Group D - opponent watch!

[SkStu]

Scotland are done now. No way they come back three times in the same match against the Germans.

Don't ever say something like that again!

[BonnieShels]

And the North losing. Whoop.

[Closed Account]

Gibraltar score! Comeback is on.

[SkStu]

2 mins left in Scotland

[SkStu]

All over. Super!

[eekers]

Germany need just a point next game away to Ireland to Qualify.
Hope they just go looking for the draw.

[SkStu]

They owe us for being the first team to play them after WWII.

The green jersey just isn't cutting it anymore.

[punkrocket]

And the North losing. Whoop.


Jumping. The. Gun.

All that jumping, BouncyShels

[Fergie's Son]

They owe us for being the first team to play them after WWII.

The green jersey just isn't cutting it anymore.

:)

After the last visit of Germany we could use a favour!

[Charlie Darwin]

we could only dream of doing what Scotland are doing and scoring 2 against Germany for that alone they deserve to qualify ahead of us.
If only groups were decided on how many goals you score against teams you nevertheless still lose to home and away.

[Charlie Darwin]

They owe us for being the first team to play them after WWII.

The green jersey just isn't cutting it anymore.
Isn't that a fiction? Too tired to look it up now, but I think green is the old colour of Prussia or something.

[SkStu]

Isn't that a fiction? Too tired to look it up now, but I think green is the old colour of Prussia or something.

yes, it is. Im surprised it took so long to get a nibble and even more surprised that it was you! :)

[Metrostars]

Table:

GER 19
POL 17
IRE 15
SCO 11
GEO 6
GIB 0

Remaining Games:

Oct 8:
GEO-GIB
IRE-GER
SCO-POL

Oct 11:
GER-GEO
GIB-SCO
POL-IRE

[tetsujin1979]

James Morrison is suspended for Scotland against Poland in a month's time after picking up his third yellow card against Germany. He's only missed one other game in their qualifiers, the game in Dublin, but I'm not sure how much of a loss he is to the Scots.

[Stuttgart88]

A certain Scottish striker on the fringe of becoming a fringe player scored a hat trick for Everton against the EPL champions :)

[tricky_colour]

A certain Scottish striker on the fringe of becoming a fringe player scored a hat trick for Everton against the EPL champions :)

Yes if I could choose one Scottish player to get injured it would be him, not in a malicious way, but he is the sort who can make a big difference to a team.

Comments I found

http://www.futhead.com/15/players/8310/steven-naismith/


"He actually plays like Messi! (obviously a little worse) but his movement, passing and finishing is certainly comparable!"

"im a city fan but i love watching Everton because of this guy, his movement and work ethic are incredible, definitely deserves a position change and upgrade"

I would not disagree and his recent hat trick confirms my worst fears!

[triggsrevenge]

James Morrison is suspended for Scotland against Poland in a month's time after picking up his third yellow card against Germany. He's only missed one other game in their qualifiers, the game in Dublin, but I'm not sure how much of a loss he is to the Scots.

McArthur I assume will take his spot?

[tetsujin1979]

27 man Scottish squad for Poland and Gibraltar announced: http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?page=2986&newsID=15381&newsCategoryID=1

Scotland team to play Poland and Gibraltar
Craig Gordon (Celtic)
David Marshall (Cardiff City)
Allan McGregor (Hull City)

Christophe Berra (Ipswich Town)
Gordon Greer (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Grant Hanley (Blackburn Rover)[SIC]
Alan Hutton (Aston Villa)
Russell Martin (Norwich City)
Charlie Mulgrew (Celtic)
Andrew Robertson (Hull City)
Graeme Shinnie (Aberdeen)
Steven Whittaker (Norwich City)

Ikechi Anya (Watford)
Scott Brown (Celtic)
Darren Fletcher (West Brom)
James Forrest (Celtic)
Shaun Maloney (Hull City)
James Morrison (West Brom)
James McArthur (Crystal Palace)
Kevin MacDonald (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Matt Ritchie (Bournemouth AFC)
Johnny Russell (Derby County)

Steven Fletcher (Sunderland)
Leigh Griffiths (Celtic)
Chris Martin (Derby)
Steven Naismith (Everton)
Jordan Rhodes (Blackburn Rovers)

[zero]

9 days to go. i'm dreaming of a glorious irish 1-1 draw with a similar score in glasgow, guaranteeing us a playoff spot and a visit to warsaw knowing a win would seal automatic qualification.

given that everything went perfectly in terms of result in the last set of games, the above is sure to come true.

[DeLorean]

That really is the dream scenario.

If we win: We want Scotland to win

If we draw: We want Scotland to draw

If we lose: We want Scotland to lose


That about right?

[tetsujin1979]

the Polish squad was announced a week and a half ago as well: https://www.pzpn.pl/en/national-teams/national-team-a/news/2015-09-18/call-ups-for-scotland-and-ireland

Goalkeepers:

Artur Boruc (AFC Bournemouth)
Łukasz Fabiański (Swansea)
Wojciech Szczęsny (AS Roma)
Przemysław Tytoń (VfB Stuttgart)

Defenders:
Thiago Rangel Cionek (Modena FC)
Kamil Glik (Torino FC)
Artur Jędrzejczyk (FK Krasnodar)
Paweł Olkowski (FC Koeln)
Łukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund)
Łukasz Szukała (Osmanlispor FK)

Midfielders and strikers:
Jakub Błaszczykowski (Fiorentina)
Kamil Grosicki (Stade Rennais)
Maciej Rybus (Terek Grozny)
Grzegorz Krychowiak (Sevilla FC)
Piotr Zieliński (Empoli FC)
Arkadiusz Milik (AFC Ajax)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Kamil Wilczek (Carpi FC 1909)
Artur Sobiech (Hannover 96)

Four goalkeepers in a 19 man squad!

<EDIT>

Read the link again, looks like this is only the players who play outside Poland, and additional players will be added later

[DeLorean]

That really is the dream scenario.

If we win: We want Scotland to win (or a draw would have the same effect)

If we draw: We want Scotland to draw

If we lose: We want Scotland to lose


That about right?


And just looking at it another way, and assuming the worst against Germany:

If Scotland win: We'll need to beat Poland

If Scotland draw: We'll need at least a draw against Poland (although a win would get us 2nd)

If Scotland lose: We're in the playoffs

[Crosby87]

Maciej Rybus is supposedly one of the people being considered for the trip to colonize mars.

[tetsujin1979]

German squad named for Ireland and Georgia qualifiers: http://www.dfb.de/die-mannschaft/team/?no_cache=1

Name Geburtstag Verein Spiele Tore
Torwart
12 Bernd Leno 04.03.1992 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 0 0
1 Manuel Neuer 27.03.1986 Bayern München 60 0
22 Marc-André ter Stegen 30.04.1992 FC Barcelona 4 0
Abwehr
17 Jérôme Boateng 03.09.1988 Bayern München 54 0
14 Emre Can 12.01.1994 FC Liverpool 2 0
6 Matthias Ginter 19.01.1994 Borussia Dortmund 5 0
3 Jonas Hector 27.05.1990 1. FC Köln 7 0
5 Mats Hummels 16.12.1988 Borussia Dortmund 41 4
2 Shkodran Mustafi 17.04.1992 FC Valencia 8 0
4 Sebastian Rudy 28.02.1990 1899 Hoffenheim 9 0
Mittelfeld
16 Karim Bellarabi 08.04.1990 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 8 1
21 Ilkay Gündogan 24.10.1990 Borussia Dortmund 13 4
20 Christoph Kramer 19.02.1991 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 11 0
18 Toni Kroos 04.01.1990 Real Madrid 60 9
13 Thomas Müller 13.09.1989 Bayern München 65 30
8 Mesut Özil 15.10.1988 FC Arsenal 68 18
10 Lukas Podolski 04.06.1985 Galatasaray Istanbul 126 48
11 Marco Reus 31.05.1989 Borussia Dortmund 25 9
9 André Schürrle 06.11.1990 VfL Wolfsburg 47 20
7 Bastian Schweinsteiger 01.08.1984 Manchester United 113 23
Sturm
19 Mario Götze 03.06.1992 Bayern München 47 16
23 Max Kruse 19.03.1988 VfL Wolfsburg 13 3
15 Kevin Volland 30.07.1992 1899 Hoffenheim 3 0

[tricky_colour]

Are any of those players any good? Strike force looks weak. They could do with a Walters.

[paul_oshea]

Tricky yer getting funnier.

[DeLorean]

Are any of those players any good? Strike force looks weak. They could do with a Walters.

An average side according to Eamon Dunphy. We, on the other hand, have a team full of Premier League footballers so we should really be beating them if we go for it.

[tetsujin1979]

Update on Scotland's squad: http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/34436328
Darren Fletcher has a knock, Ikechi Anya sat out training, Charlie Mulgrew and Kevin McDonald will miss both Scotland's games

[DeLorean]

Scotland unfazed by red-hot Lewandowski (he's good... but he's no Steven Fletcher) (http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/soccer/scotland-unfazed-by-red-hot-lewandowski-357706.html?utm_source=link&utm_medium=click&utm_campaign=nextandprev)

[DeLorean]

Sad revelation about Gerd Muller (http://m.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2015/1006/732891-gerd-muller/)

[tricky_colour]

An average side according to Eamon Dunphy. We, on the other hand, have a team full of Premier League footballers so we should really be beating them if we go for it.

Funny how Eamons are so clever, Dunphy, Holmes, Andrews, all intelligent men.

[tricky_colour]

The fact one of their players plays for Liverpool shows what a poor squad they have.

ie, Emre Can, I think "Emre Can't" would be more appropriate.

[DeLorean]

Ah yes, Mr. Versatile, who just happens to a train wreck when played out of position.

[Kingdom]

German squad named for Ireland and Georgia qualifiers:

------------------------Neuer

- Can('t)/Rudy -- Boateng -- Hummels -- Hector----------

-------------Gundongan ---- Kroos-----------------------

----Reus ---------------Oezil ----------------Bellarabi

-----------------------Mueller-------------------

Given we're weak at full-back, and severely weak at the back in general, I wouldn't at all be surprised to see Loew go with two more out and out wing-attackers in Reus and Bellarabi. Bellarabi in particular has started the season well. There will surely be gaps to exploit in the channels between cb & fb for Gernany. Hector seems to have fallen into favour at left-back for them, while they are weak on the other side too. There's a reason they've leaked goals, but I'm not sure we can exploit that with a team O'Neill is likely to pick.

If he went with a somewhat traditional attacking front 3 of Brady, Walters and Long, I think there would be enough, skill, speed and pressure to make life uncomfortable particularly for Boateng. The problem now with Brady is that with McClean out, McGeady certain to be unfit, and no other option wide left, if you made the logical move of putting Robbie Brady wide left, you've a huge hole at LB. I'd look at detailing McCarthy onto Kroos, and stick Meyler firmly onto Gundongan, as he'll be the tempo-setter. O'Shea will have the physicality for Mueller.

That would just leave Richard Keogh to track Oezil.

Jesus.

[samhaydenjr]

German squad named for Ireland and Georgia qualifiers: http://www.dfb.de/die-mannschaft/team/?no_cache=1

Name Geburtstag Verein Spiele Tore
Torwart
12 Bernd Leno 04.03.1992 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 0 0
1 Manuel Neuer 27.03.1986 Bayern München 60 0
22 Marc-André ter Stegen 30.04.1992 FC Barcelona 4 0
Abwehr
17 Jérôme Boateng 03.09.1988 Bayern München 54 0
14 Emre Can 12.01.1994 FC Liverpool 2 0
6 Matthias Ginter 19.01.1994 Borussia Dortmund 5 0
3 Jonas Hector 27.05.1990 1. FC Köln 7 0
5 Mats Hummels 16.12.1988 Borussia Dortmund 41 4
2 Shkodran Mustafi 17.04.1992 FC Valencia 8 0
4 Sebastian Rudy 28.02.1990 1899 Hoffenheim 9 0
Mittelfeld
16 Karim Bellarabi 08.04.1990 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 8 1
21 Ilkay Gündogan 24.10.1990 Borussia Dortmund 13 4
20 Christoph Kramer 19.02.1991 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 11 0
18 Toni Kroos 04.01.1990 Real Madrid 60 9
13 Thomas Müller 13.09.1989 Bayern München 65 30
8 Mesut Özil 15.10.1988 FC Arsenal 68 18
10 Lukas Podolski 04.06.1985 Galatasaray Istanbul 126 48
11 Marco Reus 31.05.1989 Borussia Dortmund 25 9
9 André Schürrle 06.11.1990 VfL Wolfsburg 47 20
7 Bastian Schweinsteiger 01.08.1984 Manchester United 113 23
Sturm
19 Mario Götze 03.06.1992 Bayern München 47 16
23 Max Kruse 19.03.1988 VfL Wolfsburg 13 3
15 Kevin Volland 30.07.1992 1899 Hoffenheim 3 0



Surprised we left a player with a name that's almost Kevin Holland slip through our fingers unnoticed - the FAI's scouting team is really slacking off

[BonnieShels]

So praying for a Poland win or are we gunning for Sunday?

[tetsujin1979]

Poland win, all the way.

[BonnieShels]

Poland win, all the way.

I'm just feeling oddly optimistic about our changes.

[Stuttgart88]

I thought you were watching the rugby? No room for you on our bandwagon when it gets going.

[BonnieShels]

I thought you were watching the rugby? No room for you on our bandwagon when it gets going.

I can watch the game. I just can't go to it. As much as I would like to be in Warsaw and Cardiff. At the same time.

[paul_oshea]

I thought you were watching the rugby? No room for you on our bandwagon when it gets going.

yes stutts these are the clear lines that seperate the real fans from the big dayers.

THE REAL FANS WILL ALWAYS CHOOSE THE LESS GLAMOROUS ONE.

[DeLorean]

Marshall, Hutton, R. Martin, Whittaker, Hanley, Forrest, D. Fletcher, Brown, Naismith, S. Fletcher, Ritchie start for Scotland.

[geysir]

That was rapid.

[geysir]

Poland are all over this game

[BonnieShels]

And an equaliser

[davidatrb]

Sorry for long post! But it just got INTERESTING!!

Ireland are tied on points with Poland, both teams meeting in Poland in the last match.

This leaves Ireland with the following options let me know if im missing anything:

Beat Poland or a high score draw
The easy way to qualify now is simply beat Poland or a 2-2 draw or higher. If the teams are level on points then it will go to head to head. Both teams drew 1-1 in Dublin already - so a 2-2 draw or higher would put Ireland through on away goals. Even in the case of a three way tie (if Germany lose against Georgia) 2-2 (or any draw in fact) would be enough for Ireland to qualify in 2nd based on the matches involving the three nations.

A no score/low score draw
A nil-nil would almost certainly mean Poland would be 2nd on the away goal they scored in Dublin. A one-one should put them second based on goal difference. So Ireland would likely be 3rd with a no score/low score draw. The one exception would be if Germany are beaten by Georgia then a three way tie would put Ireland ahead of Poland and firmly in 1st and automatic qualification (in a three way tie - Ireland and Poland qualify and Germany are in playoffs, I think).

But realistically a no score/low score draw would see Ireland go into a play-off against the other third placed teams - seeded based on UEFA co-efficients. A draw would give Ireland 27322 coefficient points. This would be enough to rank ahead of Israel, Slovenia, Turkey, Norway (assuming they don't beat Italy) and both Albania or Denmark.

In that case I cannot see Ireland not being seeded for the draw and avoiding Ukraine, Sweden or Netherlands (if they can overhaul Turkey for 3rd in Group A).

If Norway do beat Italy though then Croatia are in the playoffs instead of Norway and Ireland will not be seeded ahead of Croatia. It would then become very important that Turkey hold off Netherlands.

Defeat :(
If Ireland lose to Poland they are obviously still in the play-offs. It would make seeding more difficult though. A defeat would give them in the region of 26902. This opens the door for Turkey to out rank Ireland, Turkey have a potential 27013 coefficient points. Denmark with 27140 coefficient points would just edge ahead of us for seeding. So in this case Ireland may only be seeded ahead of Israel, Slovenia and Norway (assuming again they don't beat Italy). This wouldn't be good enough to be top seed and would mean a play-off against one of Turkey/Netherlands, Ukraine/Hungary, Sweden or Denmark.

To avoid this we need Turkey to slip up against Iceland[H] or Czech[A] but not so bad that it lets Netherlands back up to 3rd. Or we need Albania to fail to beat Armenia. A win would put Albania out of 3rd and in to 2nd with Denmark replacing them in 3rd. In this scenario where Ireland lose then Denmark would be ranked ahead. Armenia are bottom of the group with only 2 points - but those draws came against Serbia and Denmark and all their defeats but one were by single goals. So it's certainly within their reach to draw with Albania and keep them in 3rd.

Matches to watch.

Poland vs Ireland - Ireland have their destination in their own hands with this.

Ukraine vs Spain - A win for Ukraine would put them top placed 3rd place and they would qualify automatically. In a play-off situation Hungary might be a better option than Ukraine. Hungary and Ukraine are at the moment top 2 in the 3rd placed teams.

Armenia vs Albania - Albania are 1 point behind Denmark, but Ireland want Albania to stay in 3rd because of their much inferior UEFA co-efficient which may affect the seedings. A draw here for Albania wouldn't be enough to topple Denmark as Denmark would hold 2nd on head to head results. So anything but a win for Albania would suit Ireland.

Turkey vs Czech and Iceland vs Turkey - Turkey have a better head to head than Netherlands so a win and a draw would guarantee they hold onto 3rd place. But anything better than a win and a draw will give them enough coefficient points to threaten Ireland's seeding. So Ireland are hoping for exactly one win and one draw from these games for Turkey.

Italy vs Norway - If Norway lose or draw it opens the door for Croatia to drop them into 3rd place in the group. It also opens the door for Ireland to jump them in the UEFA coefficient system. This would help Ireland to be seeded because we may be seeded ahead of Norway, but no chance of being seeded ahead of Croatia.

Croatia vs Bulgaria and Malta vs Croatia - Two wins here for Croatia would help them crawl out of 3rd spot if Norway slip up as hoped.

Israel vs Belgium - Israel (3rd in Group B) have two points on Bosnia (in 4th). Assuming they win against Cyprus then a draw against Belgium could see Israel hold on to 3rd. Israel would not be seeded ahead of Ireland, Bosnia would be. Bosnia have Wales[H] and Cyprus[A] left to play.

[boysingreen]

I dunno how anyone from Scotland could watch international football ever again after the last month they've had, iced by a final minute of injury time knockout blow. The agonizing way the goal developed. Speechless at the thought of it.

[elroy]

I dunno how anyone from Scotland could watch international football ever again after the last month they've had, iced by a final minute of injury time knockout blow. The agonizing way the goal developed. Speechless at the thought of it.

yes though us winning against Germany really meant they were hanging by a thread anyways. Max points they could have got were 17 equalling Poland so they wouldve needed us to beat Poland to have any chance of third. Still heart breaking for them but it was in Georgia, once again, where they really blew.

[jinxy lilywhite]

Scots are chokers. a nation of chokers.

interesting post by davidtarb. is there no chance for Ireland to be the best placed 3rd team?

I think we can beat Poland.

[pineapple stu]

I dunno how anyone from Scotland could watch international football ever again after the last month they've had, iced by a final minute of injury time knockout blow. The agonizing way the goal developed. Speechless at the thought of it.
Add to that they'v come from 1-0 down after 2 minutes to be beating Poland after an hour with two superb goals - and then news filters through that we've taken the lead against Germany despite barely having a touch of the ball all game.

You'd be sick.