Yeah, the groups have been made bigger and there are no more playoffs! Does anyone know if this is gonna be the setup for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers as well?Quote:
Originally Posted by Risteard
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Yeah, the groups have been made bigger and there are no more playoffs! Does anyone know if this is gonna be the setup for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers as well?Quote:
Originally Posted by Risteard
if we get the north, no one will get tickets for a game in belfats... windsor 20000? ROI 2000.. thats assuming they allow us to travel up there. Totally different scenario to the big britain- little britain love in for wc2006
but not from a cheap and cheerful;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Cowboy
1. Holland easy to get to and we do well against them
2.Germany catch them cold after the W.C
3.Bulgaria nice trip and beatable
5.Wales
6.Ayia Napa Please
7.Luxemborg easy to get to and ****e
Greece
Romania
Norway
us
Lithuania
Armenia
San Marino
The draw i s on Friday 27th of this month.
Just wondering who people would like.
I think probably the toughest/most exciting one could be
England
Italy,
Serbia
Rep. of Ireland.
Wales.
N. Ireland,
Malta.
UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying round draw
Pot 1
Greece
Netherlands
Portugal
England
Czech Republic
France
Sweden
Pot 2
Germany
Croatia
Italy
Turkey
Poland
Spain
Romania
Pot 3
Serbia and Montenegro
Russia
Denmark
Norway
Bulgaria
Ukraine
Slovakia
Pot 4
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Republic of Ireland
Belgium
Latvia
Israel
Scotland
Slovenia
Pot 5
Hungary
Finland
Estonia
Wales
Lithuania
Albania
Iceland
Pot 6
Georgia
F.Y.R. Macedonia
Belarus
Armenia
Northern Ireland
Cyprus
Moldova
Pot 7
Liechtenstein
Azerbaijan
Andorra
Malta
Faroe Islands
Kazakhstan
Luxembourg
San Marino
Can you refresh the POTS, seedings again pls?
Done. see aboveQuote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
Greece
Poland
Bulgaria
Rep of Ireland
Albania
Cyprus
Luxembourg
Probably the best we could hope for
Thats a bit boring though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tenderloins
In my eyes:
Toughest Group on Paper:
Netherlands
Italy
Russia or Serbia & Montenegro
IRELAND
and 3 horrible away trips to lesser nations...
Albania
Georgia
Kazakhstan
Easiest on Paper:
Greece
Poland
Bulgaria
IRELAND
Estonia (Savage away trip!..Re. $luts)
Cyprus (Another sun holiday)
San Marino
Dodiest group with a distinct possibility of a few riots (Not on account of Irish supporters of course)
England
Turkey
Russia
IRELAND
Wales
Northern Ireland
Azerbaijan
and a group of purely savage away trips regardless of the results:
Czech Republic/Netherlands
Germany
Norway
IRELAND
Estonia
Cyprus
Malta
Given a choice I'd pick the last group.
Tks.Quote:
Originally Posted by colster
For places I'd like to go to:
Sweden
Italy
Norway, Denmark or Slovakia
Finland / Estonia / Iceland
IRELAND
Nowhere attractive in Pot 6 really.
Pot 7 - anyone but Azerbaijan & Kazakhstan
To do well:
Greece. Maybe France as the 3 musketeers will all have retired again.
Romania
Slovakia
IRELAND
Finland
Pot 6 all potential trouble
Pot 7 - avoid the former Soviet states
I wouldn't mind.
France
Germany,
Norway,
Rep of Ireland
Finland,
Cyprus
Malta.
IMO most exciting/toughest group we could get would be.....
Netherlands
Spain
Serbia and Montenegro
Republic of Ireland
Albania
Northern Ireland
Azerbaijan
Best for qualifying would be.....
Greece
Poland
Bulgaria
Republic of Ireland
Iceland
Cyprus
San Marino
I really want to get Wales in our group.Guarenteed 6 points.And Irish fans would get a lot of tickets.
I can't believe we're in the same pot as Belgium! :eek: :mad: :o
No wait..... (thinks about recent performances) I can!!
Sorry Gerrit!
I would rather not have to play a team from the UK. I think there are better options than that. I'd take Greece before England, Finland or Hungary before Wales, and Cyprus before the North. Scotland wouldn't count as they are the same seeds as us.Quote:
Originally Posted by Soper
As it stands we all have different opinions these days over who is better or worse. For example , the majority of people here don't want to draw them again. Why, I haven't a clue. The last performance aside, which we still won, we have never been troubled by them, and in my opinion they are a team we will always take 6 points from them.
Also this lark of not playing one of the former Soviet states is crap too. With the exception of Kazakstan(due to the obscurity of the location), none of the others like Azerbaijan, Moldova or Armenia would present any problems. We mightn't hockey any of them, but hey, we rarely do anyhow.
We have the potential for a poxy group, however with a slice of luck, we might get a decent enough group, considering automatic qualification for the top two.
My preferable group would be:
Greece/Sweden
Poland/Romania
Slovakia
Ireland
Estonia
Cyprus
Luxembourg.
I'd be confident of coming second in a group containing any of those teams.
Not sure if that's in response to my earlier comment but I reckon the former Soviet states are the banana skins to be avoided in Pot 7. England only beat Azerbaijan 1-0 and Wales drew there I think. Not bad for a 7th seed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kingdom
Looking at Pot 6 the alternatives are Cyprus who nearly beat us, Norn Iron which would introduce a tricky "derby factor", Macedonia (oh, no, not again!) or a ex-Soviet so in that context I'd probably prefer an ex-Soviet.
Aye, Azerbaijan are actually half decent. They didn't deserve to get beaten by England at home.
has to be the last group here,plus we always do better against bigger teams....remember macedonia,israel,etc etc,
Quote:
Originally Posted by loscherland
Analysis-Forecasts:Quote:
Originally Posted by Roo69
Greece: 2 heavy defeats to current holders
Poland: 2 more defeats to WC finalists
Bulgaria: At best, 1 point at home
Iceland: 2 draws
Cyprus: 2 wins, but sick of playing them
San Marino: Two 2-0 wins, but we never play them anyway.
It boggles me that people make Greece to be whipping boys from Pot 1. :confused: They may have failed to qualify for the WC out of a very hard group, but they are reigning European Champions, and deserve respect. They also have players playing regular first-team football in top European leagues. We alternatively, have players struggling to get into poor, exclusively English teams, and together with a coach who knows as much about coaching as the fans do, we would be no match for any half-decent side.
Staunton will be out after our Euro campaign ends in June '07, when we're about 60th in the world, having left a trail of destruction behind him, that someone else brave/foolish enough is going to have to try and clear up. :mad:
Remind me what happened the last time we played the reigning European champions in a qualifying group? Remind me when the last time Greece hammered anyone was? Don't think anyone is saying Greece are whipping boys, but they are unarguably the weakest top seed in the draw, given that they should be in the third pool strengthwise.
I posed this question on the Bert Kassies forum - a few interesting replies from people around Europe... Ireland well up on the list of teams people don't want to face, though probably more because there are easier fourth-pool draws.
I believe Sweden to be the weakest of the top seeds, and are manageable. A weak Irish team with a highly inexperienced coach facing a rough, hostile trip to the Olympic Stadium in Athens to face the current European Champions is a different prospect altogether, and one to be preferably avoided. :cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
I don't really mind who we draw,every group is gonna be a tough one, plus being realistic,I don't expect us to qualify and would be happy if we were too be still in with a shout going into the last few rounds of matches,as long as we aren't out of the running after the first couple of rounds,and still have some sort of interest in the competition.I imagine a third place finish would be good work considering the pool of players that we have.Maybe then can we feel we can push for a world cup spot in Africa 2010.
Sweden the weakest of the top seeds?! Greece lost to Albania in qualifying and managed just one win from their six games against Ukraine, Turkey and Denmark, while the Swedes are usually exceptionally consistent (eight wins from ten last time, with the best goals-per-game in the entire of Europe). Greece are quite clearly the weakest of the top seeds. That doesn't make them a better team - they'd be favourites to beat us, especially in Greece - but they are the team we should be hoping for from the draw.
Sure why let facts get in the way of a good argument though ha ha
Facts shmacts. Sure mypost can use shmacts to prove anything - 75% of posters know that! :p
Athens remains a place of fear for both club and International teams to visit. Greece are European Champions, so that suggests that they're not very weak. What have Sweden ever won?? The Scandinavian Championship?? :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Hope we get Ingerland id love to see us get a result over there.
Tehran was a fairly intimidating atmosphere as well, but Iran were one of the worst teams I've seen in a long while. If Greece are so good, how did Albania beat them? How did they only get one win out of six games against Turkey, Ukraine and Denmark?Quote:
Originally Posted by mypost
Sweden have been in a World Cup quarter and semi, a Euro Championships quarter and a Euro semi in the past 15 years while Greece have only reached one other finals tournament in the same period - when they recorded one of the worst World Cup records ever. Sweden are consistently among the best teams in qualifying. But if you're going to be more worried about a few noisy fans than the 11 players actually playing the game, then fair enough.
I would like:
Greece
Germany
Bulgaria
Ireland
Hungary
Moldova
Liechtenstein
Yes and we lost 1-0Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
True...though I have never been less nervous during a match ever. Don't forget, the winner was in injury-time, by which time, we'd all but won the tie anyway.
Anyway, the point about Greece being a better draw than Sweden still stands, which I can see you agree with! The point is not that Greece would be easy opposition.
Ireland had 3 home games against our rivals to qualify for the World Cup. Did we win any one of those games? No. Greece lost local derby matches against Albania, and Turkey in a much tougher group, but they actually won one game against their rivals, and also beat us on their only visit to Dublin. Bad side eh?? :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
So? :confused: What would you prefer? Win tournaments, or be continously the bridesmaid? What have Sweden ever won?? Answer - as much as we have. Going to Sweden is more manageable than facing a long, hostile trek to Athens to face the European Champions, and be soundly walloped into the bargain.Quote:
Sweden have been in a World Cup quarter and semi, a Euro Championships quarter and a Euro semi in the past 15 years while Greece have only reached one other finals tournament in the same period.
Yeah I would have to say Greece would be the easiest team in the 1st seeds. However, that doesn't mean that we would beat them :DQuote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
I guess you could compare their era under Rehhagel with our era under Charlton. A well organised team that is difficult to score against and has a style of play that takes a lot of effort to play against, except of course Rehhagel has been more successful. Just like with us under Charlton it appears that after a few years Greece are not a surprise element anymore and other international teams have become accustomed to their style of play. So now the opposition is better prepared to play against that style, which has resulted in a disimprovement in their recent results.
However, they are still dangerous if you are not properly prepared. That would be down to Stan and Bobby.
Irrelevant. This is about Greece, not Ireland.Quote:
Originally Posted by mypost
So? That was a friendly. By that logic, we shouldn't fear Portugal, the Czechs, Brazil or Romania, but God help us if we face NI.Quote:
Originally Posted by mypost
Show me where I said that? I said - and I'll repeat it again for the slow - Greece are the weakest of the top seeds, which does not make them a bad side, just the one we want to draw.Quote:
Originally Posted by mypost
The point is Greece's win was a once-off, while Sweden have been a consistenly good team for the past 15 years. Therefore I know which I want to avoid. And I repeat I have no fear of a team just because they're European Champions - so were Denmark in 1992, and we knocked them out of the World Cup. Greece also rarely "soundly wallop" anyone, as evidenced by 15 goals in 12 World Cup qualifiers. Compare that to Sweden's 30 goals in ten games. I know which country sounds more likely to "soundly wallop" us.Quote:
Originally Posted by mypost
True, but only if we don't get them in the draw. Then the comparison is relevant.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
...which imo, would be Greece. Going on your logic, I take it you regard France's WC win in '98 as a one-off too. :rolleyes: Sweden however, are nothing special, and while they should be respected, they're also nothing to be afraid of.Quote:
Greece's win was a once-off, while Sweden have been a consistenly good team for the past 15 years. Therefore I know which I want to avoid.
Well, some people regard a comprehensive 3 or 4 goal beating as a sound walloping. Maybe you don't.Quote:
Greece also rarely "soundly wallop" anyone, as evidenced by 15 goals in 12 World Cup qualifiers.
Greece haven't won by more than 2 goals in 6 years.Quote:
Originally Posted by mypost
Having seen the new Wembley coming together on the snooker last nite, I actually wouldn't mind Ingerland now either. Would be some away trip
I see the new Wembley quite often as I live in NW London. Very impressive looking.