Ecuador vs Colombia September 6, 2013

Colombia play hosts to Ecuador for their World Cup qualifying match as both teams looked primed to make a World Cup birth next summer.

Ecuador currently is in third place in the CONMEBOL table, two points shy of second place Colombia. Both teams appear to be in a position to secure a spot in Brazil should they continue to earn positive results.

However, should they lose one or two matches in the coming months both Chile, currently in fourth, and Uruguay, currently in fifth position, would have an opportunity to overtake one or both teams.

Ecuador and Colombia both look like good bets to appear in the World Cup next summer, but Uruguay is lurking in fifth place, ready to take advantage of anyone who slips up in the top four. A loss could put either -- and particularly Ecuador -- in hot water come October.

 It's been an up and down campaign for Ecuador, but they've made the most of their home games. They had a rough June with a road loss to Peru and a home draw against Argentina, but they've been victorious in all of their other home games and own road draws against Uruguay and Venezuela. Colombia have put in some great performances at home, but did lose to Argentina and give up a surprise draw to Venezuela.

Colombia is loaded up top and has had to leave out some quality strikers, as always. Dorlan Pabon and Carlos Darwin Quintero have been left off this squad, as has red-hot Fredy Montero, who can't stop scoring for Sporting Lisbon. There are no big injuries for the Colombians, who have a deep squad in all areas. The same goes for Ecuador, who have no injury concerns to speak of.

Match date/time: Friday, 4:30 p.m. ET

It's been an shaky qualifying campaign for Ecuador, but have a solid home record which has given them their current position. In June they lost away to Peru and drew at home against Argentina, but they've been victorious in all of their other home games and own road draws against Uruguay and Venezuela.

This will be the first competitive match for Ecuador since the sudden and tragic death of Christian Benitez and will see will see Felipe Caicedo alone up top.

The striker was a fitness doubt in the loss to Peru thanks to a muscle strain, but appeared in the second half of that fixture and is expected to start against Colombia.

Colombia have put in some great performances at home, but did lose to Argentina and give up a surprise draw to Venezuela.

Colombia is loaded up top and has had to leave out some quality strikers. Dorlan Pabon and Carlos Darwin Quintero have been left off this squad and also Fredy Montero, who has been a consistent scorer at Sporting Lisbon. There are no big injuries for the Colombians, who have a deep squad in all areas. The same goes for Ecuador who has no injury concerns to speak of.
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Scotland vs Belgium September 6, 2013

The Cardiff City keeper is in competition with Blackpool's Matt Gilks and Kilmarnock's Craig Samson for the gloves in the Group A encounter at Hampden Park.

If he is selected by Gordon Strachan, Marshall will be looking to end a losing streak - with Scotland having lost on all six of his previous appearances, most recently the 2-0 defeat in Serbia in March.

Scotland's hopes of qualification may be over, but they impressed in their surprise 1-0 victory in Croatia in June and they were also some encouraging signs for Strachan in the 3-2 friendly defeat to England at Wembley last month.

Belgium, meanwhile, arrive at Hampden on top of the group, with a three-point lead over Croatia. Marc Wilmots' side are ranked 10th in the world by FIFA, 40 places above Scotland.

 The hosts' 2-0 victory in the reverse fixture in Brussels last October spelled the end for Craig Levein, who was sacked by the Scottish FA the following month.

Strachan has won two and lost three of his five games in charge since being appointed in January, and has urged his team "to keep the ball and be progressive" as they look to upset the Belgians.

 Wilmots, whose 24-man squad contains 10 English Premier League stars, has warned his side to be wary of a "more relaxed" Scotland side who have a "winning spirit".
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Finland vs Spain September 6, 2013

Spain travel to Helsinki for what is one of the more interesting 2014 World Cup qualifying matches on Friday.

Just looking at the countries involved, you'd think this will be a one-sided thrashing. However, Finland were able to steal a 1-1 draw in Gijon in the first meeting between these two. There won't be any fear from the Finns in this match.

Those dropped points could prove critical for Spain. They're only one point ahead of France for first in Group I. Both Spain and France will want to avoid that second spot and having to qualify for the World Cup through the dreaded playoff.

Finland still have a mathematical chance of finishing in the top two of Group I, but the chance of them doing so is minute. They are four points behind France and will have to get a result against Spain to try to keep pace.

Without any further ado, here are tonight's lineups...
Yet, despite Spain's slip-up in Gijon, they have been very consistent on their travels and have won all three of their away matches in Group I, scoring six goals without reply.
Can Finland cause another upset and allow France to replace Spain at the top of group I? Bringing you all the action from the Helsinki Olympic Stadium, my name is Max Bentley.
In fact, Mixu Paatelainen's side have drawn their last two matches against La Furia Roja. The 1-1 draw in Gijon back in March marked the first time that Spain had dropped points in an international tournament qualifying campaign since Iceland's 1-1 draw in September 2007.
Victory for Spain tonight would edge the world champions closer to cementing their place in the 2014 World Cup finals in Rio de Janeiro but they face a Finland side which has proved difficult to crack in recent years
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England vs Moldova September 6, 2013

England will expect to set themselves up for a decisive run of 2014 World Cup qualifiers by beating Moldova at Wembley on Friday night.

Roy Hodgson's side set out on the road to Brazil 12 months ago with a 5-0 victory in Moldova, but any sort of win at home will suffice, with automatic qualification likely to go down to the final game.

Montenegro currently top Group H by two points, but have played a game more than England and Ukraine, who are a further point adrift in third spot.

Poland, in fourth place and five points off the summit, are not completely out of the equation either and they tackle the group leaders at home on Friday, while Ukraine meet San Marino.

 The prospect of finishing top remains firmly in England's hands and, after facing Moldova, they travel to Ukraine on Tuesday before rounding off the group campaign with home dates against Montenegro and Poland in October.

Roy Hodgson goes into the game against Moldova knowing that a comfortable win will take them one step closer to qualification for the World Cup, but he knows his side must guard against complacency in Friday's World Cup Qualifier.

England currently sit two points behind Group H leaders Montenegro with a game in hand, and now is no better time to the Three Lions to get ahead of their opponents from the Baltic region.

The reverse fixture resulted in a comprehensive 5-0 victory for England at Wembley, with both Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck grabbing themselves a brace back in October.

Hodgson's side can seal qualification with victories in their remaining games, and with their away game against minnows Moldova, whose only win in the group being their 2-0 victory against whipping boys San Marino, many would expect a comfortable triumph in Chisinau. With that in mind, expect a few key players to be rested as a result.

Here, I focus on who the England boss has chosen to face Moldova as they prepare for Friday night's clash, which he announced at the pre-match press conference yesterday, reported by The Telegraph's Jeremy Wilson.

Caras said: "I was talking about the lucky parts of the draw but the bad one is that the other team, England, are far too good for us, unfortunately. In football a lot of things are possible and both teams have their chances.

 "I do realise that our chances are very, very small - that is hard to accept but it is like this. We will try very hard, I will tell you that, but we will see the outcome on the pitch."

 England team: Hart, Walker, Jagielka, Cahill, Cole, Wilshere, Gerrard, Lampard, Walcott, Lambert, Welbeck
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Ukraine vs San Marino September 6, 2013

Poland and Montenegro face off in a crucial World Cup qualifying match on Friday.
Montenegro currently sits atop Group H with 14 points but is in great peril of losing its top spot. The winner of the group automatically qualifies for Brazil while the second place team must take on another runner-up in a two-legged playoff.

Montenegro has played seven matches thus far. In their opener a year ago, the team drew 2-2 against Poland; Poland scored the first and fourth goal of the match. In their second game, Montenegro destroyed San Marino 6-0 before taking down Ukraine 1-0 in their third game of the qualifiers.

 A 3-0 win at home over San Marino was followed by a 1-0 win in Moldova and a 1-1 draw at home against England. The team had a major chance to runaway with the group in their most recent game against Ukraine, but lost 4-0 at home.
Poland currently sits three points behind England for second place with nine points. After a 2-2 draw with Montenegro, the Polish campaign has gone differently.

 The team took down Moldova 2-0 in their second game but drew 1-1 with England. The team then lost 3-1 against Ukraine at home but managed a 5-0 win over San Marino afterward. However, the team drew 1-1 with Moldova in the ensuing game and lost a major opportunity to jump into third place in the group.

Start Time: 2:45 p.m. EST
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