The Czech Republic will play against Malta in the World Cup qualifiers on Friday.
The match is a tough one for the Czechs as they absolutely need to obtain three points from the game but may not even benefit from it.
The team currently sits in fourth place in the group with nine points overall; second-place Bulgaria has 13 points through eight matches. The top eight second-place teams in the confederation move on while the ninth team gets eliminated. Because Group I only has five teams in it and every other group has six, the second-place sides in groups with six lose any points they obtained against the last-place team in their group. In the case of Group B, Malta is the last place team and the Czech Republic has three of six points against Malta. Even if it won on Friday, it would lose a potential six points if it managed to finish in second place; the most the Czechs could wind up with if it finished out its run with two wins is 15 points and only nine without the points against Malta; that would not be enough for qualification. However, the table is constantly fluctuating because last place teams in other groups are constantly changing.
Prediction: The team's last game with Malta was a 3-1 victory at home so there is no reason to believe that the team cannot reproduce a similar result on the road. The Czechs win 3-0.
Start Time: Kick-off starts at 1:30 p.m. EST.
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