The race for World Cup qualification may be over for Romania and Kazakhstan; with two rounds of matches they cannot catch Poland, Montenegro and Denmark above them in Group E of the UEFA section of qualifying.
But there is still plenty at stake for both of these teams in this fixture to be played on October 5. Romania will not want to be embarrassed by the smaller nation in front of their own fans in Ploiesti, while Kazakhstan will be desperate to claim at least one victory in an otherwise forgettable qualification campaign.
The Romanians, ultimately, only have themselves to blame for not making more of an impact upon Group E. They have taken just one point from their pair of encounters against Montenegro, and failed to beat Kazakhstan away from home: a dismal 0-0 draw the sum of their efforts.
The Kazakhstanis, meanwhile, have performed exactly as most would have expected them to. Heavy defeats both home and away are indicative of where this nation stands as a footballing entity at present, although outstanding performances to claim draws against Poland (2-2) and Romania suggest there is plenty more to come from this country in the future.
So could they possibly continue their upward trajectory with victory in Romania, or will the hosts be able to secure a much-needed and morale-boosting win?
1. Betting Odds
The bookmakers have Romania as short as 1.22 to win this match, and given the evidence of what has gone before in Group E that is fair enough.
Kazakhstan have been poor away from home, but if they can somehow summon up the spirit that earned them home draws against the Romanians and Poles then they could make a mockery of their ‘to win’ odds of 17.00.
The draw can be backed at 7.10.
2. Romania vs Kazakhstan Betting Tips
One of the main problems for Romania has been putting the ball in the net. They have scored just eight goals in as many games, and that is not the recipe for success they need. It might have secured them qualification for Euro 2016, but qualifying for a World Cup is an all-together more difficult task.
To put their problems into context, the Romanians’ top goalscorers in qualifying have been Bogdan Stancu and Adrian Popa, with two goals apiece. Poland’s Robert Lewandowski has netted 12 – that’s more than the whole Romania team combined!
The hosts here have only won three of their last thirteen matches, and only one of those by more than a one-goal margin, so if they are to secure the comfortable victory over Kazakhstan they crave, they will need to find some kind of attacking impetus from somewhere.
Kazakhstan’s away form in qualifying speaks for itself: they have lost all four of their matches on the road and by comfortable margins: Poland (0-3), Montenegro (0-5), Denmark (1-4) and Armenia (0-2) have all enjoyed fine wins against the visitors.
But if you look back at their competitive results in the past few years, we find that they have scored away from home against Germany, Belgium, Turkey and the Netherlands, so they are certainly capable.
Punters will find the +2 handicap in Kazakhstan’s favour available at around the 1.87 mark, and that looks excellent value.
Both Romania and Kazakhstan have been eliminated from World Cup 2018 qualifying, but there is still plenty of national pride at stake in this qualification match.
Romania vs Kazakhstan Predictions
The race for World Cup qualification may be over for Romania and Kazakhstan; with two rounds of matches they cannot catch Poland, Montenegro and Denmark above them in Group E of the UEFA section of qualifying.
But there is still plenty at stake for both of these teams in this fixture to be played on October 5. Romania will not want to be embarrassed by the smaller nation in front of their own fans in Ploiesti, while Kazakhstan will be desperate to claim at least one victory in an otherwise forgettable qualification campaign.
The Romanians, ultimately, only have themselves to blame for not making more of an impact upon Group E. They have taken just one point from their pair of encounters against Montenegro, and failed to beat Kazakhstan away from home: a dismal 0-0 draw the sum of their efforts.
The Kazakhstanis, meanwhile, have performed exactly as most would have expected them to. Heavy defeats both home and away are indicative of where this nation stands as a footballing entity at present, although outstanding performances to claim draws against Poland (2-2) and Romania suggest there is plenty more to come from this country in the future.
So could they possibly continue their upward trajectory with victory in Romania, or will the hosts be able to secure a much-needed and morale-boosting win?
Contents
1. Betting Odds
The bookmakers have Romania as short as 1.22 to win this match, and given the evidence of what has gone before in Group E that is fair enough.
Kazakhstan have been poor away from home, but if they can somehow summon up the spirit that earned them home draws against the Romanians and Poles then they could make a mockery of their ‘to win’ odds of 17.00.
The draw can be backed at 7.10.
2. Romania vs Kazakhstan Betting Tips
One of the main problems for Romania has been putting the ball in the net. They have scored just eight goals in as many games, and that is not the recipe for success they need. It might have secured them qualification for Euro 2016, but qualifying for a World Cup is an all-together more difficult task.
To put their problems into context, the Romanians’ top goalscorers in qualifying have been Bogdan Stancu and Adrian Popa, with two goals apiece. Poland’s Robert Lewandowski has netted 12 – that’s more than the whole Romania team combined!
The hosts here have only won three of their last thirteen matches, and only one of those by more than a one-goal margin, so if they are to secure the comfortable victory over Kazakhstan they crave, they will need to find some kind of attacking impetus from somewhere.
Kazakhstan’s away form in qualifying speaks for itself: they have lost all four of their matches on the road and by comfortable margins: Poland (0-3), Montenegro (0-5), Denmark (1-4) and Armenia (0-2) have all enjoyed fine wins against the visitors.
But if you look back at their competitive results in the past few years, we find that they have scored away from home against Germany, Belgium, Turkey and the Netherlands, so they are certainly capable.
Punters will find the +2 handicap in Kazakhstan’s favour available at around the 1.87 mark, and that looks excellent value.
Both Romania and Kazakhstan have been eliminated from World Cup 2018 qualifying, but there is still plenty of national pride at stake in this qualification match.