Czech Republic vs Moldova prediction: EUROPE: Euro – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-11-19 19:45.
The stakes could hardly be any higher as the Czech Republic take on Moldova in their final European Championship qualifying (ECQ) fixture. The tightly-packed nature of Group E means that a draw will be enough for Jaroslav Šilhavý’s side to reach Euro 2024 in Germany next summer, but if they lose, their 100% record as an independent nation of making it to the Euros will go up in flames as they will be usurped by their opponents.
The Czechs could have made life much easier for themselves, as they missed out on the chance to secure a spot in the top two by drawing 1-1 in Poland on Friday night. That result did at least extend their impressive recent run to just a single defeat across nine internationals (W4, D4), and they’ll be confident of doing the business on home soil where they’ve lost only once in 16 fixtures since September 2020 (W10, D5)!
Visiting Moldova need to break that run, or their dreams of qualifying for a major tournament for the first time will be shattered. Back-to-back 1-1 draws against Poland and Albania have kept the Tricolours hopes of progressing alive, but the fact that they’ve won only one of their last 16 ECQ qualifiers away from home inspires little confidence (D3, L12), especially as they also failed to score in nine of those fixtures.
They’ve also never netted in three previous H2Hs (D1, L2), but no further motivation is needed for Serghei Cleșcenco’s side, as they potentially stand just 90 minutes away from making history. It’s a remarkable story, especially as they’d finished rock-bottom of their two previous ECQ qualifying groups, but their manager has revealed creating a siege mentality within the squad that has helped to turn their fortunes around, stating, “they formed a single team inside.”
Players to watch: Czech Republic captain Tomáš Souček, who has netted in back-to-back internationals for just the second time in his career, hasn’t lost any of the seven games he’s scored in for his nation (W5, D2). Attempting to be the man to create Moldovan history, Vladislav Baboglo has seen his two goals in this qualification cycle serve as the game’s last.
Hot streak: Moldova have scored exactly one goal in five successive matches, three of which ended 1-1.