Sweden had some good moments at the World Cup, with the heavy defeats they suffered to France and Netherlands being a bit unfair to their performances in those games.

Graham Potter’s side will feel as though they are the strongest nation in this group, which also contains Poland and Bosnia. Sweden actually finished bottom of their qualifying group without winning a game, but it was their display in the last  Nations League which helped them qualify for the World Cup.

That recent qualifying campaign has plenty of context too, Sweden were in a real mess and Potter joined just before the end of the campaign, with their form picking up in that period. Romania didn’t feature at the World Cup as they failed to get out of a group also featuring Austria and Bosnia. 

Italy have embarrassed themselves on the international stage over recent years, failing to qualify for a single major tournament since their triumph in the European Championships back in 2021.

They’ve now turned to Roberto Mancini to try and change the culture of the national side, and this will be his first game in charge. 

Italy have struggled against the elite sides in Europe over the last few years, losing both games against Norway during World Cup qualifying as well as losing to Germany and France when they last competed in the Nations League. 

They actually ran out 1-0 winners when these sides last met in 2024, but the three meetings prior to that clash saw BTTS. Belgium saw BTTS in five of their six games at the World Cup, only keeping a clean sheet against Iran during their run to the quarter finals. 

Georgia failed to really kick on after their impressive run in the 2024 European Championships, failing to win five of their six matches during World Cup qualifying in what was a tough group in fairness with the likes of Spain and Turkiye coming through it.

That said, there is a lot of room for optimism for Georgia with the talent that is coming through - spearheaded by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia who has established himself as one of the best players in the world over recent seasons at PSG.

Northern Ireland tend to struggle on the road, they’ve only managed to win one of their last 10 away games with their most recent competitive win coming against Luxembourg at home. Georgia have enough quality to avoid defeat here against a Northern Ireland side who don’t take much from their travels. 

Türkiye’s games tend to be really hectic, we saw how shot happy they were at the World Cup despite their early exit and I think they could get on the scoresheet here.

France are another nation that is going through a period of transition following the World Cup, with long term head coach Didier Deschamps being replaced by French legend Zinedine Zidane.

Türkiye played three games at the World Cup and recorded an xG of 1.0 or higher in all three games, actually clearing the 2.0 xG mark in two of these matches. 

They also scored 17 goals across just six matches during qualifying (2.83 per game), but also conceded 12 (2.0 per game), showing where Turkiye may be a bit vulnerable to the talent of France’s frontline.