Friday 9 October 2015 15:03, UK
Turkey face the Czech Republic in their key European Qualifier on Saturday, knowing a play-off place at the expense of the Netherlands is within touching distance.
Fatih Terim's side travel to Prague to play a Czech side who have already qualified for Euro 2016 knowing that if they can better the Netherlands' result in Kazakhstan earlier in the day, they will guarantee third spot in Group A with a game still to spare.
And that is because third-placed Turkey have a superior head-to-head record with the fourth-in-the-table Oranje, although Danny Blind's men will be expected to see off the challenge of the group whipping boys in Astana.
Blind, who has lost both of his opening two games in charge since taking over from Guus Hiddink in July, with the Netherlands failing to score in both matches, have endured a poor run away from home in qualification so far, losing three of their four contests on the road.
And the visitors, who are without suspended defender Bruno Martins Indi, will need to improve on that record if they are to stand any chance of not missing out on their first European championship since they were last held in France 21 years ago.
Meanwhile, group leaders Iceland entertain fifth-placed Latvia having already booked their place at Euro 2016, their first-ever appearance in the finals of a major tournament.
However, Iceland coach Lars Lagerback will be looking for his team to guarantee top spot in the section by bettering the Czech's result against Turkey.
Elsewhere, Norway can seal their passage to the European championship if they can beat last-placed Malta on Saturday and Croatia then fail to overcome Bulgaria later in the day.
The Scandinavians, who are already guaranteed a play-off berth, have jumped up to second place in the Group H standings thanks to two victories in September.
Third-in-the-table Croatia will be hoping to give new boss Ante Cacic a winning start to his reign, and keep alive their slim hopes of qualifying automatically for the Euros, by overcoming fourth-placed Bulgaria in Zagreb on Saturday night.
And if the home side can get the three points, not only will they end Bulgaria's own slim hopes of making the play-offs, but they will also then put pressure on the top two in the group - Italy and Norway - ahead of their meeting in Rome in the final game on Monday.
The group leaders - missing the suspended Daniele De Rossi - take on fifth-in-the-table Azerbaijan needing a win to book their spot at next summer's tournament, although the visitors will not have it easy in Baku against opponents who are unbeaten in their last four qualifiers.
In Group B, Belgium are well placed to secure an automatic qualification spot, and they will do just that with victory against Andorra.
Coach Marc Wilmots is without captain Vincent Kompany for the clash, although the Manchester City defender is still in the squad despite not playing since September 15.
A draw could be enough for the Belgians, depending on results elsewhere. Israel are in action against Cyprus and need to win to keep their hopes alive. A draw, and they'll need Belgium to fall to an unlikely defeat to take it to the last game.
They'll have to be careful, though, because they could still miss out on third place depending on how events unfold between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Wales.
