UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifying Group B

Wikipedia has a live list of who's making the play-offs as things stand - obviously it's less than a quarter of the way through the campaign, but a useful link as things go on I think.

So at the moment, Holland are the only League A team not qualifying directly (they're behind Greece on goal difference). Four League B and two League C teams are qualifying directly, including two and one respectively who won their Nations League Group.

So as it stands - and again, this is just for fun as there's so much yet to play for - the play-offs are

League A
Holland
Iceland (I think top League B teams fill the League B play-offs first, and then move up to League A?)
Norway
Estonia (League D winners)

League B
Israel
Bosnia
Finland
Ukraine

League C
Georgia
Turkey
Kazakhstan
Luxembourg

We're the next in line in League B. Romania, Greece and Slovakia are the three sides ranked below us who are automatically qualifying as it stands. Romania already have a four-point gap, and Israel (who we'd like to qualify instead) dropped two points to Kosovo at home. Slovakia have beaten Bosnia at home which is a big result for them. And Greece have only played Gibraltar; we can do our own bit there to sort them.

So as it stands we need to throw our two games with the Netherlands to ensure they Q and take their place in the League A playoff. Greece take the League C P/O spot and Luxembourg lose out.

Yeah, throwing games would work too!

I think there is a possibility that, if things go as badly as they well might for us, but also if Greece do well, that it might actually suit us to make sure we lose our last qualifier away in Amsterdam.

I mean we're well capable of losing that game anyway, but if we're out of contention it might actually be in our interest to lose it. Which is a bit mad.

Yeah, it's actually mad that it could arise, that we'd be better off losing a game rather than winning..

It might also make UEFA look at how the play off get calculated

There is also one other anomaly that we spoke about last time potentially arising, but didn't, but could very well arise this time

Should all 15 Path A teams qualify (and its not beyond the realms of possibility that Holland could pass out Greece), then on the current standings, the play offs would be..

Path A

Estonia, Iceland, Norway, Ireland

Path B

Bosnia, Finland, Slovenia, Ukraine

Which would mean teams finishing lower in Path B, have potentially easier play offs

Really need Bosnia or Iceland to overtake Slovakia too, to give us some breathing space

I don't think the swivel eyed rabid SK out brigade could handle it if he got an extension from having to throw a game and then actually throwing it, but there is part of me that would love to see it happen, I don't think their little hearts would be able for it. Keyboards would suffer up and down the country.

now that the first international window has closed, where do we stand in terms of a possible playoff? maybe there's a website out there tracking this?

Discussion here from post #341 onwards

https://foot.ie/threads/278318-UEFA-...Group-B/page18

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by zero

now that the first international window has closed, where do we stand in terms of a possible playoff? maybe there's a website out there tracking this?

---

Added a link to the play offs section on wikipedia to the first page
UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifying - Play Offs

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

Discussion here from post #341 onwards

https://foot.ie/threads/278318-UEFA-...Group-B/page18

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tetsujin1979

Added a link to the play offs section on wikipedia to the first page
UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifying - Play Offs

---

apologies completely missed pineapple's post! i saw the follow ups but without the context I didn't follow what was going on.

Looking ahead to the Greece game, there's nothing we should fear from them at all. No real stand out players. They topped their group in the Nations League but ahead of Kosovo, Northern Ireland and Cyprus. In the last qualifying campaign, they came just ahead of Georgia and it was fairly 50/50 between them. So that's the kind of level we're talking about. Am I right in saying that kick off is at 9:45? But anyway, at night the temperature isn't too bad at all so that won't come into play. We should be expecting to win this and get back into this group. A draw is of no real use to us.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BOOMSHAKALAKA

Looking ahead to the Greece game, there's nothing we should fear from them at all. No real stand out players. They topped their group in the Nations League but ahead of Kosovo, Northern Ireland and Cyprus. In the last qualifying campaign, they came just ahead of Georgia and it was fairly 50/50 between them. So that's the kind of level we're talking about. Am I right in saying that kick off is at 9:45? But anyway, at night the temperature isn't too bad at all so that won't come into play. We should be expecting to win this and get back into this group. A draw is of no real use to us.

---

A loss is not acceptable at this stage (for most - there is a core element for whom the results are not especially relevant, or at the very least, not the priority). Greece also played on Monday, a friendly v lithuania with most of the same players that started the gibraltar game. It finished 0-0.

Lithuania are below Latvia in the rankings.

It's not going to be the walkover people think it will be. Greece have a solid record at home, since losing to Italy and Armenia in 2019, they've only lost once in four years, a 1-0 loss to Spain in November 2021. They've won three and drawn two since then, conceding two goals, and scoring nine.

I think people downplaying their ability are just trying to set the future narrative a bit in the event we don't take three points. Without doubt it is going to be a tough game away - hostile environment, above 20 degrees for sure - against a team with a decent caliber about them with players that are playing regularly (mostly through their domestic teams) in the CL and EL. It is without doubt a game where we should be (and have to be) targeting 3 points and set up to win but they're definitely no mugs and the 3 points will be hard earned if we get them.

4 points from Greece would be indicative of good, for want of a better word, proper, progress.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SkStu

I think people downplaying their ability are just trying to set the future narrative a bit in the event we don't take three points. Without doubt it is going to be a tough game away - hostile environment, above 20 degrees for sure - against a team with a decent caliber about them with players that are playing regularly (mostly through their domestic teams) in the CL and EL. It is without doubt a game where we should be (and have to be) targeting 3 points and set up to win but they're definitely no mugs and the 3 points will be hard earned if we get them.

---

Exactly, yes. The same who are at present happy to belittle the France performance & from some very questionable positions IMO, will be the very same who will hold up the France performance if we don't win in Greece. & they wonder why their input isn't always well regarded here ...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SkStu

I think people downplaying their ability are just trying to set the future narrative a bit .

---

Possibly, but I'd say it's more likely to be familiarity bias. Same reason we think Troy Parrott might be a 45-goal international striker while ignoring the younger forwards doing better than him.

A win in Greece would be a very good result because we have remarkably few away wins against sides like Greece. Austria away about it in the last dozen years?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SkStu

I think people downplaying their ability are just trying to set the future narrative a bit in the event we don't take three points. Without doubt it is going to be a tough game away - hostile environment, above 20 degrees for sure - against a team with a decent caliber about them with players that are playing regularly (mostly through their domestic teams) in the CL and EL. It is without doubt a game where we should be (and have to be) targeting 3 points and set up to win but they're definitely no mugs and the 3 points will be hard earned if we get them.

---

or just call it as it is! People = BS. Already setting it up as one we should be winning, terrible for the group outcome if we don’t and of course at 9.45pm Greek time in June the heat won’t be a factor. And if we don’t win there’ll only be one reason why.

I prefer your view myself.

Greece are at about Georgia's level. We know it's not easy to go to Georgia but we expect to win. Let's not start talking up Greece or saying 20 degrees is too hot for our players. How many of their side would get into our team? Not many. We not only should be winning this game and getting 6 points in June but we have to get 6 points if we want to qualify.