What a weekend of international football we've got to look forward to.

With England and Scotland's destinies soon to be decided, who would have thought the likes of France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands would still be sweating to make Euro 2008 in the final week of qualifying?

Scotland's qualifying campaign really has been like a fairytale. But will it have a happy ending with a win over world champions Italy?

Failure now would be hard to stomach and I for one hope they can do it.

England's current predicament has not so surprisingly prompted debate over the number of foreigners in the Premier League.

It's an issue that definitely needs to be addressed, but right now Steve McClaren needs that bit of luck which has perhaps deserted him in terms of injuries and suspensions during his 15-month tenure.

As for Northern Ireland, to be in with a chance of qualifying at this late stage is fantastic.

Their recent away draw with group leaders Sweden shows they can more than hold their own and in David Healy they could end up having the campaign's surprise top scorer.

The Euro 2008 dream may be over for Wales and the Republic of Ireland, who face each other on Saturday, but no doubt both squads have learnt from the experience and will come back stronger for the World Cup 2012 qualifying campaign.

Football Focus will preview the weekend's action, with up-to-the-minute updates on all the games available across BBC television, radio, interactive, online and mobile phones.

All the best, it's going to be quite a ride.

Manish

Winmau World Masters: 1300-1630, BBC ONE and BBC Sport website.

Winmau World Masters: 1330-1720, BBC ONE and BBC Sport website.

Rugby union: Heineken Cup - L***lli Scarlets v Wasps (1725-1930, BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and BBC Sport website).

Rugby union: Heineken Cup - Bristol v Stade Francais (1500-1700, BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sport website).