England, Greece and others look to clinch Euro berths

Greece visit arch-rivals Turkey for a group C topper in Istanbul while England are in Moscow on unfamiliar artificial turf in their group E game.

 If England win, they will go through along with current group leaders Croatia, who have no match on Wednesday.

 The Czech Republic, Sweden and Poland can also make the finals on the day while the pressure remains on others including World Cup finalists France and the Netherlands.

 Co-hosts Austria and Switzerland have qualified automatically for the tournament, while Germany became the first team to go through from the qualifying campaign with a 0-0 draw in Ireland on Saturday.

 That leaves 13 berths up for grabs in the remaining rounds of play, with the top two finishers from each of the seven groups advancing.

 Group E can be settled if England win in Russia, which would send Steve McClaren's side and Croatia through. Croatia, who will also advance if England draw, have 26 points, England 23, Russia 18 and Israel 17. The other game is between eliminated Macedonia and Andorra.

 "Believe me, on Wednesday I will be a bigger England fan than anyone in England," said Croatia coach Slaven Bilic.

 England got their fifth straight win Saturday in a 3-0 victory over Estonia and will be more wary of the artificial turf at Luzhniki stadium than of the Russians, who are in a must-win situation.

 "We are in pole position. It is up to us," said McClaren. "There is good attitude, belief and confidence in the dressing room. A win would be magnificent but a draw would be suitable."

   Defender Ashley Cole is out injured but there is a glimmer of hope that captain John Terry may return from knee problems.

 In group C, Otto Rehhagel's Greece take a four-point lead over Turkey into the Istanbul clash which the hosts also need to win to hold Norway at bay. Greece have 22 points and need a win to go through, Turkey have 18 points and Norway, who host Bosnia, have 17. The other game is between bottom teams Malta and Moldova.

 Boosted by a 3-2 win over Bosnia Saturday and helped by Moldova's 0-0 draw against the Turks, Greece more than anything aim to avenge a shocking 4-1 home defeat against Turkey at the start of the campaign.

 "Our 4-1 defeat to Turkey last March was a heavy one. More than anything, this next game is a matter of pride," said captain Angelos Basinas.

  Rehhagel said there was no time for celebration yet: "We might be on the final stretch but we haven't crossed the finish line yet. When we are mathematically certain we will acknowledge that we achieved our goal - but not before then."

   In group A, leaders Poland (24 points) are idle, but will qualify if Portugal (20) and Serbia (17) both lose away in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, respectively. The match between Belgium and Armenia is for pride only.

 In the tense group B, leaders Scotland (24 points) look to keep idle World Cup champions Italy (23) and France (22) at bay with a ninth campaign win in Georgia after a morale-boosting 3-1 over Ukraine on Saturday.

 France host Lithuania, with Thierry Henry aiming for a 42nd international goal to break a 41-goal tie with UEFA boss Michel Platini for French all-time top scorer. Ukraine meet the Faroes in the other group game.

 Germany (23 points) host the Czechs (20) in a group D topper in Munich where the qualified hosts aim to underline their strength and remain unbeaten. The Czechs will qualify with a victory which would eliminate Ireland (15), who host Cyprus. The other game is San Marino-Wales.

 Sweden can send themselves through and all but assure idle Spain of qualifying from group F as well when they take on third-placed Northern Ireland in Solna. Sweden and Spain have 22 points, Northern Ireland 16.

 In group G, the three-team qualifying race between Romania (23), Netherlands (20) and Bulgaria (18) continues. Romania visit bottom side Luxembourg after a big 1-0 win over the Dutch, for, for their part, aim to rebound at home against Slovenia. Bulgaria are in Albania. By John Bagratuni