Sweden striker Marcus Berg. (Photo : Getty Images)
Tough team Luxembourg (0-1-0, 0 points) is set to square off with contending squad Sweden (0-0-1, 1 point) on Oct. 7, Friday at the Stade Josy Barthel in Luxembourg City as the second round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup UEFA qualifying tournament continues.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 8:45 p.m. UTC+2. It can be viewed live online thru FuboTV.
Luxembourg is coming off a highly disappointing 3-4 loss to Bulgaria in their tournament-opener last Sep. 6 in a match held on the road at the Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia, as per Soccerway.
Bulgaria forward Dimitar Rangelov opened the scoring at the 16th minute of the contest, but the two teams went scoreless until the hour mark.
However, floodgates were opened from the 60th-minute mark onwards as both teams scored three goals each for the rest of the match.
Team captain Aurelien Joachim leveled the count at the stroke of the hour and immediately followed it up with a second goal two minutes later to give the lead to head coach Luc Holtz's side.
Bulgaria was quick to retaliate, though, as midfielder Marcelinho made it 2-2 at the 65th while Spartak Moscow forward Ivelin Popov claimed back the lead for the Lions.
Schalke II striker Florian Bohnert found the equalizer in stoppage time, making it a 3-3 count to try and salvage a draw, but the hosts nailed the winner a minute later, courtesy of a shot from Crotone winger Aleksandar Tonev.
Meanwhile, Sweden settled to a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands at their home stadium of Friends Arena in Solna also on Sep. 6, Goal reported.
Striker Marcus Berg scored the opening goal at the 43rd minute for the hosts before Galatasaray midfielder Wesley Sneijder netted the equalizer at the 67th to force the tie and a share of a point in the overall standings.
Head coach Janne Andersson is now without Swede superstar Zlatan Ibrahimović, who retired from international competitions right after the summer's Euro 2016 tourney. The team is now captained by Krasnodar defender Andreas Granqvist.
Prediction and Predicted Lineup
The predicted result is a 3-1 victory for Sweden.
Luxembourg starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Joubert; Jans, Chanot, Pereira, Malget; Mutsch, Gerson, Philipps, da Mota; Joachim, Thill
Sweden starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Olsen; Lustig, Lindelof, Granqvist, Wendt; Rohden, Fransson, Hiljemark, Forsberg; Berg, Guidetti
