Germany (1) v Ukraine (1)

German goalkeeper and captain Oliver Kahn admitted he was nervous before the second leg against Ukraine that could see the troubled giants fail to qualify for the World Cup finals for the first time.

"The first leg was only a skirmish compared to what's ahead of us," said the Bayern Munich player.

"It's all or nothing now. We have every reason to be nervous." The triple World Cup winners fought bravely in Kiev and poached a goal which could prove crucial with the away goals rule.

Manager Rudi Voeller has made it clear that Germany will not be looking for a goalless draw, especially with the return of his first choice strikers Carsten Jancker and Oliver Neuville. The two should be paired up front which means Oliver Bierhoff will lose out.

Ukraine coach Valery Lobanovsky, expected to quit after the game to concentrate on his Dynamo Kiev job, might decide to drop a couple of players who looked sluggish in the first leg.

Arsenal wing-back Oleg Luzhny could be replaced by the faster Dmitry Parfyonov while Tottenham Hotspur's Serhiy Rebrov, still struggling to recapture his form, might lose his place to Serhiy Shishchenko.

GERMANY (probable): Kahn; Rehmer, Ziege, Linke, Nowotny; Ramelow, Schneider, Hamann, Ballack; Jancker, Neuville.

UKRAINE (probable): Levitsky; Parfyonov, Nesmachny, Holovko, Vashchyuk; Husin, Timoshchyuk, Zubov; Shevchenko, Vorobei, Shishchenko. Referee: V Perreira (Portugal) .

Romania (1) v Slovenia (2)

Fancy football is not a priority for Romanian manager Gheorghe Hagi today - all that matters is overturning the 2-1 deficit to qualify for next year's World Cup finals.

"We need a goal and it's not important when we get it," Hagi said yesterday. "I would settle for 1-0 in the last minute. I don't care how we win, I just hope we win. Away goals, golden goal or penalty shoot-out, it doesn't matter."

Having appeared in the last three World Cup finals, failure to qualify for 2002 would be viewed as a disaster for the Romanian fans, who have had little to cheer in a troubled decade since independence.

Slovenia's coach Srecko Katanec has few options at hand, with several players missing from his squad. But some changes can be expected to bolster a defence which had trouble coping with the strength and pace of Romania's Marius Niculae and Adrian Ilie.

"We have to take away their space and defend against them closely and aggressively," Katanec said. He believes his squad can disrupt the rhythm of "their skilled and technically gifted counterparts" and most of his players remain confident of reaching their first World Cup. Amir Karic, who played on despite a serious head wound on Saturday, will be replaced by Nastja Ceh.

ROMANIA (probable): Lobont or Stelea; CosContra, Miu or Iencsi, Popescu, Chivu; Sabau, Ghioane, Munteanu; Mutu, Niculae, Ilie.

SLOVENIA: Simeunovic; Vugdalic, Galic, Milinovic; Novak, Ceh, Pavlin, Rudonja, Ceh; Acimovic, Osterc. Referee: H Krug (Germany).

Czech Rep (0) v Belgium (1)

Tomas Rosicky yesterday told his Czech Republic colleagues they must deliver a "collective team effort" to reach the World Cup finals.

Rosicky was suspended and Tomas Repka was sent off as the Czechs lost 1-0 in Belgium on Saturday.

The hopes of the Czech nation are pinned on Rosicky's individual talent helping them to make next summer's finals in Japan and Korea.

But the Borussia Dortmund midfielder, whose side beat Bulgaria 6-0 in their final qualifier, said: "I do not feel under bigger pressure than usual. I believe we have better players in all positions and our pitch is better than the one we played on in Belgium, so we will be able to use our passing combinations better.

Belgium captain Marc Wilmots has identified Rosicky's return as the main danger to their World Cup ambitions. Wilmots said: "Rosicky is the kind of player who can dribble past two men in a square metre.

"With him in the team, the Czechs are much stronger. If you can be the engine of a team like Dortmund and are worth £8million at 20, you know the deal."

Belgium manager Robert Waseige has hinted he will name an unchanged team for the second leg. He is likely to switch to a defensive 5-3-2 system, although the personnel will be the same.

Wilmots, who missed the first leg through injury, is not yet 100 per cent fit and will start on the bench.

Turkey (1) v Austria (0)

Austria may battle to overturn a 1-0 deficit in Istanbul but their hosts are better, more deserving and, above all, hungrier, according to Turkish coach Senol Gunes.

"We really want to go to the World Cup. It is something that Austria has already tasted, but we are hungry," Gunes said. "We have earned this."

Austria manager Otto Baric said that he would make a handful of changes to his line-up in an attempt to claim an early goal: "We will be stronger, with two or three new players who will bring something more to the team and ensure that we get more chances," Baric said, adding he had already chosen 10 of his 11 players. Striker Ivica Vastic is expected to play return from a ban.

"We hope we will score the first goal. Then it will be equal again. My players know that the Turks were not better than us in Vienna."

With his side on the verge of Turkey's first World Cup qualification since 1954, Gunes is surrounding his players with the familiar ahead of today's match.

Of his 26-man squad, 14 are either present or former Galatasaray players and Gunes has huddled the players into the Galatasaray training complex on the outskirts of Istanbul, while also looking forward to the familiarity of Galatasaray's Ali Sami Yen stadium for the game.

TURKEY (probable): Recber; Ozalan, Asik, Ozat, Ercan; Buruk, Kerimoglu, Basturk, Erdem, Davala; Hakan Sukur.

AUSTRIA: Wohlfahrt; Floegel, Vukovic, Winklhofer, Baur, Lexa, Strafner, Hiden, Vastic, Herzog, Haas. Referee: P Collina (Italy).