Group 9: Chasing the Welsh dragon

By Paolo Menicucci

With group leaders Wales not in action, it is imperative that Italy and Serbia and Montenegro gain ground on Wednesday.

Closing the gap
Italy travel to Finland hoping to close the gap on Mark Hughes' Wales to two points, while Serbia and Montenegro are en route to Azerbaijan still smarting from a 3-0 defeat in Helsinki on Saturday.

Full of confidence
On the back of four consecutive victories, Giovanni Trapattoni's side are full of confidence as they travel to Finland, following a workmanlike 2-0 win against the Finns in their last UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifier in Palermo.

'Pace and speed'
"After beating them 2-0 in Palermo we are sure that we can achieve another good result," said Trapattoni. "However, Finland are a different team when they play at home. I have seen their match against Serbia and Montenegro and they played really well. We have to use our pace and speed. However, a draw won't be a tragedy."

Striking absences
Without strikers Christian Vieri - who scored both goals in the last meeting between the two sides - and Filippo Inzaghi, Italy will not be at their strongest. Trapattoni has pledged to field Bernardo Corradi as a lone striker in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Stefano Fiore, Francesco Totti and Alessandro Del Piero just behind the S.S. Lazio striker.

Finnish line
Another problem has been the withdrawal of Argentinian-born winger Mauro Camoranesi with a calf injury picked up in training, but the greatest obstacle in Italy's way will be Antti Muurinen's side, who are battling for second place after their 3-0 win against Serbia and Montenegro on Saturday.

Home advantage
"We deserved to lose in Palermo, but I'm convinced the match on Wednesday will be something else," said Muurinen. "We've got a stronger team now and we are playing in front of our home crowd. Anything is possible in football. All credit to Serbia and Montenegro, but Italy are a stronger team. It's difficult to find any weak points in Italy."

Hyypiä hopeful
With the side likely to be unchanged from Saturday, defender Sami Hyypiä was not ruling out a Finnish win. "The difference between success and failure is very small," he said. "We need to play a good match and with a bit of luck we can get the result we want."

Savicevic pressure
While the pressure is off Finland, Serbo-Montenegrin coach Dejan Savicevic is feeling the heat following his side's defeat in Helsinki. Travelling to Baku to meet Azerbaijan, his side will need no reminding of the 2-2 draw at home in their previous Group 9 qualifier against the Azeris which earned severe criticism at home.

Red card
Without the suspended Sinisa Mihajlovic - shown the red card in Helsinki - and injured duo Nemanja Vidic and Dejan Stefanovic, Savicevic is facing a serious headache in defence. Nonetheless, he is offering no excuses and has pledged his resignation if his side fail to win their next three games.

Azeri challenge
"Everybody is angry and very nervous," he said. "I understand, but I do not want to quit. I have self-confidence and I believe we will succeed. We have a chance, but must win in Baku. After that, we will play two matches at home, against Wales on 20 August and Italy on 10 September. With six points from those games, we will be in second place. In that case, I will not hand in my resignation. If we are disappointed, I will go."

Additional reporting by Aleksandar Boskovic and Mikael Erävuori