All eyes will be on Podgorica come Thursday evening as one of the World Cup’s closet qualifying campaigns will come to a head.
Montenegro welcome Denmark hoping to seal a win which would see the fledgling nation given the chance to qualify for their first ever major tournament.
Having only played their first match in 2007 against Hungary, the Brave Falcons are one of the youngest footballing nations, but after a disappointing start to their qualifying campaign for Russia 2018, they have now won three games in a row which has them second in the group.
With Poland likely to wrap up top spot with a win in Armenia, Denmark know they need another win to give themselves any hope of qualifying for a World Cup for the first time since they went out in the group stage at South Africa 2010.
Montenegro stunned Denmark in the first match between the two sides a year ago when Fatos Beqiraj’s 31st minute goal proved decisive.
The result means Montenegro are above Denmark as they have a better head to head record and Thursday’s encounter should make for a decent game as a draw could be little use to either side.
Montenegro will face a final game away in Poland so Serbian manager Ljubisa Tumbakovic will know how important Thursday’s game is to their chances of qualifying for their first World Cup.
Captain Stevan Jovetic has been enjoying a phenomenal form ever since the start of the campaign (seven goals so far) and he was the one who secured three golden points against Romania in the previous round (1-0 victory).
At the back Athletico Madrid’s Stefan Savic has also been a key player for Montenegro and they will need both at the peak of their powers to win against the Danes.
Denmark come into the game in Podgorica in high spirits after netting eight goals past Denmark and Armenia in September with Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen pulling the strings for Age Hareide’s side.
Tensions will be high inside the 15,000 seater Stadion Pod Goricom and the Danes can guarantee a hostile welcome form the partisan crowd. Chances are likely to be at a premium so it may come down to a solitary strike.
The road to Russia will end for one of these two sides on Thursday night and a draw could do for both!
