PREVIEW - Europe World Cup Qualification (MATCHDAY 1-DAY 1)

(Source: uefa.tv)

The road to Qatar 2022 begins today in Europe. 55 teams will compete for the 13 slots available! All of these teams are split in 10 Groups. Group winners will qualify instantly while the remaining 3 slots will be contested among the groups runner-ups.

(Source: elitesportshistory.com)

Here's the list of today's matches and a short preview of the most important games:

-Turkey v Netherlands

It's always difficult to play in Istanbul. But Netherlands, led by manager Frank De Boer, will be the favorites in this match. De Ligt, De Jong, Wijnaldum and Depay are some of the players leading this Netherlands squad. Watch out for turkish striker Burak Yilmaz who is having a great season at Lille.

-Belgium v Wales

Belgium are the clear favorites here and a win by 2 or 3 goals is expected. Their squad will feature players like Courtois, Hazard, De Bruyne and Lukaku. Wales defense is strong but maybe not enough to contain such a powerful squad. Daniel James and Bale will lead Wales attack.

-Portugal v Azerbaijan

Portugal is looking really strong heading to Qatar 2022 with Ronaldo, Fernandes and Joao Felix leading the team, just to name a few. Azerbaijan is coming from 4 goalless matches, yes... 4 straight 0-0's. I think that streak ends today.

-France v Ukraine

World Cup champions are back and the clear favorites to win this game in Paris. Mbappe, Griezmann and Pogba will lead Les Bleus. Manchenster City's Zinchenko and West Ham's Yarmolenko will lead Ukraine.

The rest of the matches today:

-Serbia v Republic or Ireland
-Malta v Russia
-Estonia v Czech Republic
-Cyprus v Slovakia
-Finland v Bosnia and Herzegovina
-Latvia v Montenegro
-Slovakia v Croatia
-Gibraltar v Norway