Official Seedings Thread

[eirebhoy]

We've gone above Norway and back where we started.


World Cup 2006 Euro 2008
Team Played Points Played Points Avg Points
1 A Germany 5 13 2.6
2 A Holland 12 32 6 14 2.556
3 A Croatia 10 24 5 13 2.467
4 A Sweden 10 24 5 12 2.400
5 A Poland 10 24 7 16 2.353
6 A Portugl 12 30 6 11 2.278
7 A England 10 25 6 11 2.250
8 B Czech 12 27 6 13 2.222
9 B Italy 10 23 5 10 2.200
10 B Ukraine 12 25 5 12 2.176
11 B France 10 20 5 12 2.133
12 B Romania 12 25 5 11 2.118
13 B Turkey 12 23 5 13 2.118
14 B Serbia 10 22 6 11 2.063
15 C Russia 12 23 5 11 2.000
16 C Greece 12 21 5 12 1.941
17 C Spain 10 20 5 9 1.933
18 C Denmark 12 22 4 7 1.813
19 C Israel 10 18 6 11 1.813
20 C Switz. 10 18 1.800
21 C Slovak. 12 23 6 9 1.778
22 D Ireland 10 17 7 13 1.765
23 D Norway 10 18 5 7 1.667
24 D Bulgar. 10 15 5 9 1.600
25 D Scotlnd 10 13 6 12 1.563
26 D Bosnia 10 16 5 7 1.533
27 D Finland 12 16 6 11 1.500
28 D Austria 10 15 1.500
29 E N.Irel 10 9 6 13 1.375
30 E Hungary 10 14 5 6 1.333
31 E Belgium 10 12 6 7 1.188
32 E Belarus 10 10 5 7 1.133
33 E Latvia 12 15 4 3 1.125
34 E Sloven. 10 12 5 4 1.067
35 E Estonia 12 17 5 0 1.000
36 F Albania 12 13 5 3 0.941
37 F Lithua. 10 10 5 4 0.933
38 F Wales 10 8 5 6 0.933
39 F Maced. 12 9 6 7 0.889
40 F Georgia 12 10 6 6 0.888
41 F Liecht. 12 8 5 3 0.647
42 F Cyprus 10 4 6 4 0.500
43 Armenia 12 7 5 1 0.471
44 Iceland 10 4 5 3 0.467
45 Malta 10 3 5 4 0.467
46 Moldova 10 5 6 2 0.438
47 Azerb. 10 3 6 4 0.438
48 Kazakh. 12 1 6 5 0.333
49 Andorra 12 5 5 0 0.294
50 Faroes 10 1 6 0 0.063
51 Luxem. 12 0 5 0 0
52 San M. 10 0 5 0 0

[geysir]

This meaningful thread always seems to drop out of the radar. Is it worth it to have it as stickie instead of lets say the t-shirt protest which has had it's day?
(until we lose again of course)

[shakermaker1982]

I love this thread! Brings out the geek in all of us.

Until we start qualifying for major tournaments then this is the highlight of our international side - edging closer to pot C!!!

[Stuttgart88]

eb, can you put the date of each update in the post? is that table after the slovakia game?

thks

[pineapple stu]

eb, can you put the date of each update in the post?
You mean some sort of mechanism which notes at what time each post was made?

Like what we already have? ;)

[cavan_fan]

Apologies if thsi has been answered before. This list is based on the assumption there will be 7 groups for the next qualifying campaing. IS there any official word on this. (I assume Europe have 13 auto qualifiers next time and no hosts).

[RogerMilla]

good call cavan fan , i think it has been announced will have a look on fifa site

[RogerMilla]

32 teams, 31 slots up for grabs
South Africa qualify automatically as the host nation, so the rest of the world will be competing for the remaining 31 places in the final phase. As has been the case at past tournaments, the majority of teams will come from Europe, which has 13 slots.

African teams have an interesting three years ahead of them, since this will be their first FIFA World Cup on home soil and in front of their own partisan fans. Each of Africa's participating nations will therefore be doubly keen to secure one of the five berths available.

South America have been allocated four places, with a further slot available via a play-off with a team from the North, Central American and Caribbean Zone, who themselves have three guaranteed places.

Asia will be represented by four teams at the tournament, with a fifth berth also available via a play-off with the winners of the Oceania Zone.

[RogerMilla]

no mention of how many groups cavan fan
looks like it will be another best qualifier and play offs saga again

[Stuttgart88]

Like what we already have? ;)

Ah yes, I failed to notice the bleeding obvious. sorry!

[eirebhoy]

Apologies if thsi has been answered before. This list is based on the assumption there will be 7 groups for the next qualifying campaing. IS there any official word on this. (I assume Europe have 13 auto qualifiers next time and no hosts).
They haven't announced the qualifying process yet so the letters are just there as a guide really. I actually think Italy will be top seeds if they qualify. Montenegro will also be in the qualifying so it's 53 teams.

I'd say it might be 5 groups of 7 and 3 groups of 6.

8 group winners qualify. 2 best 2nd placed teams and 3 from the playoffs.

The last WC qualifers had 3 groups of 7 and 5 groups of 6 and the rest same as above.

[SuperDave]

They haven't announced the qualifying process yet so the letters are just there as a guide really. I actually think Italy will be top seeds if they qualify. Montenegro will also be in the qualifying so it's 53 teams.

I'd say it might be 5 groups of 7 and 3 groups of 6.

8 group winners qualify. 2 best 2nd placed teams and 3 from the playoffs.

The last WC qualifers had 3 groups of 7 and 5 groups of 6 and the rest same as above.

the last wc had the eight groups thing and i can't see a change. europe had 14 qualifiers (although germany as hosts obviously) last time round but if only 13 this time the 8 group system is what it will be. unless of course they want to continue with 7 groups for the sake of continuity, with worst two runners up in a playoff and the rest qualifying although i think that would be hideously unfair. there will though be 7 groups for euro 2012 as well now it has joint hosts.

[eirebhoy]

Latest.


World Cup 2006 Euro 2008
Team Played Points Played Points Avg Points
1 A Germany 7 19 2.714
2 A Holland 12 32 6 14 2.556
3 A Sweden 10 24 7 18 2.471
4 A Croatia 10 24 7 17 2.418
5 A Portugl 12 30 7 14 2.316
6 A England 10 25 7 14 2.294
7 A Italy 10 23 7 16 2.294
8 B Poland 10 24 9 19 2.263
9 B France 10 20 7 18 2.235
10 B Romania 12 25 7 17 2.211
11 B Czech 12 27 7 14 2.158
12 B Serbia 10 22 7 14 2.118
13 B Spain 10 20 7 15 2.059
14 B Ukraine 12 25 6 12 2.056
15 C Turkey 12 23 6 13 2.000
16 C Russia 12 23 7 15 2.000
17 C Greece 12 21 6 15 2.000
18 C Israel 10 18 8 17 1.944
19 C Norway 10 18 7 13 1.824
20 C Switz. 10 18 1.800
21 C Denmark 12 22 6 10 1.778
22 D Ireland 10 17 7 13 1.765
23 D Bulgar. 10 15 7 15 1.765
24 D Bosnia 10 16 7 13 1.706
25 D Slovak. 12 23 7 9 1.684
26 D Scotlnd 10 13 7 15 1.647
27 D Finland 12 16 8 14 1.500
28 D Austria 10 15 1.500
29 E N.Irel 10 9 6 13 1.375
30 E Hungary 10 14 7 6 1.176
31 E Albania 12 13 7 9 1.158
32 E Belgium 10 12 8 7 1.056
33 E Belarus 10 10 7 7 1.000
34 E Latvia 12 15 6 3 1.000
35 E Lithua. 10 10 7 7 1.000
36 F Sloven. 10 12 7 4 0.941
37 F Wales 10 8 6 7 0.938
38 F Estonia 12 17 7 0 0.895
39 F Maced. 12 9 7 7 0.842
40 F Georgia 12 10 8 6 0.800
41 F Armenia 12 7 7 7 0.737
42 F Liecht. 12 8 7 4 0.632
43 Cyprus 10 4 6 4 0.500
44 Iceland 10 4 7 4 0.471
45 Azerb. 10 3 8 5 0.444
46 Moldova 10 5 6 2 0.438
47 Malta 10 3 7 4 0.412
48 Kazakh. 12 1 8 6 0.350
49 Andorra 12 5 7 0 0.263
50 Faroes 10 1 8 0 0.056
51 Luxem. 12 0 7 0 0
52 San M. 10 0 6 0 0

[tetsujin1979]

Cheers eirebhoy, much appreciated
realistically, why kind of results are we looking at to move into Pool C?

[eirebhoy]

22 points would leave us at a similar seeding. 23 points should move us up a couple of places.

[Bungle]

jesus it's so tight.A little bit worried about how the Bulgarians are creeping up behind us. I think there is a big possibility that the cut off point is about 1.8 which is where the Swiss are.

If we get about 8-9 points we should be alright. 11-12 points (not likely I know) and we might just creep into second seeds.

It's crazy how low the Belgians have gone. I never thought I'd see the day when they would be 5th seeds.

[eirebhoy]

Updated now that we know the qualifying format for 2010.

World Cup 2006 Euro 2008
Team Played Points Played Points Avg Points
1 A Germany 7 19 2.714
2 A Holland 12 32 6 14 2.556
3 A Sweden 10 24 7 18 2.471
4 A Croatia 10 24 7 17 2.418
5 A Portugl 12 30 7 14 2.316
6 A England 10 25 7 14 2.294
7 A Italy 10 23 7 16 2.294
8 A Poland 10 24 9 19 2.263
9 A France 10 20 7 18 2.235
10 B Romania 12 25 7 17 2.211
11 B Czech 12 27 7 14 2.158
12 B Serbia 10 22 7 14 2.118
13 B Spain 10 20 7 15 2.059
14 B Ukraine 12 25 6 12 2.056
15 B Turkey 12 23 6 13 2.000
16 B Russia 12 23 7 15 2.000
17 B Greece 12 21 6 15 2.000
18 B Israel 10 18 8 17 1.944
19 C Norway 10 18 7 13 1.824
20 C Switz. 10 18 1.800
21 C Denmark 12 22 6 10 1.778
22 C Ireland 10 17 7 13 1.765
23 C Bulgar. 10 15 7 15 1.765
24 C Bosnia 10 16 7 13 1.706
25 C Slovak. 12 23 7 9 1.684
26 C Scotlnd 10 13 7 15 1.647
27 C Finland 12 16 8 14 1.500
28 D Austria 10 15 1.500
29 D N.Irel 10 9 6 13 1.375
30 D Hungary 10 14 7 6 1.176
31 D Albania 12 13 7 9 1.158
32 D Belgium 10 12 8 7 1.056
33 D Belarus 10 10 7 7 1.000
34 D Latvia 12 15 6 3 1.000
35 D Lithua. 10 10 7 7 1.000
36 D Sloven. 10 12 7 4 0.941
37 E Wales 10 8 6 7 0.938
38 E Estonia 12 17 7 0 0.895
39 E Maced. 12 9 7 7 0.842
40 E Georgia 12 10 8 6 0.800
41 E Armenia 12 7 7 7 0.737
42 E Liecht. 12 8 7 4 0.632
43 E Cyprus 10 4 6 4 0.500
44 E Iceland 10 4 7 4 0.471
45 E Azerb. 10 3 8 5 0.444
46 F Moldova 10 5 6 2 0.438
47 F Malta 10 3 7 4 0.412
48 F Kazakh. 12 1 8 6 0.350
49 F Andorra 12 5 7 0 0.263
50 F Faroes 10 1 8 0 0.056
51 F Luxem. 12 0 7 0 0
52 F San M. 10 0 6 0 0
53 F Montenegro ---

[cavan_fan]

Hard to see us catching Israel though I guess we can at least take comfort we're likely to be 3rd. A bit stranded to be honest

[eirebhoy]

We're pretty much certain to be in Pot 3.

[Bungle]

if we were third seeds the ideal group in a six team group would be

Poland, Isreal, Us, Lithuania, Estonia and Andorra

Personally, I think the smaller groups are better for us, as it reduces the chance of an almighty **** up against a so called minnow, which we are always capable of.

This format more or less guarantees we'll be third seeds, so overall I couldn't really complain about it.

[eirebhoy]

Give me Greece over Israel any day. Israel will only get better and better imo.

[tetsujin1979]

Give me Greece over Israel any day. Israel will only get better and better imo.
Next season they'll have Benayoun at Liverpool (possibly), Tal Ben Haim and Ben Sahar coming through at Chelsea, in comparison we'll have Finnan at Liverpool, O'Shea at United, and possibly Gibson getting some first team experience.
They ran England close at home and I reckon they'll give McClaren's men another fright at Wembley in the autumn

[DmanDmythDledge]

Give me Greece over Israel any day. Israel will only get better and better imo.
True. They've only lost 1 match over the last two qualifying campaigns as well.

[pineapple stu]

Are Ukraine still relying on Rebrov and Shevchenko up front? Will they still be a force in 18 months? And have they anyone coming through? They could be the best of the second seeds to get.

Poland are having a superb qualifying campaign at present; I'd take England from the top section because I think they're the weakest team and we should be up for the game.

D, E and F - much of a muchness, by and large. Maybe Latvia, Estonia and Andorra from a travel point of view. Though somewhere like Georgia, Azerbaijan or Kazakhstan could be fun.

Five matches left in the current campaign and I'm already looking ahead to 2010... :(

[shakermaker1982]

at least we won't end up with the Swiss!!!!!

[gspain]

We will still need some points to make sure of a 3rd seed. 4-5 should be enough but it is not totally a done deal. Remember a lot of the teams around us have to play the minnows still. Slovakia and Bulgaria are almost certain to finish ahead of us.

We need 4 points to stay ahead of Austria.

If Northern ireland take 12 points from their last 6 games - wins over Liechtenstein, Latvia, Iceland and Denmark - defeats to Spain and Sweden then we need 5 points to finish ahead of them.

In reality 5 points is the target. It's not a huge one but not guaranteed given our earlier performances even with a world class manager.

[Bungle]

Completely agree about the Slovaks still being a potential nuiscance. That was why it was so important that they were beaten by the Germans. I think if we draw in Bratislava, we will finish ahead of them though.

To be honest, in my opinion there is much of a muchness between many of the second and third seed teams with the exception of Spain.

[shakermaker1982]

with my optimist hat on I can see us getting another 8 points. The pessimistic one sees us adding only 4/5 points.

My ideal group?

ING GER LAND
Russia
Albania
Iceland - good away trip
Andorra


Montenegro as bottom seeds could be a pain.

[zenokelly]

Ideal group:

1: Poland
2: Greece
3: us
4: Lithuania
5: Liechenstein
6: Andorra

Group of HORROR
1: Italy
2: Spain
3: us
4: Austria
5: Cyprus
6: San Marino

[NeilMcD]

Austria are terrible I would not be worried by them at all.

[zenokelly]

Austria are terrible I would not be worried by them at all.

I wouldn't be worried about any of the 4th seeds tbh

[Bungle]

Horror group

Holland (They have the players to destroy us in a way in which I don't think Italy or France would.I think Italy are a better team though)
Spain
US
Belgium (They're truly ****e at the moment but they've some outstanding young lads coming through.They'll be much improved in a years time)
Macedonia (Can't see us winning in Skopje)
Montenegro (Far better than any of the other fifth and sixth seeds.I'd expect them to be fourth seeds in no time.They could do a Slovenia if given the right group)

[RogerMilla]

bring on the israel , i say , and i hope we get a really tough group , its time we stood up and stopped hiding from teams. we need to start putting these teams to the sword at home and getting something on the road. and as for the swiss i hope we get in their group if we qualify for the euro champs , revenge would be sweet turfing them out of their own tournament.

[Stuttgart88]

its time we stood up and stopped hiding from teamsMusic to my ears

[livehead1]

bring on the israel , i say , and i hope we get a really tough group , its time we stood up and stopped hiding from teams. we need to start putting these teams to the sword at home and getting something on the road. and as for the swiss i hope we get in their group if we qualify for the euro champs , revenge would be sweet turfing them out of their own tournament.

Hasn't done Scotland any harm

[Bungle]

I agree that we play far better against teams when we've nothing to lose. We either qulaify or nearly qualify when we're in really difficult groups and we always have a ****e campaign in the easier groups.

Would love to get Isreal as second seeds, but I suppose we'll have to play alot of these teams in the play offs anyway so it won't make too much of a difference.

[gspain]

Israel would be the ebst 2nd seeds. Decent improving side but very beatable. Fantastic away trip too.

[IsMiseSean]

Fantastic away trip too.

Couldn't agree more, I want an excuse to go back :D

[Metrostars]

Any chance we could fall to 4th seeds if Slovakia and/or Wales over take us by the end of this Euro 2008 campaign?

[pineapple stu]

No.

Wales are too far behind us. Slovakia might pass us out, but we should still end up third seeds. Three points from the last three games should confirm it.

[Schumi]

No.

Wales are too far behind us. Slovakia might pass us out
Wales and Cyprus are level with Slovakia and each have a game in hand.

[holidaysong]

Where can I find a list of the current seedings?

[pineapple stu]

This should be about right.


Team Played Points Played Points Avg Points
1 A Germany 8 22 2.750
2 A Holland 12 32 8 20 2.600
3 A Croatia 10 24 9 23 2.474
4 A Sweden 10 24 8 19 2.389
5 A England 10 25 9 20 2.368
6 A Italy 10 23 9 20 2.263
7 A Romania 12 25 8 20 2.250
8 A Czech 12 27 9 20 2.238
9 A Poland 10 24 11 21 2.143
10 B Portugl 12 30 10 17 2.136
11 B France 10 20 9 19 2.053
11 B Spain 10 20 9 19 2.053
13 B Greece 12 21 8 19 2.000
13 B Turkey 12 23 8 17 2.000
15 B Russia 12 23 9 18 1.952
16 B Serbia 10 22 10 16 1.900
16 B Ukraine 12 25 8 13 1.900
18 B Israel 10 18 9 17 1.842
18 C Norway 10 18 9 17 1.842
20 C Denmark 12 22 8 14 1.800
20 C Switz. 10 18 1.800
22 C Scotlnd 10 13 9 21 1.789
23 C Bulgar. 10 15 9 18 1.737
24 C Ireland 10 17 9 14 1.632
25 C Slovak. 12 23 9 10 1.571
26 C Bosnia 10 16 9 13 1.526
27 C Finland 12 16 11 19 1.522
28 D Austria 10 15 1.500
29 D N.Irel 10 9 9 16 1.316
30 D Hungary 10 14 9 9 1.211
31 D Sloven. 10 12 9 10 1.158
32 D Belgium 10 12 10 11 1.150
33 D Albania 12 13 8 9 1.100
34 D Lithua. 10 10 9 10 1.053
35 D Latvia 12 15 8 6 1.050
36 D Wales 10 8 8 10 1.000
37 E Estonia 12 17 10 4 0.955
38 E Belarus 10 10 9 7 0.895
39 E Georgia 12 10 9 7 0.810
39 E Maced. 12 9 9 8 0.810
41 E Cyprus 10 4 8 10 0.778
42 E Armenia 12 7 10 8 0.682
43 E Iceland 10 4 9 8 0.632
44 E Liecht. 12 8 9 4 0.571
45 E Moldova 10 5 9 5 0.526
46 F Malta 10 3 8 5 0.444
47 F Azerb. 10 3 10 5 0.400
48 F Kazakh. 12 1 10 7 0.364
49 F Andorra 12 5 9 0 0.238
50 F Faroes 10 1 9 0 0.053
51 F Luxem. 12 0 9 0 -
51 F Monten. 0 0 0 0 -
51 F San M. 10 0 9 0 -

Need three more points from the last three games to be assured of finishing ahead of Austria. Don't think anyone further below will jump past us at this stage, so third seed looks about assured at this stage.

[IsMiseSean]

A nice group would be
Czech's
Greece
Wales or latvia
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg

That last pot has some horror away trips, and i expect montengro to be a decent side so hopefully we can avoid them

[RogerMilla]

give me sweden , israel , austria , liechtenstein , malta ,

could we be that lucky ?

[RogerMilla]

dotn give me holland , spain , norn iron , georgia , kazakstan

[Cymro]

I'd rather the Czechs again as top seeds based on current form. And their best players will be past their peak in a couple of years time too.

As long as we avoid France and Spain from the second pot I'm not too bothered. They're all pretty decent sides but we could beat them on our day.

Hopefully Northern Ireland finish the group strongly as I'd love them as third seeds.

We are just about fourth seeds right now and 7 points from our next 3 matches should see us home there. If the unthinkable happens and we go down to pot 5, I'd take Austria from the fourth pot.

If we're 4th seeds, then Liechtenstein would be good from pot 5.

From pot 6 I'll be praying we avoid Borat's men and Montenegro, maybe Azerbaijan too. Anyone else is an excellent chance to get 6 points against.

[Bungle]

I'd rather the Czechs again as top seeds based on current form. And their best players will be past their peak in a couple of years time too.

As long as we avoid France and Spain from the second pot I'm not too bothered. They're all pretty decent sides but we could beat them on our day.

Hopefully Northern Ireland finish the group strongly as I'd love them as third seeds.

We are just about fourth seeds right now and 7 points from our next 3 matches should see us home there. If the unthinkable happens and we go down to pot 5, I'd take Austria from the fourth pot.

If we're 4th seeds, then Liechtenstein would be good from pot 5.

From pot 6 I'll be praying we avoid Borat's men and Montenegro, maybe Azerbaijan too. Anyone else is an excellent chance to get 6 points against.

The Czech u20 team got to the final of the World under 20 world cup where they played very well against a typically brilliant Argie side. Alot of those lads will be blooded in the next year or two and they'll have a top side again by the next world cup.

Fully agree about avoiding Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbijan and Montenegro. Absolute nightmare they would all be.

Would hate to get Wales again as fifth seeds. You have an intelligent manager and some excellent prospects like Bale and Gunter. I think your team will come on alot in the next 2-3 years.

[Jerry The Saint]

Just checking if I have this right - Delaney is claiming that moving from fourth seeds to third seeds under Staunton represents progress.

This sounds better than it is if the media don't point out that there will now be nine groups instead of seven.


We were seeded 25th of 52 country for the current Euro qualifiers. We started the current seedings in 22nd place (ie. We had the 22nd best points/game ratio from the last campaign only).

The latest rankings have us in 24th place.

The FAI spin is also making a big deal about being currently placed third, 6 points off qualification and out of contention 3 games early vs. finishing fourth, 3 points off the group winners but being in contention on the final day. Although they are putting themselves out on a limb by even saying this, given that we are closer to 6th than 2nd place right now. Possible exit clause for them, if Staunton fails to exceed our seeded position of fourth:confused:

[Bungle]

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/tm_headline=seed-wait-for-scots%26method=full%26objectid=19854880%26siteid=6 6633-name_page.html

This seems to suggest that Fifa rankings may influence the seeding for the next world cup. Either way, I guess we'll know by today or tomorrow where we stand.