LONDON, Sept 10: Hungarians may find out whether their team’s recent improvements are signs of a genuine revival or a false dawn when they face Netherlands in a 2014 World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.
Austria and Belgium, who like Hungary are aiming to end long spells in the wilderness, also have home games which could by pivotal for their hopes of qualifying for Brazil.
The Austrians will be attempting to end a run of seven consecutive defeats against neighbours Germany while underachieving Belgium host Croatia, a country which has often punched above its weight in football terms.
Hungary’s current team are a long way from the Mighty Magyars, who revolutionised football in the early 1950s, but they are regarded as a vast improvement on some of the country’s recent offerings.
Their third place at the world under-20 championship in Egypt three years ago suggested that a bumper crop of young talent is on the way.
And a win over the Dutch would be a genuine sign that things are getting better and would give Hungary a realistic chance of challenging for at least second place in the group.
Both teams won their opening games in Group ‘D’ which also sees two other games on Tuesday with Turkey and Estonia, who both lost their first matches, facing each other in Istanbul and Romania hosting Andorra in Bucharest.
Belgium and Croatia, who meet in Group ‘A’, both started with wins, the Belgians beating Wales 2-0 away and their opponents overcoming Macedonia.
The Germans, who were expected to beat Faeroe Islands by a bigger margin than 3-0, face a potentially tricky trip to Austria in Vienna.
“Austria will of course want to win, so it will be a totally different type of game,” said Loew, whose side only converted three of their 15 chances against the Faroes.
Meanwhile, Spain begin their title defence with a long trip to Georgia in five-team Group ‘I’ energised by the return from injury of David Villa and a thumping recent friendly win.
The Spanish will hope the road to Brazil ends with an unprecedented fourth straight major title, backing up the defence of their European Championship earlier this year with the retention of their world crown.
Villa will be available after playing in his first match in the national jersey since November and scoring in the 5-0 thrashing of Saudi Arabia on Friday.
The Barcelona forward had surgery in December after fracturing his right leg, forcing him to miss Euro 2012.
“I missed my team-mates, living all this, the moment of arriving to training sessions with the national squad,” Villa said. “I note an improvement in how I feel with every outing. I am quicker and more explosive.”
Also in Group ‘I’, France take on Belarus — the team that stunned Les Bleus with a surprise 1-0 win in Saint-Denis at the start of Euro 2012 qualifying — and coach Didier Deschamps wants more from his forwards, who haven’t scored in the team’s past five matches while admitting the 1-0 win over Finland had given them just the momentum they required.
“We need to become more dangerous,” Deschamps said on Sunday. “Getting an attack to function is the hardest thing to do.”
Italy, who are Europe’s most successful teams when it comes to winning the World Cup, will be keen to improve on their opening qualifying performance on Tuesday.
Italy came away with a 2-2 draw in Bulgaria but they shouldn’t face too many problems at home to Malta in Modena.
However, in Group ‘B’ which also comprises fellow Euro 2012 finalists Denmark and Czech Republic they will need a comprehensive victory to help their goal difference ahead of tougher tasks.
“Our performance in Sofia was unacceptable,” said Italy coach Cesare Prandelli.
Elsewhere, Portugal and England both have a good chance of finishing Tuesday with six points from two games as they follow winning starts with reasonably straightforward home games.
England play Ukraine, a team they beat during Euro 2012 in Group ‘H’, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal entertain Azerbaijan in Group ‘F’.
In South America, Peru face an Argentina side on top of the qualification table after six matches while Colombia visit second-placed Chile.
Third-placed Ecuador, meanwhile, face Copa American champions Uruguay while bottom team Paraguay need to beat Venezuela to maintain their hopes of reaching a fifth World Cup in a row.
In Asian qualifiers, Australia travel to Jordan looking for their first win in Group ‘B’ while Japan face Iraq. Japan lead the group with seven points from three games. In Group ‘A’, leaders South Korea will try to stay on maximum points when they face Uzbekistan while Iran, on four points, travel to Lebanon.—Agencies