2026 World Cup

If our realistic goal is a playoff, we have an outside chance.

I actually don't think there is much between any of the pot 2 teams. Some may have bigger names like Norway, but they haven't qualified for anything in years. The Hungarians have pedigree in that sense and have some very good players. The Serbs and Turks are the ones I really wanted to avoid. The Swedes know how to navigate groups. Ukraine wouldn't be at home so less of an obstable. Wales would have been nicer than Hungary, as would Slovakia. We did okay.

With a good manager, I'm hopeful we will begin to see results improve. The likes of Hungary are the kind of scalps we need to be taking in the next few years to show progress. Here's our chance.

I dont think its the worst draw in the world at all..

It looks like HH is going to be a more pragmatic manager than SK, so the games mightnt be spectacles, but we might have a better chance of grinding results out

We'll have 2 extra camps to produce a system that suits the players

I'm quietly confident we're going to get more competitive

I'm more worried about the NL game in March.. we have to stay in Path B

Fixtures are out -

06/09 H v Hungary
09/09 A v Armenia
11/10 A v Portugal/Denmark
14/10 H v Armenia
13/11 H v Portugal/Denmark
16/11 A v Hungary

Feels way too short to be a World Cup qualifying campaign - though of course really it's the monster groups like 1994 or 2002 that were the exception

I'm not basing this on much but if Ronald plays this campaign I'd take Portugal. Feels like they're due a capitulation if they keep him starting every game. Denmark is the exact type of disciplined team that we really struggle against these days.

Armenia could take points of everyone as well. I dunno, I've gone from thinking we don't have a hope in hell of qualifying to actually hopeful. If HH can figure out the midfield in the June friendlies...who knows. (Assuming there are June friendlies)

Could be a dog eat dog group where being hard to beat and draws can keep you in the hunt. Win Armenia x2 are and at least 1 home game win (and draw), you could see it happen even if we know thats its pushing it. But Hungry and pot 1 side could share points. So with a new pragmatic approach, disciplined and hard to play against, can sit in cofortably, with our attack improving as a good old fashioned tricky wingers - big centre forward - ball of energy in the hole or on the shoulder type set up, I think players will hate playing us. If some luck rolls our way well who knows. There are groups that we'd be writing off totally and this isnt one of them.

Fixtures could have worked a bit better for us, hit the ground running for sure but going away to Hungary last game for maybe a make or break isnt the best,

I think what I want to see here is progress and the team being competitive in the group, which we haven't had since McCarthy"s second time in charge. We were all but gone after two games in all four of Kenny's groups (which was incredibly poor looking back) and drawing England and Greece in the Nations League this year meant the whole thing was a bust before a ball was kicked.

It would be great to come second and get a playoff. But if we could even take Hungary to the last game, even if we end up finishing third, that in itself would be progress ahead of what will be a massive Euro 2028 qualification campaign for us.

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Feels way too short to be a World Cup qualifying campaign - though of course really it's the monster groups like 1994 or 2002 that were the exception

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Ideal for the FAI to charge €200 for triple header tickets though.

We've really got to believe that we are well capable of claiming a playoff spot, at least - we have had sixteen players line out for us in the last eighteen months who are currently at Premier League clubs plus Idah and Scales at celtic, who I would still consider a Big-Five league equivalent team. Plus a bunch of other players have significant Big Five League experience. Meanwhile, the list of players who have played for Hungary includes only eleven at Big Five League or equivalent teams. Halgrimsson has two play-off games and a few friendlies to prepare so there is plenty of time to bind the team and develop a gameplan. Yes, Hungary have been overachieving recently and we have been underachieving but we should have as good a chance as them of claiming second, at least, and an outside shot at first.

Can we just send Shamrock Rovers to play the qualifiers in place of our national team

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Originally Posted by samhaydenjr

Yes, Hungary have been overachieving recently and we have been underachieving but we should have as good a chance as them of claiming second, at least, and an outside shot at first.

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Some interesting background on Hungary's recent revival:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football...s/cekk4zp5rg8o

I feel like Hungary have more elite players but less depth in their squad - Milos Kerkez is really really good, Szobozslai is starting for the team who is top of the premier league and the champions league. Gulacsi is at the same level as Kelleher and has probably been the second best goalkeeper in the bundesliga for the last decade. Willi Orban is very good as well, captaining Leipzig, 36 champions league games under his belt and 12 europa league games.

But equally, they have players who wouldn't make our squad at all. I'd have them as favourites but I don't think it's impossible to get a win at home and a draw away from home

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Originally Posted by elatedscum

I'd have [Hungary] as favourites but I don't think it's impossible to get a win at home and a draw away from home

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Not impossible of course, but still odds-against. FIFA has Hungary at 30 in their world rankings and ROI 60th, with ELO nearly identical at 27th and 58th respectively.

And as the saying goes, if it's hard to get one result, it must be twice as hard to get two.

Tough draw, I'd say.

The clues from the Nations League to take us into the World Cup qualifiers
https://futsalfinn.wordpress.com/202...up-qualifiers/

Georgia beating Armenia 9-1 on aggregate with 15 minutes still to go in Tbilisi tells us we probably shouldn't be finishing fourth in this group...

Portugal host Denmark tonight 1-0 down from the game in Copenhagen with the winners getting the right to be in our group.

And Hungary kick off against Turkey at 5pm 3-1 down from their A/B relegation/promotion playoff first leg last week.

A few more interesting scorelines in the early games this evening from a "where do we stand in the greater scheme of things" perspective.

Turkey leading Hungary 5-1 on aggregate sounds reasonably encouraging in terms of our next qualification group.

Greece currently beating Scotland 3-0 in Glasgow - they're heading to League A which probably puts our Nations League results against them into perspective and shows what a shocker of a group we got with both them and England in it.

6-1 Turkey in the end

Portugal take the lead against Denmark; 1-1 on aggregate now

5-2 Portugal after extra time, so they're in our group

Bit of a statement of intent there; Denmark are a good side. They'll fancy winning all six of their group games. Maybe good news for our playoff chances at least

Ronaldo missed a penalty too

Surely Ronaldo will retire at this stage..

Maybe catching Hungary in the first game at home mightn't be the worse thing

Would have preferred Denmark obviously, but being honest they're both miles better than us. This will all come down to the Hungary games, and making sure we deal with Armenia, to see if we can nab a playoff place. Hungary are probably still better than us, so it's going to be a big ask to even do that.

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Originally Posted by Insidetherock

Surely Ronaldo will retire at this stage..

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I think he's said he wants to try play at the World Cup next year