Moldova take on the visitors Czech Republic in the round 2 match of UEFA Euro 2024 qualification. The match will be played on Monday, March 27th at Stadionul Zimbru (Chişinău).
Moldova has a single player with considerable experience playing at the level of Serie A, so it's no surprise that Ionitse leads his partners as captain. But this is a typical case where one player doesn't make a team, especially since Artut is currently in "Pisa," which is playing in Serie B. There are representatives from "Beitar," "Sion," "Olympiacos," and APOEL, but the lion's share of the team is made up of players from the domestic championship. And only Chelyadnik, the goalkeeper, represents the flagship, "Sheriff" (and he's not even №1 in Tiraspol). Should we be surprised that Moldovans are considered underdogs in all qualifiers? Against this backdrop, last year turned out to be good. At first, there was a defeat in the play-offs against Kazakhstan on penalties in the spring. But in the main stage of the Nations League, they managed to take 13 points in 6 matches, and only on additional indicators did Latvia remain the leader of the quartet. But now, Sergei Kleshchenko's wards will face opponents who are significantly stronger. On Friday, they played with the Faroese, also in Chisinau, and it ended only in a 1-1 draw – however, something similar was expected.
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Czech Republic did not qualify for the World Cup again - however, this has long been a trend. A year ago, the national team lost in the 1st round of the playoffs, losing to Sweden because of Quaison's only goal. Then there was a failure in the Nations League, but it was largely expected. After all, that cycle the team spent in Division A, in the company of giants, ambitious Switzerland, and the powerhouses of Portugal and Spain. No, the start was promising, 4 points after the first two matches, and even "La Furia Roja" managed to equalize 2-2 away in the 90th minute. But then there were 4 defeats in a row, and a fall to last place. However, judging by the fact that Silhavy retained his post, it was not a sensation or failure for him or the leadership of the national federation. But they need to have a successful new qualification campaign, especially since Czechs are consistently good in the format of the Euros, from "silver" in 1996 to the quarterfinals at the last championship. This time, the team had to start at home against the Poles. "Kadar" managed to surprise them with a couple of goals at the very start of the match, so in the end they easily secured a victory over what seemed to be a strong opponent, 3-1.
The national teams played against each other only once, 2 decades ago during the Euro-2004 qualification. Back then, the Czech Republic proved to be stronger both away (2-0) and at home (5-0). If they can't win at home against the Faroe Islands, then what can they expect in a match against a quarter-finalist of the previous Euro? We bet that in this match, the guests will manage to win with a handicap of "-1.5 goals scored".
Prediction for the match: Czech Republic to win with -1.5 handicap.
