By Jay Mwamba
In-form Croatia, the surprise package of France ’98, have omitted World Cup stars Robert Prosinecki and Drazen Ladic from their squad for Saturday’s Euro 2000 Group 8 opening qualifier against Ireland in Dublin.
The Croats, who finished third at the World Cup finals in their debut appearance, will also be without injured Everton defender Slaven Bilic. But with Italian-based striker Alen Boksic back from injury, after missing France ’98, to partner World Cup top scorer Davor Suker, Croatia should still pose a formidable challenge to the Republic at the start of the qualifying tournament for the 2000 European soccer championship in Holland and Belgium.
Prosinecki, who has a rift with national coach Miroslav Blazevic, was overlooked a day after scoring two goals in Croatia Zagreb’s 3-0 victory over Celtic United in midweek.
Based on their France ’98 exploits, Croatia start as favorites to win Ireland’s five-team group, whose composition is more like a reunion of the former Yugoslav federation. Ireland and Malta apart, the ex-federation members in Group 8 are Croatia, Macedonia and Yugoslavia itself.
As for ireland, Mick McCarthy has Roy Keane and Keith O’Neill back in his squad following long-term injuries. However, there is a doubt over the fitness of Niall Quinn for the first qualifying game. Quinn is troubled by a back injury which could mean a start for veteran striker Tony Cascarino.
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There is also the mouth-watering prospect of Keane and Ireland’s new teenage sensation, Robbie Keane — no relation — playing together for the first time, while Ray Houghton may be once again be called on to bolster midfield following Andy Townsend’s retirement from international soccer.
Ian Harte’s days at center-half appear numbered, so it seems that Phil Babb and Gary Breen will contest the key defensive role alongside Kenny Cunningham. Denis Irwin is certain to be one of the full-backs, while Harte may be redeployed on the other flank.
Notwithstanding Quinn’s injury, McCarthy has the strongest squad to pick from for some time. However, if Croatia recapture some of their sparkling form from France this summer, a draw may be the best the Irish can hope for.
Ireland, whose only European Championship appearance came 10 years ago, play their next game in Yugoslavia on Oct. 10. The other group members in action this weekend are Macedonia who host Malta on Sunday.
McMenemy’s North debut
Englishman Lawrie McMenemy makes his competitive debut as Northern Ireland manager against Turkey in a Group 3 match in Istanbul, also on Saturday.
McMenemy, who replaced Billy Hamilton last February, has said he wants to emulate what Jack Charlton did for the Republic.
"I want to do for Northern Ireland what Jack Charlton did for the Republic of Ireland," he said. "Jack is a good friend of mine and he’s from the same part of the country as me, the North East. It’s my ambition to see Northern Ireland qualify for the European championship," he said after his appointment.
The North has a shot in a fairly open group whose only major force are the rebuilding Germans. The other contenders are Finland and Moldova, who meet on Saturday in Helsinki.
Hoddle’s Swedish hurdle
England attempt to put their bitter World Cup second round defeat behind them against an improved Swedish team in Stockholm on Saturday, minus the maligned David Beckham.
The controversial midfielder, whose expulsion against Argentina in France ’98 left many blaming him for England’s 4-3 penalty loss, is suspended as a result of that infraction. Coach Glenn Hoddle has, however, recalled 34 year-old striker Ian Wright and Dion Dublin, along with midfielders Nicky Butt and Jamie Redknapp.
Hoddle watched Sweden beat Russia 1-0 in a friendly two weeks ago and was impressed with the Swedes.
The Group 5 tussle will be England’s first match since the World Cup.
Also playing in the group on the day will be Hristo Stoichkov’s Bulgaria against Poland in Sofia. The fifth side, Luxembourg, are off.
Scots Return
Scotland also hope to overcome their World Cup blues when they travel to Lithuania for a Group 9 fixture in Vilnius on Saturday. Manager Craig Brown has kept faith with his France ’98 squad, including defender Tom Boyd whose own goal against Brazil in the June 10 opener resulted in the Scots’ 2-1 defeat.
With consistency, Boyd and company could more than hold their own in what is arguably the weakest group of the qualifiers. All six teams in the section play on Saturday. The other fixtures are: Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Estonia and the Faroe Islands vs. The Czech Republic.
Missing stars
World champions France open their bid for the European title away to Iceland in Group 4, sans a trio of stars. Defenders Laurent Blanc and Marcel Desailly are suspended as a result of infringements in France’s World Cup campaign, while pony-tailed midfielder Emmanuel Petit will sit out the match in Reykjavik to undergo a minor operation.
Qualifying rules
The nine group winners qualify to Euro 2000, which will be the first tournament to be co-hosted by two nations. The best second-place finisher (computed by records against teams finishing first, third and fourth) also qualifies automatically; while the other eight runners-up enter a random draw for two-legged playoff matches from which four more countries qualify.
The rest of the Euro 2000 qualifiers this weekend are as follows (home team listed first): Saturday — Wales vs. Italy, Belarus vs. Denmark, Switzerland off (Group 1); Georgia vs. Albania (Group 2); Armenia vs. Andorra, Ukraine vs. Russia (Group 4); Austria vs. Isr’l, Cyprus vs. Spain, San Marino off (Group 6); and Hungary vs. Portugal, Romania vs. Liechtenstein, Slovakia vs. Azerbaijan (Group 7).
Sunday’s schedule pits Greece against Slovenia in Athens and Norway at home to Latvia, both in Group 2.