Midweek Mix: Five international games you should watch this week

Seb Sternik
29 March 2021

The international break is coming to an end but we have one final round of fixtures ahead of us. Here’s the pick of the action…

Luxembourg vs Portugal - Tuesday 19:45 GMT

Beating Ireland is one thing but this upcoming clash against Portugal may be a stretch too far for Luxembourg.

Gerson Rodrigues scored the only goal of the game as the world's 98th ranked side pulled off an incredible upset in Dublin.

Luxembourg will now be looking to stun Portugal as they welcome Cristiano Ronaldo and co to the Josy Barthel stadium.

Cristiano Ronaldo storms off after being denied late winner for Portugal

The bad news for Luc Holtz' men is that Portugal are already in a bad mood. Fernando Santos' side drew 2-2 with Serbia after being controversially denied a last-minute winner.

The star power in this Portuguese squad is far superior to the one in Luxembourg's camp and an upset is certainly not on the cards; especially when the Portuguese side is irate following the Serbia debacle.

Diogo Jota impressed during that draw in Belgrade having scored both of Portugal's goals. If the forward is in the starting XI, our recommendation is to back him to score first. He could have a field day if Luxembourg's defence is not on point.

Betting: Diogo Jota to score first at 4/1 (bet365)

Wales vs Czech Republic - Tuesday 19:45 GMT

Despite getting off to a promising start against Belgium, the Welsh national side faced a 3-1 loss in their group opener.

Things won't get any easier this week as they take on group leaders, Czech Republic.

The Czechs are far from the force they once were however, they've recently enjoyed some good results and they're more than capable of threatening Wales.

Wales preparing for their upcoming game with the Czech Republic

Let's not forget, the home side are still without their manager, Ryan Giggs. Kicking off a World Cup qualifying campaign without a manager in the dugout must have a certain amount of impact, no matter how many megastars there are in your team.

Wales have one megastar in their squad and they'll be hoping he can lead them to victory in Cardiff.

Gareth Bale hasn't scored an international goal since October 2019 and there's nothing to suggest that this will change overnight.

Bale will be looking to lead Wales to victory this week

However, Bale's general impact cannot be underestimated and he could very well push the home side to a positive result.

This will be a close game but one that Wales can certainly end with at least a point in their pocket.

Betting: Draw at 21/10 (SkyBet)

England vs Poland - Wednesday 19:45 GMT

Looking at the betting, England are the current joint-favourites to win the upcoming European Championships.

Last weekend's performance against Albania, however, suggests that there's still a lot of work to do before Gareth Southgate's men can think about major international silverware.

Harry Kane and Mason Mount secured victory for England in Albania

On paper, England dominated proceedings, enjoyed 68% possession, had nine shots and produced almost 800 passes. But as Southgate rightly pointed out, his side lost their edge towards the end of the game and better opposition could have threatened a late comeback.

This week, England will get better opposition in the form of Poland.

The Poles are certainly not at the level of a France, Spain or Germany however, with Robert Lewandowski leading the pack, any England mistake could end in a goal for the visitors.

This is shaping up to be a close affair and Poland shouldn't be easily dismissed. They will be England's biggest threat in this group and a win is rudimental if Southgate's side hope to avoid drama in this qualifying campaign.

Betting: England to win by one goal at 13/5 (bet365)

Scotland vs Faroe Islands - Wednesday 19:45 GMT

Scotland never make life easier for themselves. For some unknown reason, this is a footballing nation that loves taking the harder path.

That is certainly the scenario that the Scots are creating for themselves in this qualifying campaign.

After two games, Steve Clarke's men have two points. That's despite taking on a weakened Austrian side and Israel.

Winning the group already seems like a distant utopian dream but there's little to gain for the Scots in looking back at missed opportunities.

This week, Clarke's men will be looking to finally get three points on their record when they take on Faroe Islands.

Scotland eyeing their first win of this qualifying campaign

At the time of writing, only one point separates the two nations which - considering the disparity in quality of both playing squads - is a little embarrassing.

Nevertheless, a win for the home side is expected and it is necessary if Scotland are to prove that they're still a competitive player in this group.

Betting: Scotland to win by a margin of two goals at 11/4 (bet365)

Spain vs Kosovo - Wednesday 19:45 GMT

There's only one reason why we decided to put this game on the list and it's for the simple fact that we ran out of interesting games to talk about.

The international break hasn't produced many quality games over the past week - shocker - and this probably won't end up being a classic either.

However, the one thing that we should look forward to is the possibility of seeing goals galore.

Luis Enrique looking to lead Spain to their second win in this group

Kosovo aren't quite on the level of Andorra or San Marino but then again, they're not exactly Brazil.

The one thing that Kosovo certainly are, is entertaining. Whether they're scoring three goals or conceding four, you're never far from a goal fest.

This week, Kosovo take on Spain which should make for interesting viewing.

The Spaniards are not in the best of forms having drawn their opening game with Greece and only managing a 2-1 win over Georgia; courtesy of a stoppage time winner, might I add.

This game could offer Spain an opportunity to finally spread their wings and add some serious numbers in the 'goals scored' column of the table.

As things stand, Sweden lead the group thanks to two successive victories and Spain will not want to give them any more leeway.

In short words, back Spain to win big in Seville.

Betting: Spain to win -2 handicap at 1/1 (William Hill)