Poland wary of chasing pack

Close contest
Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari takes his side to Armenia aiming to avoid a slip-up in this tight section. "The players know that if they want to play their home games against Poland and Serbia [on 8 and 12 September] with some margin for error, they have to win here," said Scolari. "If we don't win, it will make things very difficult and it will become a race against time." The coach also said of tonight's venue, the Republican Stadium in Yerevan: "The pitch is in poor condition but that's what we have and we just have to play our game.

'Will to win'
"We have the will to win and I'd like to see lots of goals. If we want to participate in the [UEFA] European Championship, we have to be prepared for anything and overcome any difficulty. The players know that we cannot afford to lose again like we did in Poland. Portugal's quality makes us a target so Armenia will be hugely motivated to beat us." Armenia are also helped by the absence of centre-back Ricardo Carvalho, who has been replaced in Scolari's squad by FC Porto's Bruno Alves.

Hodgson target
Finland coach Roy Hodgson is equally keen to register three points against Kazakhstan at the Ratina Stadium in Tampere. Alexei Eremenko Jr and Jonatan Johansson will form Hodgson's two-pronged attack while Eremenko's younger brother, Roman, will get his second start in midfield. "Every player in the squad is fit," said Hodgson. "We know our task – anything but a win will be a failure if we want to fight for a place in the finals."

Kazakh threat
Defender Hannu Tihinen, however, predicts that the hosts' task will not be easy. "We won 2-0 in Almaty last year and I hope we are able to reach the same level," he said. "We possibly didn't create many chances over there but two goals were enough. Kazakhstan are very dangerous on the break and we must be alert in defence. We are definitely looking for the win, whatever the score is."

Striker blow
With Poland out of action until September (when they play away to Portugal and Finland), Serbia are the third country seeking to make up ground in the group. Javier Clemente's side travel to Belgium without injured striker Nikola Žigić – and expecting a tough ride from a home team boosted by several players who impressed at the summer's UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Clemente upbeat
"The match in Brussels is very important," said Clemente. "Belgium did not start their qualifying campaign well, but they have a new team that blends experience with young talented players." Logan Bailly, Maarten Martens, Kevin Mirallas, Anthony Vanden Borre and Thomas Vermaelen will be among the opposition for Clemente and company. "I'm optimistic," added the coach. "The goal is to qualify for EURO 2008 and every match is a small part of that bigger story."