England gets another shot at Croatia

England will have another chance at Croatia as the two teams were drawn into World Cup qualifying Group F on Sunday.

Croatia ended England's hopes of advancing to EURO 2008 next June with a 3-2 win at Wembley Stadium last Wednesday, but The Three Lions will get another crack to overcome Croatia and advance to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Joining Croatia and England in the group is Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Andorra.

Croatia enters as the top team in the group, but England represents a big challenge as the second team. Ukraine qualified for the 2006 World Cup but will have a tough time doing so for 2010 with two strong teams at the top.

Belarus will not likely factor into the race, but could do enough to spoil it for someone else. The team finished fourth in its qualifying group for EURO 2008, including a win over the Netherlands in the final match.

Kazakhstan won just two of its 14 games in EURO qualifying, but proved to be a tougher test than most expected, while Andorra is little more than just a team to fill out the groups, having lost all 12 of its qualifiers by a combined 42-2 score.

Group A should be competitive with Portugal, Sweden and Denmark at the top, while Hungary, Albania and Malta will likely struggle.

Portugal and Sweden both finished second in their respective qualifying groups, with Portugal coming off of a semifinal appearance in the 2006 World Cup. Sweden should push Portugal at the top, but expect the Swedes to battle Denmark up until the end for second place.

There is no dominant team in Group B, which could make this one of the most wide open groups in qualifying. Greece edged out England for the last spot among the top seeded teams, and they head up the group. Israel and Switzerland join the Greeks, with any one of these three having a chance to take the top spot. Israel has never qualified for a World Cup, but this looks to be their best chance to do so. Moldova, Latvia and Luxembourg make up the final three teams.

The Czech Republic is the favorite to emerge as the top team in Group C, with Poland and Northern Ireland looking like the two teams that will try to grab the second spot.The Czechs failed to advance out of the group stage in the 2006 World Cup, which was a disappointment, but they should have no trouble getting back, while Poland will be favored to claim second. The rest of the group features Slovakia, Slovenia and San Marino.

Germany is clearly the class of Group D, with Russia and Finland after them. The Germans are one of the favorites to capture the EURO 2008 crown, and also figure to have no trouble winning this qualifying group, which also includes Wales, Azerbaijan, and Liechtenstein.

Spain finished unbeaten in its last nine EURO qualifiers, and should hold off Turkey to finish at the head of Group E. The Turks will try to hold off Belgium for second in what is a pretty weak group overall. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Armenia and Estonia make up the rest of the group.

Group G front-runners France will have some competition from Romania and Serbia, but figure to come out on top of the group. Romania will be favored to finish second, while Lithuania, Austria and the Faroe Islands round out the group.

Italy looks to have an easy time in Group H with Bulgaria and Ireland as the closest competition, while the rest of the group contains Cyprus, Georgia and Montenegro.

Group I has only five teams, but three that could challenge for the group lead. The Netherlands will be favored, but Scotland and Norway are both capable of beating out the Dutch after good qualifying campaigns. Macedonia and Iceland make up the rest of the group.

The top team in each group will automatically qualify for the 2010 World Cup, while the eight best second-place teams will meet in a two-legged playoff to determine the final four spots from Europe.