6 World Cup Qualifiers (Europe) To Watch This Weekend

3. Republic of Ireland vs Sweden (Group C)

5-points below Germany are Republic of Ireland, Sweden and Austria all battling it out for that playoff spot. Two of those meet at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Friday night. This is Ireland's penultimate home game in qualifying, with away trips to Austria and Germany to follow before closing out with Kazakhstan. It goes without saying that Giovanni Trapattoni's side can put themselves in a great position to reach the playoffs with a victory in this match. The Republic of Ireland held Sweden to a 0-0 draw abroad which may prove to be a confidence boost heading into the match. Most of the squad play in the top two tiers of the English football league, but it's former Premier League striker and current Major League Soccer player Robbie Keane whom they may be looking to for goals. Shane Long is another good threat, whilst Simon Cox has not proven himself at international level and Conor Sammon hasn't proven himself as a goalscorer at any professional level. Blackburn-born and Norwich City midfielder Anthony Pilkington will be looking to make his international debut after being called up to the squad. Sweden still have Austria and Germany to host so a result for Erik Hamrén's side on Friday would surely swing the odds in their favour to finish in the top two. Captain Zlatan Ibrahimovi‡ is the most talented player on the team and leads the Swedish team in goalscoring in qualifying with 4. Norwich City's new signing Johan Elmander is in the squad, as well as fellow Premier League players Alexander Kaanikli‡ (Fulham), Sebastian Larsson (Sunderland), Jonas Olsson (West Bromwich Albion) and Martin Olsson (Norwich City). Sweden produced one of the comebacks in qualifying history when they came back from 0-4 to draw 4-4 in the final 30 minutes in Germany last October.