2018 World Cup Qualification

gormdubhgorm

Not that I have anything against the fella (he seems sound and down to earth) but a Bale minor injury just before March 24th would be grand now.
It is only fair sure Brady is suspended!

mikeym

The North American qualifiers seems to be a joke.

3 teams go through and 1 goes into a playoff.

But if Ireland finish 2nd theres a chance they might not get to advance to the playoffs.

How is this fair?

ArmaniJeanss

mikeym wrote: »

The North American qualifiers seems to be a joke.

3 teams go through and 1 goes into a playoff.

But if Ireland finish 2nd theres a chance they might not get to advance to the playoffs.

How is this fair?

Theres been a previous stage(s) to get to this final hex group stage of 6.
If instead they had had 3 groups of 5 at an earlier stage with the winners going through to Russia it would still be the same amount of places although more similar to the European method.
But what they do maximises the chances of it being the 3 best teams who qualify, which makes sense when you have a small amount of places.

(Also it's technically also Caribean and Central America, not just North America.)

mikeym

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

Theres been a previous stage(s) to get to this final hex group stage of 6.
If instead they had had 3 groups of 5 at an earlier stage with the winners going through to Russia it would still be the same amount of places although more similar to the European method.
But what they do maximises the chances of it being the 3 best teams who qualify, which makes sense when you have a small amount of places.

(Also it's technically also Caribean and Central America, not just North America.)

They are not exzactly half decent teams.

The USA and Mexico always get through without any hassle and the 3rd spot could go to the likes of Trinidad & Tobago or Costa Rica.

Its not tough for the Americans and the Mexicans to qualify for the world cup.

Dirty Dingus McGee

mikeym wrote: »

They are not exzactly half decent teams.

The USA and Mexico always get through without any hassle and the 3rd spot could go to the likes of Trinidad & Tobago or Costa Rica.

Its not tough for the Americans and the Mexicans to qualify for the world cup.

Because they are 2 pretty decent teams.

Both of them tend to do quite well every time they qualify.They both got out of group stages in the last 2 world cups.

ArmaniJeanss

mikeym wrote: »

They are not exzactly half decent teams.

The USA and Mexico always get through without any hassle and the 3rd spot could go to the likes of Trinidad & Tobago or Costa Rica.

Its not tough for the Americans and the Mexicans to qualify for the world cup.

Mexico used the playoff spot last time, and only got even that because another result went their way (USA equalising against Panama in the 90th minute of the last game). Also you dismiss Costa Rica ('the likes of Costa Rica') yet they are regularly higher ranked than the other two and beat Uruguay, Italy, England (draw) and Greece in the 2014 finals.

But I'd agree that its an easier qualifying section and that Europe is generally hard done by in the allocation, but that wasn't your original point (which was that it was unfair that 3.5 teams of 6 qualify, when its actually 3.5 of lots more).

pajor

With a minute to go until half time, Luxembourg have equalised against NL with a penalty. The Dutch definitely have been jinxed in recent times..

1-1

Harry Palmr

Loads of empty stand space in the Portugal v Latvia match which is on ITV4

citytillidie

mikeym wrote: »

The North American qualifiers seems to be a joke.

3 teams go through and 1 goes into a playoff.

But if Ireland finish 2nd theres a chance they might not get to advance to the playoffs.

How is this fair?

In Europe there is 14 from 55 teams but since it is in Russia it is 13 from 54
Next is Africa where is is 5 from 54
Then Asia where it is 4.5 from 46
Then North & Central America where ii is 3.5 from 35
Then Oceania where it is 0.5 from 11
South America would be easiest as it is 4.5 from 10

Andersonisgod

Messi currently dragging Argentina (kicking and screaming) to a World Cup. 1 goal ( a stunner) and 1 assist in first 22 minutes against Colombia.

Steve The Barman

mikeym wrote: »

They are not exzactly half decent teams.

The USA and Mexico always get through without any hassle and the 3rd spot could go to the likes of Trinidad & Tobago or Costa Rica.

Its not tough for the Americans and the Mexicans to qualify for the world cup.

Costa Rica 4 v 0 USA

irish_goat

citytillidie wrote: »

In Europe there is 14 from 55 teams but since it is in Russia it is 13 from 54
Next is Africa where is is 5 from 54
Then Asia where it is 4.5 from 46
Then North & Central America where ii is 3.5 from 35
Then Oceania where it is 0.5 from 11
South America would be easiest as it is 4.5 from 10

Off hand, the population of Oceania is about 14 million. Europe has 740 million. That means one team per 28 million for Oceania and one team per 53 million for Europe.

R00ster

It's a bit late for this round of fixtures, but the Asian qualifiers are all streamed live on the AFC Youtube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/AFCCHAMPIONSLEAGUE

citytillidie

Results
AFC
Group A
China 0 V 0 Qatar
Syria 0 V 0 Iran
South Korea 2 V 1 Uzbekistan

Group A Pl W D L F A GD Pts
Iran 5 3 2 0 4 0 4 11
South Korea 5 3 1 1 8 6 2 10
Uzbekistan 5 3 0 2 5 3 2 9
Syria 5 1 2 2 1 2 -1 5
Qatar 5 1 1 3 3 6 -3 4
China 5 0 2 3 2 6 -4 2


Group B
United Arab Emirates 2 V 0 Iraq
Thailand 2 V 2 Australia
Japan 2 V 1 Saudi Arabia

Group B PL W D L F A GD Pts
Saudi Arabia 5 3 1 1 9 5 4 10
Japan 5 3 1 1 8 5 3 10
Australia 5 2 3 0 8 5 3 9
United Arab Emirates 5 3 0 2 7 6 1 9
Iraq 5 1 0 4 6 8 -2 3
Thailand 5 0 1 4 3 12 -9 1


CAF
Group A
Guinea 1 V 2 DR Congo
Libya 0 V 1 Tunisia

Group A Pl W D L F A GD PTS
DR Congo 2 2 0 0 6 1 5 6
Tunisa 2 2 0 0 3 0 3 6
Guinea 2 0 0 2 1 4 -3 0
Libya 2 0 0 2 0 5 -5 0


Group B
Nigeria 3 V 1 Algeria
Cameroon 1 V 1 Zambia

Group B Pl W D L F A GD PTS
Nigeria 2 2 0 0 5 2 3 6
Cameroon 2 0 2 0 2 2 0 2
Zambia 2 0 1 1 1 2 -1 1
Algeria 2 0 1 1 2 4 -2 1


Group C
Mali 0 V 0 Gabon
Morocco 0 V 0 Ivory Coast

Group C Pl W D L F A GD PTS
Ivory Coast 2 1 1 0 3 1 2 4
Gabon 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 2
Morocco 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 2
Mali 2 0 1 1 1 3 -2 1


Group D
Cape Verde 0 V 2 Burkina Faso
South Africa 2 V 1 Senegal

Group D Pl W D L F A GD PTS
Burkina Faso 2 1 1 0 3 1 2 4
South Africa 2 1 1 0 3 2 1 4
Senegal 2 1 0 1 3 2 1 3
Cape Verde Islands 2 0 0 2 0 4 -4 0


Group E
Uganda 1 V 0 Congo
Egypt 2 V 0 Ghana

Group E Pl W D L F A GD PTS
Egypt 2 2 0 0 4 1 3 6
Uganda 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 4
Ghana 2 0 1 1 1 0 1 1
Congo 2 0 0 2 1 3 -2 0


CONACAF
5th Round
Match Day 1
Honduras 0 V 1 Panama
Trinidad and Tobago 0 V 2 Costa Rica
USA 1 V 2 Mexico

Match Day 2
Honduras 3 V 1 Trinidad and Tobago
Panama 0 V 0 Mexico
Costa Rica 4 V 0 USA

Round 5 Pl W D L F A GD Pts
Costa Rica 2 2 0 0 6 0 6 6
Mexico 2 1 1 0 2 1 1 4
Panama 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 4
Honduras 2 1 0 1 3 2 1 3
Trinidad and Tobago 2 0 0 2 1 5 -4 0
United States of America 2 0 0 2 1 6 -5 0


CONMEBOL
Match Day 11
Colombia 0 V 0 Chile
Paraguay 1 V 4 Peru
Brazil 3 V 0 Argentina
Venezuela 5 V 0 Bolivia
Uruguay 2 V 1 Ecuador

Match Day 12
Chile 3 V 1 Uruguay
Argentina 3 V 0 Colombia
Ecuador 3 V 0 Venezuela
Bolivia 1 V 0 Paraguay
Peru 0 V 2 Brazil

Team Played Win Draw Lost GF GA GD PTS
Brazil 12 8 3 1 28 9 19 27
Uruguay 12 7 2 3 24 11 13 23
Ecuador 12 6 2 4 22 16 6 20
Chile 12 6 2 4 21 17 4 20
Argentina 12 5 4 3 14 12 2 19
Colombia 12 5 3 4 15 15 0 18
Paraguay 12 4 3 5 11 17 -6 15
Peru 12 4 2 6 18 20 -2 14
Bolivia 12 2 1 9 10 31 -21 7
Venezuela 12 1 2 9 14 29 -15 5


OFC
Round 3
Match Day 1
Group B
Tahiti 1 V 0 Solomon Island

Group A
New Zealand 2 V 0 New Caledonia

Match Day 2
Group B
Solomon Island 1 V 0 Tahiti

Group A
New Caledonia 0 V 0 New Zealand

Group A PL W D L F A GD Pts
New Zealand 2 1 1 0 2 0 2 4
New Caledonia 2 0 1 1 0 2 -2 1
Fiji 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0


Group B PL W D L F A GD Pts
Solomon Islands 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 3
Tahiti 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 3
Papua New Guinea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0


UEFA
Match Day 4
Group A
Bulgaria 1 V 0 Belarus
Luxembourg 1 V 3 Netherlands
France 2 V 1 Sweden

Group A PL W D L F A GD Pts
France 4 3 1 0 7 2 5 10
Netherlands 4 2 1 1 8 4 4 7
Sweden 4 2 1 1 6 3 3 7
Bulgaria 4 2 0 2 6 10 -4 6
Belarus 4 0 2 2 2 6 -4 2
Luxembourg 4 0 1 3 5 9 -4 1


Group B
Hungary 4 V 0 Andorra
Portugal 4 V 1 Latvia
Switzerland 2 V 0 Faroe Islands

Group B PL W D L F A GD Pts
Switzerland 4 4 0 0 9 3 6 12
Portugal 4 3 0 1 16 3 13 9
Hungary 4 2 1 1 8 3 5 7
Faroe Islands 4 1 1 2 2 8 -6 4
Latvia 4 1 0 3 2 8 -6 3
Andorra 4 0 0 4 1 13 -12 0


Group C
Czech Republic 2 V 1 Norway
Northern Ireland 4 V 0 Azerbaijan
San Marino 0 V 8 Germany

Group C PL W D L F A GD Pts
Germany 4 4 0 0 16 0 16 12
Northern Ireland 4 2 1 1 8 2 6 7
Azerbaijan 4 2 1 1 2 4 -2 7
Czech Republic 4 1 2 1 2 4 -2 5
Norway 4 1 0 3 5 7 -2 3
San Marino 4 0 0 4 1 17 -16 0


Group D
Austria 0 V 1 Ireland
Georgia 1 V 1 Moldova
Wales 1 V 1 Serbia

Group D PL W D L F A GD Pts
Republic of Ireland 4 3 1 0 7 3 4 10
Serbia 4 2 2 0 9 5 4 8
Wales 4 1 3 0 8 4 4 6
Austria 4 1 1 2 6 7 -1 4
Georgia 4 0 2 2 3 5 -2 2
Moldova 4 0 1 3 2 11 -9 1


Group E
Armenia 3 V 2 Montenegro
Denmark 4 V 1 Kazakhstan
Romania 0 V 3 Poland

Group E PL W D L F A GD Pts
Poland 4 3 1 0 10 5 5 10
Montenegro 4 2 1 1 9 4 5 7
Denmark 4 2 0 2 7 5 2 6
Romania 4 1 2 1 6 4 2 5
Armenia 4 1 0 3 4 10 -6 3
Kazakhstan 4 0 2 2 3 11 -8 2


Group F
England 3 V 0 Scotland
Malta 0 V 1 Slovenia
Slovakia 4 V 0 Lithuania

Group F PL W D L F A GD Pts
England 4 3 1 0 6 0 6 10
Slovenia 4 2 2 0 4 2 2 8
Slovakia 4 2 0 2 7 2 5 6
Lithuania 4 1 2 1 5 7 -2 5
Scotland 4 1 1 2 6 8 -2 4
Malta 4 0 0 4 1 10 -9 0


Group G
Albania 0 V 3 Israel
Liechtenstein 0 V 4 Italy
Spain 4 V 0 Macedonia

Group G PL W D L F A GD Pts
Spain 4 3 1 0 15 1 14 10
Italy 4 3 1 0 11 4 7 10
Israel 4 3 0 1 8 5 3 9
Albania 4 2 0 2 4 6 -2 6
FYR Macedonia 4 0 0 4 4 11 -7 0
Liechtenstein 4 0 0 4 1 16 -15 0


Group H
Belgium 8 V 1 Estonia
Cyprus 3 V 1 Gibraltar
Greece 1 V 1 Bosnia

Group H PL W D L F A GD Pts
Belgium 4 4 0 0 21 1 20 12
Greece 4 3 1 0 9 2 7 10
Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 2 1 1 8 5 3 7
Cyprus 4 1 0 2 3 8 -5 3
Estonia 4 1 0 3 5 15 -10 3
Gibralter 4 0 0 4 2 17 -15 0


Group I
Croatia 2 V 0 Iceland
Turkey 2 V 0 Kosovo
Ukraine 1 V 0 Finland

Group I PL W D L F A GD Pts
Croatia 4 3 1 0 10 1 9 10
Ukraine 4 2 2 0 7 3 4 8
Iceland 4 2 1 1 6 5 1 7
Turkey 4 1 2 1 5 5 0 5
Finland 4 0 1 3 3 6 -3 1
Kosovo 4 0 1 3 1 12 -11 1

Jayop

Not bad, only 3 teams with more points than us at this stage!!

So what exactly is the story with the second place thing? Is the best 4 second places in a tie break or something?

Jayop

Never mind, found it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_(UEFA)

So the top 8 from 9 go through to the play off but the points scored against the weakest team in the group don't count (which is a farce considering all groups have the same amount of teams his time around).

In all likelyhood our results against Moldova won't be counted if we finish 2nd in the group. This brings up the mental situation where you could have a team that finished 3rd or lower that has more points that actually count than the team that finished second.

R00ster

That's crazy that they haven't changed that after adding Gibraltar and Kosovo. A team losing out to somebody for one of the play off spots who scored less points despite playing the same number of games is a very real possibility.

ArmaniJeanss

The rule had been made before Kosovo and Gibraltar got added.
You leave yourself open to issues if you change the rule around something so important after the draw.

Especially as at the original draw (with 7 groups of 6 teams and 2 groups of 5 teams) it was decided England, Germany, France & Spain had to be in a 6 team group for commercial reasons, so as it turns out they couldn't have been in a group with late addition Gibraltar who are likely by a distance the worst team in Europe.
So if one of England, France etc got eliminated as 9th best runner up because someone else ran up a score against 6th place Gibraltar then there'd likely be a legal cluster fcuk. So it was best to leave the runners up calcs as only counting scores amongst the top 5 in each group.

R00ster

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

The rule had been made before Kosovo and Gibraltar got added.
You leave yourself open to issues if you change the rule around something so important after the draw.

Hadn't thought of it like that. Before qualifying I would have said that it actually suited us. Moldova are not quite as bad as some of the other bottom seeds and if we dropped points away to them, it might not matter when it came to finishing in the top eight of the runners-up. After last Saturday however, the target has changed slightly! Top spot is now very achievable.

Dirty Dingus McGee

Klinsmann sacked by the USA

http://www.espnfc.com/united-states/story/3001177/jurgen-klinsmann-fired-as-manager-of-united-states-mens-national-team

To be expected after the hammering they took from Costa Rica.

FatherTed

Klinsmann fired after losing to Mexico and Costa Rica. Probably Bruce Arena back for the US.

citytillidie

This is back again next week, update from last round in OFC Tahiti were awarded the game the won V Solomon Islands 1-0 to 3-0

AFC
March 23rd
Group A
Qatar V Iran
China V South Korea
Syria V Uzbekistan

Group B
Iraq V Australia
United Arab Emirates V Japan
Thailand V Saudi Arabia

March 28th
Group A
Uzbekistan V Qatar
South Korea V Syria
Iran V China

Group B
Saudi Arabia V Iraq
Japan V Thailand
Australia V United Arab Emirates

CONCACAF
March 24th
USA V Honduras
Trinidad and Tobago V Panama
Mexico V Costa Rica

March 28th
Panama V USA
Honduras V Costa Rica
Trinidad and Tobago V Mexico

CONMEBOL
March 23rd
Colombia V Bolivia
Paraguay V Ecuador
Argentina V Chile
Venezuela V Peru
Uruguay V Brazil

March 28th
Chile V Venezuela
Brazil V Paraguay
Ecuador V Colombia
Bolivia V Argentina
Peru V Uruguay

OFC
March 23rd
Group B
Papua New Guinea V Tahiti

March 25th
Group A
Fiji V New Zealand

March 28th
Group A
New Zealand V Fiji

Group B
Tahiti V Papua New Guinea

UEFA
Group A
March 25th
Sweden V Belarus
Bulgaria V Netherlands
Luxembourg V France

Group B
March 25th
Andorra V Faroe Islands
Switzerland V Latvia
Portugal V Hungary

Group C
March 26th
Azerbaijan V Germany
San Marino V Czech Republic
Northern Ireland V Norway

Group D
March 24th
Georgia V Serbia
Austria V Moldova
Ireland V Wales

Group E
March 26th
Armenia V Kazakhstan
Montenegro V Poland
Romania V Denmark

Group F
March 26th
England V Lithuania
Malta V Slovakia
Scotland V Slovenia

Group G
March 24th
Italy V Albania
Liechtenstein V Macedonia
Spain V Israel

Group H
March 25th
Bosina V Gibraltar
Cyprus V Estonia
Belgium V Greece

Group I
March 24th
Croatia V Ukraine
Kosovo V Iceland
Turkey V Finland

Jelle1880

Delighted to see Martinez call up Nainggolan.

ArmaniJeanss

citytillidie wrote: »

AFC
March 23rd
Group A
Qatar V Iran
China V South Korea
Syria V Uzbekistan

Group B
Iraq V Australia
United Arab Emirates V Japan
Thailand V Saudi Arabia

Big shock as China beat South Korea 1-0.
Uzbekistan fail to take advantage though as beaten by Syria, so Korea remain in 2nd.
Leaders Iran can go five points clear and put one foot in the finals with a win over Qatar tonight.

Australia get their 4th draw from 6 games away to Iraq. Still unbeaten in the group but the draws mean they may only get a playoff spot.
Saudi Arabia lead the way after comfortable win in Thailand.
UAE or Japan will move into 2nd after their game today.

pajor

Dream start for Bulgaria against the Dutch. 1-0 up after 5 mins.

The Talking Bread

Look at that Belgian bench!

http://www.flashscore.com/match/lQfuclw8/#lineups;1

pajor

pajor wrote: »

Dream start for Bulgaria against the Dutch. 1-0 up after 5 mins.

2-0 after 20 mins.

Going to be a long night in Sofia.

ERG89

Belgium were struggling against the Greeks when they had 11. Not looking great vs 10 either.
I'd comment on the Dutch but they've been brutal for a few years. Sneijder hasn't had a good game in years but is still around the place.

The Talking Bread

Belgium really are a hit or miss team! Unfortunately, we caught them on a day they were hit!

Tom Mann Centuria

I'm guessing the Greek said something racist to Lukaku, don't see him getting that wound up otherwise.

Richard Hillman

The Talking Bread wrote: »

Belgium really are a hit or miss team! Unfortunately, we caught them on a day they were hit!

Yeah, I will reckon they will be grand in the group stage of the WC. But with Martinez in charge, trying to play possession football and their general inconsistency, they will get picked off in the knock outs.

In tournament football, you pretty much need to be on it for at least 6 of the 7 games. And that one off day better be in the group stage.

Mushy

The Talking Bread wrote: »

Belgium really are a hit or miss team! Unfortunately, we caught them on a day they were hit!

I'd still love to see how that game would've panned out if the ref would've given the penalty before their first goal!

Jelle1880

The Talking Bread wrote: »

Belgium really are a hit or miss team! Unfortunately, we caught them on a day they were hit!

I hate watching Greece play. I know they don't have good teams in general so they understandably play to their strength, and they do it well but it's so frustrating.
I really want them to get beaten handsomely once.

That said, we had absolutely no creativity without Hazard and De Bruyne. A flash of class from Lukaku was needed to even scrape a point.

Martinez is gonna need to change things because that defence, what the actual ****. 3 man at the back with Ciman ? :rolleyes:

FatherTed

USA back on track after losing their first two in the Hex qualifying. Pulisic was great:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZzGD3OaCvs

Jelle1880

I always thought you pronounced Pulisic like Rakitic, Ibrahomivic, Modric,... :pac:

Kitsunegari

Jelle1880 wrote: »

I always thought you pronounced Pulisic like Rakitic, Ibrahomivic, Modric,... :pac:

You're not officially American until they bastardise the pronounciation of your name.

Omackeral

Jelle1880 wrote: »

I always thought you pronounced Pulisic like Rakitic, Ibrahomivic, Modric,... :pac:

Kitsunegari wrote: »

You're not officially American until they bastardise the pronounciation of your name.

Tim and Gary K-Hill :P

Harry Palmr

England v Lithuania is so zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Does anyone give a flying these days? It's not the players fault but there is no frisson about this squad, no big arguments about Gerrard/Lampard either! All very dull. Hopefully the game is at least decent.

Sterling, Alli and Lallana behind Defoe

djemba djemba

Not many good 5pm kickoffs today.

Minderbinder

Southgate looking to the future with Jermain Defoe.

The Talking Bread

After last Friday's tackle, I can't look at Delle Ali without thinking of his tackle against Genk. His was much worse, much more premeditated and had he connected as he wanted, that was a career ending tackle. Hopefully he will learn from it as he is a great talent but he is officially in the "that type of player" for me now.

Harry Palmr

Minderbinder wrote: »

Southgate looking to the future with Jermain Defoe.

two shots - two on target, one goal

luckyboy

Harry Palmr wrote: »

two shots - two on target, one goal

Delighted for Defoe. At the risk of sounding schmaltzy, his relationship with poor little Bradley Lowery really touches my heart. I'd a feeling he'd score today ...

kfallon

Azerbaijan equalise against Germany!

The Talking Bread

Czech Republic!!

4 goals in 9 minutes..............


















against, ahem, San Marino...

The Talking Bread

kfallon wrote: »

Azerbaijan equalise against Germany!

meh, we beat them! :D

Harry Palmr

The game is being played at something close to walking pace, certainly no better than jogging.

Harry Palmr

Joe Hart with terrible goal keeping there even if the attack was well offside (but not spotted).

Headshot

I'm finding it so hard to keep the eyes open. England are awful/boring to watch

Harry Palmr

Headshot wrote: »

I'm finding it so hard to keep the eyes open. England are awful/boring to watch

This match is a good example of where the better team ends up playing at the level of the lesser side - it's the sort of performance where as nearly happened what appears a comfortable situation suddenly becomes a mini crisis due to sloppy play.