World Cup qualifiers: previews for five of the week's most intriguing matches

A look at Scotland v Slovakia, Northern Ireland v Germany, Montenegro v Denmark, Turkey v Iceland and Bulgaria v France

By Martin Laurence for WhoScored?, part of the Guardian Sport Network

Slovakia’s visit to Glasgow is enormous for Gordon Strachan’s men, who know they will finish second in Group F if they win their final two qualifying games. Anything other than a win on Thursday night will probably be too little for Scotland. Defeat would end their hopes entirely, leaving Slovakia and Slovenia to fight it out for a top-two spot with England; while a draw would give Slovakia a one-point advantage before the final round of fixtures, when they have a favourable home game against Malta. Jan Kozak’s side wouldn’t be disheartened with a share of the spoils provided their neighbours Slovenia, who are also in with a shout of qualifying, don’t spring an upset at Wembley.

Continue reading...