Bulgaria and Switzerland played exactly according to the wishes of Zlatko Kranjčar, the Montenegrin national team members and the entire Montenegrin public - the uninteresting match in Sofia ended without goals (0:0) and without any real chances to score.
After the draw at the old building of the "Vasil Levski" stadium, both Bulgaria and Switzerland reduced the chances of getting second place in the group to theory, while Montenegro has an open path to the playoffs.
The reality of Zlatko Kranjčar's team is now the fight for the position of the best runner-up in all groups and direct qualification to the European Championship, as well as a possible fight with the English from the first position...
"The situation is getting drastically complicated. I think that now only a miracle can take us to the European Championship", admitted the popular "general", Switzerland coach Otmar Hitzfeld, while his former student from the glory days of Bayern retained even a hint of optimism:
"Nothing depends on us anymore, but we will fight until the end," said Lotar Mateus, coach of Bulgaria.
If Montenegro defeats Bulgaria in Podgorica on June 2, and Switzerland loses to the English at Wembley on the same day, the "brave falcons" will need only one more point by the end of the qualification to mathematically confirm second position.
After four rounds played, Montenegro is tied with England at the top, while the Swiss and Bulgarians have six points less each.
Table:
1. ENGLAND 4 3 1 0 9:1 10
2. MONTENEGRO 4 3 1 0 3:0 10
3. SWITZERLAND 4 1 1 2 5:5 4
4. BULGARIA 4 1 1 2 1:5 4
5. WALES 4 0 0 4 1:8 0
Bonus video:
