the fans will create a fiery atmosphere," Hiddink said. "It will be difficult for England."

England must also cope without left back Ashley Cole, who injured his ankle in Saturday's victory over Estonia, while captain John Terry should play despite sitting out the last game with a knee injury.

"We have trained on an artificial pitch in the past few days so we know what it is all about," England defender Rio Ferdinand said. "Russia have more experience on the pitch in Moscow, but I think our quality can come through."

England has 23 points. Russia has 18 and knows that an England win would advance the visitors and give Croatia a berth too.

Like Croatia, Poland does not even need to play to advance. It could reach its first European Championship if Serbia and Portugal lose to Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in Group A, but Poland is more likely to have to wait until it plays at Serbia next month to advance.

Defending European champion Greece is at rival Turkey looking to get even for a 4-1 loss with a win that would seal a place in Austria and Switzerland. Greece recovered after that loss in March and now leads Group C with three games remaining.

The Czech Republic plays at Germany and needs a draw to advance from Group D. The Czechs got a boost Saturday when the Germans became the first team to qualify, rendering the game almost meaningless from their perspective.

Sweden needs a win at Northern Ireland and the Group F leader is aiming to avenge an earlier 2-1 defeat -- its only loss in qualifying.

"We are looking for revenge," Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic said. "They will pull back and we just have to go for it and try to get an early goal. Both teams want to win and it's going to be tough."

Scotland leads Group B with 24 points before its match at Georgia, one more than Italy and two more than France.



Updated on Tuesday, Oct 16, 2007 2:37 pm, EDT