See: http://foot.ie/showpost.php?p=371502&postcount=5Originally Posted by pineapple stu
The Elite rounds have to be played. 1 team qualifies from each group in that and then its on to the finals. The FAI said we'll get an advantage by winning the group but in true UEFA/FIFA fashion, we don't find out that advantage until all teams have played their qualifiers.
These guys have got to be looked after. It's not good enough for the FAI to pat themselves on the back about this. The sad reality is that at least half of them probably won't get a look in at their clubs becase some guy from some obscure country will take their place so something must be done to help their progress.Wonder if they'll continue their fine form when Don Givens gets hold of them at the next level up?
well its some positive news i guess seeing that the U-21's arent doing so well. who do they now face in the second round ?mpressive Irish advance unbeaten
Uefa Under-19 Championship, First phase qualifying/Republic of Ireland 4 Italy 1: The Republic of Ireland overcame treacherous conditions on a waterlogged Turner's Cross pitch last night to end their qualifying tournament with a handsome win over Italy and a perfect record from their three matches. They advanced as winners of their group to the second qualifying phase.
Ireland beat Northern Ireland and Moldova earlier this week, and they struck a peak of form despite the daunting conditions of driving rain and a flooded pitch to overwhelm Italy.
Ireland were sure-footed and adept despite the sodden surface. They showed remarkable technical ability, and the pace of their attack caused huge problems for Italy's powerful defenders.
Ireland played superb football and Italy were driven into deep defence as Darron Gibson and Ian Morris controlled central midfield and set up marvellous service for their four front-runners.
John Paul Kelly and Jonathan Hayes ran the flanks diligently, while Billy Clarke was sharp and incisive through the middle. And Anthony Stokes drew the attacking strands together to ensure the Irish attack was a coherent and progressive force.
A goal after 19 minutes was a huge encouragement. Stokes sent Clarke sprinting into the penalty area and he stepped inside a tackle from Rinaldi before chipping the ball over the goalkeeper.
Cork-born Clarke gave the home fans further cause to cheer in the 23rd minute. Again the hard-working Stokes set it up with a pass inside for Kelly, whose shot was parried by goalkeeper Consigli. When the ball broke it fell kindly for Clarke to knock it home.
Ireland's first-half dominance was further illustrated with a third goal after 40 minutes. Gibson won a tackle in midfield and drove through to the penalty area. His left-foot chip took a deflection off a defender and dropped behind the goalkeeper and just under the bar.
It was a compelling performance and it was just a pity that a torrential downpour just before the interval left the pitch water-logged for the second half.
The conditions were directly responsible for Italy's goal in the 55th minute. Edward Nolan turned and attempted to play the ball back to goalkeeper Darren Randolph from 25 yards. The ball only travelled a couple of yards before it stuck in the mud and Alessio Cerci reacted quickest to take the ball on and drive it home from 12 yards.
Ireland's overall excellence was undoubted and their superiority scarcely challenged as Italy were clearly second best. Nolan confirmed Ireland's superiority when he drove home the fourth goal in the 85th minute following a right wing corner from Kelly.
Italy's heavy defeat, coupled with a 2-1 for Northern Ireland over Moldova in Cobh, ensured that it was the North who advanced with the Republic to the second phase next May.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Randolph (Charlton Ath); Kelly (Arsenal), Nolan (Blackburn Rovers), O'Dea (Celtic), Stapleton (Reading); JP Kelly (Bohemians), Gibson (Manchester United), Morris (Leeds), Hayes (Reading); Stokes (Arsenal), Clarke (Ipswich Town). Subs: O'Brien (Celtic) for Clarke (72 mins), Chambers (Shelbourne) for Hayes (76 mins), O'Carroll (Celtic) for Stokes (86 mins).
ITALY: Consigli (Atalanta Berg); Ungaro (Reggina), Rinaldi (Udinese), Freddi (Roma), Rossi (Parma); Semenzato (Inter Milan), Dessena (Parma), Prevete (Empoli), Candreva (Ternana), Savi (Parma); Momente (Inter Milan). Subs: Cerci (Roma) for Semenzato (30 mins), Lupoli (Arsenal) for Momente (57 mins), Marsili (Roma) for Candreva (63 mins).
Referee: R Malek (Poland).
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/spo...TROUSSIER.html
© The Irish Times
The 7 teams (plus hosts Poland) that qualify for the U19 finals will also play in the World Youth Championships in 2007 so its important we get there.
http://www.uefa.com/competitions/und...ngs/index.html
Not totally up to date but will give you an idea
54,321 sold - wws will never die - ***
---
New blog if anyone's interested - http://loihistory.wordpress.com/
LOI section on balls.ie - http://balls.ie/league-of-ireland/
So the top 2 (NI ousted Italy!!) from each of the 12 groups go through, as does the best third-placed team (probably Hungary) and the three top-ranked teams (looks like England, Spain and the Czech Republic) to the next phase, which is seven groups of four, with the winners qualifying for the finals.
Can't make the squad or pulled out by his club?
We're not arrogant, we're just better.
I read somewhere he was hoping to be called up for this competition. The thing about Rossi is that he is an American, born in New Jersey to Italian parents and moved to Italy when he was 13. The US called him up for the Youth World Cup earlier this year but he declined saying he was waiting for the Italian callup which has not materialized. There are now rumers in the US that he may declare for the US afterall. Italy has a history of not calling up players who don't play in Italy e.g. Zola.
"Jacques Santini...will be greeted in every dugout of the country by "one-nil, one-nil" - Clive Tyldsley, 89th minute of France-England June 13, 2004.
"Ooooohhhh Nooooooo" Bobby Robson 91st minute.
As regards the draw for next 7 group phase, how well are we seeded for that? Pot 1 seeds?
From the Examiner
"Having won their group Ireland go into the draw as seeds and will come out of the hat with one fellow group winner and two runners-up. Only one team will progress from that group for the finals in Poland next summer."
Yeah, that sounds about right. You can't really have world rankings at underage level as the teams change so quickly, so group winners and runners-up seems the fairest method. Top three plus the eleven best of the twelve group winners as top seeds, with everyone else second seeds? Two first seeds and two second seeds in a group?
I sent the FAI an e-mail praising their reports on the U19s and it seems I wasn't the only one.
http://www.fai.ie/article.asp?hlid=3...avlid=&sublid=
It would be great if our U19s could host the qualifying group too.
Best of luck to both sides in their attempts to qualify.
They wouldn't have to do articles like that if they actually updated the squad sections of the website.
U19 Squad Profiles
Does someone actually get paid to work on that site?
From what I can remember the maintainence of the site was transfered sometime last year as part of the deal with SKY but I can't find anything about it on the net.
Posting Permissions
Quote
Bookmarks