Date: Friday, October 11 Venue: Wembley Stadium Kick-Off: 20:00 BST England face a defining 90 minutes in tonight's penultimate World Cup Qualifier against Montenegro in Group H.
Team News
England manager Roy Hodgson has no fresh injury concerns as the Three Lions prepare to welcome Montenegro to Wembley Stadium for tonight's penultimate World Cup qualifying clash. Defender Ashley Cole was ruled out earlier this week with Arsenal's Kieran Gibbs being called up in his place, though Leighton Baines can expect to start at left-back in Cole's absence. Montenegro on the other hand have a series of injury concerns. Captain Mirko Vucinic, centre-back Marko Basa and midfielder Miodrag Pekovic are all out, while defender Miodrag Dzudovic is a doubt. However, Manchester City's Stevan Jovetic is set to play up front, in spite of the injury concerns that have thus far hindered his progress at the Etihad. (Sky Sports)
Key Stats
The last time these two sides met, the game finished 1-1 with the goals coming from Wayne Rooney and a late strike from Dejan Damjanovic. Montenegro have drawn their last two games 1-1, against Belarus in a friendly and Poland in their last World Cup qualifier. Should England lose this game and then finish third, it would be the first time since 1994 that the Three Lions have failed to qualify for the World Cup.
Tonight, the nation will hold its collective breath as England take on Montenegro in what could be a defining 90 minutes for the Three Lion's 2014 World Cup hopes. Group H is finely balanced with Roy Hodgson's side top of the table with 16 points but with Ukraine and tonight's opponents shadowing them on 15 points apiece. And with just two games of the qualifying stages to go, a slip up here could be fatal. Not since 1994 have England failed to qualify for the World Cup, but that's the fate that could await Hodgson and co. should the unthinkable happen and his side finish third. However, the Three Lions will be buoyed by a return to action of three key players - Danny Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge and Wayne Rooney, all of whom missed the qualifier against Ukraine. Meanwhile, Montenegro could be considerably weakened in the absence of Captain Mirko Vucinic, centre-back Marko Basa and midfielder Miodrag Pekovic, which will play nicely into England's hands. Manchester City's Stevan Jovetic will be the main dangerman and is one to keep a close eye on, having shown glimpses of his talent already for the 2011/12 Premier League champions. England have to win tonight, and I think they will. Prediction: 1-0
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
