6 World Cup Qualifiers (Europe) To Watch This Weekend

6. Scotland vs Belgium (Group A)

There will be interest from one country on the British Isles for this match. Although Scotland cannot qualify they will be interested to see how Gordon Strachan's side are building for the Euro 2016 qualifiers and face a stern test at home to Belgium. Belgium have won 6 out of 7 in qualifying to top the group which included a 2-0 win in Brussels last October. Christian Benteke and Vincent Kompany scoring the goals in the final 21 minutes to break Scottish hearts. Marc Wilmots has a wealth of young talent at his disposal that many had expected to qualify for the last two major international tournaments. Will they be in Brazil in 2014? A trip to Croatia before hosting Wales follows this match for the Group A leaders. The Belgian squad is full of Premier League players: Christian Benteke (Aston Villa), Nacer Chadli (Tottenham Hotspur), Kevin De Bruyne (Chelsea), Mousa Dembélé (Tottenham Hotspur), Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Romelu Lukaku (on loan at Everton), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Kevin Mirallas (Everton) and Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham Hotspur). PSV Eindhoven's exciting 17-year old Zakaria Bakkali has been called up looking to make his senior international debut, whilst Toby Alderweireld, Steven Defour and Nicolas Lombaerts are some of the other talented players to watch. Scotland never really had much hope in progressing from this group but are only 2 points behind third-placed Serbia. A victory over Belgium would do great for their FIFA World Ranking points. They are one of only 3 nations to have been eliminated prior to Friday's games (along with Faroe Islands and San Marino). Hull City's Allan McGregor withdrew from injury, leaving three goalkeepers with relatively little international experience between them for Strachan to choose from. The majority of the squad plays in England with the stand out individuals being Celtic's James Forrest, Blackburn Rovers' Jordan Rhodes and Wigan Athletic's Shaun Maloney.
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Contributor

Barrie's View is a football stat man focusing mainly on the English Premier League. Barrie also contributes to other large football blogs, including Back Page Football and Football Talk, and has been cited by the USA Today.