Redemption is written in to this campaign. Would be a mad scenario to end up playing them again if its possible. They really do like to make qualification almost a PhD to follow, would give GAA a run for their money!
Redemption is written in to this campaign. Would be a mad scenario to end up playing them again if its possible. They really do like to make qualification almost a PhD to follow, would give GAA a run for their money!
There's no way in for Armenia, they're gone. It's just a straight swap between Wales and Macedonia, the loser goes into pot 4, the winner (or Macedonia if it's a draw) goes into one of the higher ranked pots. The 28 teams that progress from the UEFA groups by either qualifying or making the playoffs have now been determined with the other 26 eliminated. The outstanding matters now are to do with auto qualification (e.g. Scotland v Denmark, Germany v Slovakia) but the non auto qualifiers from those matchups will all get playoffs at worst.
Next time,
I think UEFA should make WC qualification similar to Champions League.. 11 groups of 5, each team play 11 games (one from each pot), 6 home, 5 away, or vice versa
Or 10 games, 5 home, 5 away, but don't play any team in the same pot
Top 12 teams, qualify
Next 16 team, play offs, 16/8/4.. so 2 extra games..
😃
There has been some talk of a move to the so-called Swiss system in future. With the Nations League becoming more prominent, we're starting to move away from the traditional groups format that we have become used to down the years.
Bellingham will never have an interest in Ireland. Bellingham will wait for that England call up. One cap playing with his brother will mean more to him than 50+ Ireland caps.Originally Posted by third policeman
Would definitely take some quality midfielders but then you see what yesterday meant to lads who'd do anything to play for Ireland. Szmodics another lad I hope HH has second thoughts about calling up. Fair enough he's injured now but dropped out mid window in September and before the games last month through injury but never missed a game for Ipswich.
Article on the proposed changes below. I like the idea. They do need to figure out how to give international teams proper training camps. Friendlies are less and less important but giving a squad two days to prep for a huge game is BS.
https://www.goal.com/en/lists/world-...0c16074489ef53
Szmodics has gotten a ton of abuse online for that and I think it's gone too far.
Wales and N. Macedonia were both Nations League group winners. Whoever misses out on 2nd will be in Pot 4. If a Pot 4 spot was freed up, Moldova are next in line from Nations League group winners.
And he immediately got injured for Ipswich.
Unwarranted abuse and it’s embarrassing to be honest. He turned up plenty over the last year or two when we weren’t doing well
Is it too late for Liam Delap to declare ?
No. He's only played U21s but I'd be very surprised if he changed allegiance. Lot of hype about him being the long term replacement for Kane. He wouldn't be guaranteed a start either.
I think it's only left back or CM where if someone decent declared they'd be a shoe-in to start. From that I can see on transfermarkt that's Dewsbury-Hall and not much else. He rules himself out a couple of months ago and in fairness was very gracious about it.
For me the most likely to suddenly declare would be Cirkin
For the sake of nothing better to do, I decided to run an AI simulation of a "Swiss Style" qualification format.
11 pots of 5, with 10 games, teams not playing others in the same Pot as them.
I know UEFA also have some mad rules about certain countries not playing each other, and how far you have to fly to travel, but I went with a fairly basic parameter list.
Here was the Ireland fixture list..
The Republic of Ireland (19) was placed in Pot D (Ranks 16-20) in the custom simulation, alongside Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, and Bosnia & Herz.
The fundamental rule for the Swiss-style format is: Ireland must play one team from each of the other 10 pots (A, B, C, E, F, G, H, I, J, K), with 5 games Home and 5 games Away.
Here is the full 10-game fixture list for the Republic of Ireland, following the fixed rotation established in the simulation:
Republic of Ireland Full Fixture List (Pot D)
Round Opponent Pot Opponent Team (Example) Home/Away 1 I N. Macedonia Away 2 C Croatia Home 3 H Cyprus Away 4 A Portugal Home 5 J Faroe Islands Away 6 F Serbia Home 7 E Turkey Away 8 G Montenegro Home 9 K Andorra Away 10 B Italy Home
The Republic of Ireland was placed in Pot D (Ranks 16-20) in the custom simulation, alongside Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, and Bosnia & Herz.
The fundamental rule for the Swiss-style format is: Ireland must play one team from each of the other 10 pots (A, B, C, E, F, G, H, I, J, K), with 5 games Home and 5 games Away.
Here is the full 10-game fixture list for the Republic of Ireland, following the fixed rotation established in the simulation:
Fixture Breakdown
- Total Games: 10
- Home Games: 5 (Croatia, Portugal, Serbia, Montenegro, Italy)
- Away Games: 5 (N. Macedonia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Turkey, Andorra)
- Key Opponents: The schedule features high-profile matches against Portugal and Italy, while also including games against lower-ranked nations like Andorra and the Faroe Islands, as is typical for a Swiss-style draw aiming for strength-of-schedule balance across the rounds.
That would be, in my opinion.. and absolute peach of a draw..
Basically, what the jammy bar stewards in England would most likely get
Last edited by Insidetherock; 18/11/2025 at 9:04 AM.
I preferred the old format where qualification started the autumn straight after the end of a finals tournament and went on for 18 months or so. It spread meaningful matches over a longer time period and meant there were more meaningful matches to look forward to. It also gave fans a chance to attend more away matches. The three away matches in the group all took place between 9 September 2025 and 16 November 2025, and even the most loyal away fans won't have been able to book time off work and find the money to travel three times in such a short time period.
The Nations League is rubbish, the sooner it is abolished the better. We can go to a format where the qualification groups are made slightly bigger, resulting in more real matches. There are 54 teams vying for 16 spots. So, just make 8 groups (7+7+7+7+7+7+6+6 teams). Top two in each group qualify automatically for the World Cup. Simple as.
Controversial opinion!
I don't think many would agree with that. I think it's been a great addition
I do agree qualifying is too short though
But on the other hand, would the rollercoaster have been as insane and enjoyable if it hadn't all been packed into a few months?
I think the days of 6 and 7 team groups have come and gone to be honest.
it'll never happen but i'd love more international windows etc. get rid of the carabao cup and use the free game time to get in 4 more international games per year.
The Nations League is an improvement on friendlies anyway. I've only read up a bit on the playoffs in recent days, since Sunday. Overall not a bad format. Group winners automatically through. Group runners up into playoffs. The lower ranked Pot 4 then for those availing of the Nations League route.
Any format can be expected these days, with the Swiss Model system a possibility. The example given above of 10 matchdays is a jump from the current 6 rounds plus 2 relegation/promotion playoff matches.
The ten match days might be too much for the clubs, but it could easily be brought back to 8 match days.. the five team qualifying groups have 8 as it is.
The only thing it would be encroaching on, is the Nations League play offs and finals.
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