First team

FOUR SEVILLISTAS TO FIGHT FOR A PLACE AT RUSSIA 2018

03/10/2017

Muriel, Banega, Mercado and Kjaer will look to book their place in the World Cup from this Thursday

Though the competition itself could still involve many more Sevillistas - for example, several Argentinians could return to represent their country - four first team players have been called up to fight for their country's place in the 2018 Russia World Cup in games starting this Thursday. The first to feature will be Simon Kjaer, who plays for Denmark on Thursday night (20:45pm) against Montenegro. On Sunday at 18:00pm the Danish squad will finish up their Qualification campaign against Romania. Denmark currently sits third, which would see them miss out on qualification, however, the side is currently on level points with Montenegro and just three behind Poland. The Scandanavian side's fate remains up in the air and will depend heavily on the score between Denmark and Montenegro on Thursday.

Crossing continents, we look to the fate of three more Sevillistas who have joined up with their international sides. Banega and Mercado have joined Argentina's squad and Muriel has joined up with Colombia. There are two games to go in the South American qualification, both of which will be played on a fixed schedule - specifically at 1:30 in the morning Spanish time. On Friday morning, Colombia will face Paraguay and Argentina will play Peru. On the morning of Wednesday the 11^th, Peru will face Colombia and Ecuador will face Argentina.

Only Brazil have confirmed their place at the World Cup, while Uruguay and Colombia would secure theirs with one more win. Peru sits in fourth place (the last direct qualification spot) but on level points with Argentina, who, as things stand, would have to fight for qualification in November against New Zealand. Qualification is still very open, however, Chile (on the verge of a playoff), Paraguay, and Ecuador all still have prospects of qualification.

Just Brazil have guaranteed their place at the World Cup, while seven other sides fight between themselves

Returning to Europe, we look to Sevilla Atlético's three internationals. Georgia, a team reliant on central midfielder Giorgi Aburjania, finds itself in the same match as Denmark but with no chance of qualifying for Russia. The Georgians will play at home on Friday the 6^th against Wales at 18.00pm and will end their run in Group D against Serbia. Georgia's sole aspiration is to place higher than Austria and finish in fourth position.

Despite their valiant effort, Cameroon has no chance of qualifying for the World Cup. Goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa has voiced his discontent over the penultimate qualifying match, where they will face Lucas Alcaraz's Algerian side in Yaundé with nothing at stake. Finally, Marc Gual will play in Spain U-21's second qualifier match for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship which will be staged in Italy. Following the victory against Estonia, Spain will play on Tuesday the 10^th in Poprad against Slovakia.