Euro 2016 qualifiers: Wales set to leapfrog England in Fifa rankings Euro 2016 qualifiers: Cyprus v Wales Venue: GSP Stadium, Nicosia Kick-off: 19:45 BST, Thursday, 3 September Coverage: Live on BBC Radio 5 live, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and online. Wales are set to be ranked above England in the Fifa world list for the first time ahead of Thursday's Euro 2016 qualifier against Cyprus. Wales will hold on to their best position of ninth, while England are set to drop to 10th. Beating Cyprus in Nicosia would leave Wales within one victory of qualifying for Euro 2016. "It's [the rankings] a confidence boost," said Wales manager Chris Coleman. "Because we've been low in the rankings and had that rubbed in our face many a time. "Now we're doing very well, certain people want to say the rankings are this and they're that but the players deserve that. "But at the same time, the rankings are not going to get us to France. "We need to do something no one's done. Success is getting to France." Wales moved up to a new high of ninth place in the Fifa world rankings in August, rising above the likes of the Netherlands and former world champions Spain. Wales were as low as 117th as recently as August 2011. Coleman's side beat Belgium in a Euro 2016 qualifier in June, which resulted in a leap into the top 10 of the rankings for the first time since they were introduced in 1993. Wales are three points clear at the top of Group B with four games remaining as they bid to reach their first major finals since 1958. If Wales beat Cyprus and then secure another three points in the following game at home to Israel on Sunday, it will send Wales through to the finals in France. England are top of their Euro 2016 qualifying group with a 100% record and face San Marino on Saturday. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34135432 Other Matches Czech Rep. v Kazakhstan 19:45 Netherlands v Iceland 19:45 Turkey v Latvia 19:45 Belgium v Bos-Herce 19:45 Israel v Andorra 19:45 Azerbaijan v Croatia 17:00 Bulgaria v Norway 19:45 Italy v Malta 19:45 Fri 4 Sep 2015 - European Championship Qualifying Georgia v Scotland 17:00 Gibraltar v R. of Ireland 19:45 Faroe Islands v Northern Ireland 19:45 Germany v Poland 19:45 Greece v Finland 19:45 Hungary v Romania 19:45 Denmark v Albania 19:45 Serbia v Armenia 19:45 Upcoming Fixtures Sat 5 Sep 2015 - European Championship Qualifying Luxembourg v Macedonia 17:00 Ukraine v Belarus 17:00 Spain v Slovakia 19:45 Estonia v Lithuania 17:00
The new format with 24 teams makes these qualifiers even ****ter than they used to be. Still, would be great if some of the other home nations got in to then lose to Kazakhstan or Iceland in front of the whole world.
Only the Germany Poland game stands out from that fixture list, given the history between the two and the fact that Poland have already beaten Germany and are leading the group.
Turkey v Latvia looks like it could be a corker, too! To liven things up, they ought to consider having a "Who's Got The Silliest National Costume" competition, at half-time.
