A point will suffice for England in Montenegro
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
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England travel to Montenegro knowing that a point would book their place at UEFA EURO 2012 while back-to-back victories for the hosts would ensure they finished top of the section.
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In their first game under new coach Branko Brnović, Montenegro will look to overturn Group G leaders England and give themselves a chance of qualifying directly for UEFA EURO 2012.
• Zlatko Kranjčar was dismissed as Montenegro coach after his side dropped five points in their last two qualifiers. They trail Group G leaders England by six points, but have a game in hand.
• Should Montenegro win, a victory against Switzerland on 11 October would send them to the finals as section winners. England are already certain to finish in the top two.
• Montenegro earned an impressive 0-0 draw at Wembley when the sides first met on 12 October 2010, and came close to winning the game when Milan Jovanović struck the bar late on. That was the sides' first meeting at senior level.
• England and Montenegro met in qualifying for the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Future senior internationals Stevan Jovetić, Elsad Zverotić and Simon Vukčević featured in the Montenegro side that lost 3-0 at home on 7 September 2007. Jovetić also played as they lost the return fixture 1-0 in Leicester on 12 October 2007.