2018 World Cup Qualification

munsterlegend

Headshot wrote: »

Think these World Cup play offs across the world for the most park have been the most awful soccer i've ever seen

There is a lot at stake and teams are afraid of making mistakes. Except for Croatia Greece there is very little between the teams.

FCIM

NIMAN wrote: »

Remember he was running in to block the player, you don't run with your arms by your side (well you can but you'd look daft).

His arms are up as other posters have said. If they were down the referee would have been hard placed to give the penalty. With them up, he gave the ref the opportunity even if it looks very harsh.

Rekop dog

smelly sock wrote: »

Id say apart from Davis and Johnny Evans we are better in every other position.

I'd include Brunt too in best 11, he's probably got more Prem assists than our combined squad.

Probably not a whole lot between positions like first choice goalkeeper and striker, it's championship level for both of us right now.

bucketybuck

Patww79 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

So, McClean dropped and out of the squad then. Got it.

FCIM

Just looked at the video of the penalty decision. If it was my team attacking, looking at it live, I would be screaming for a penalty and would be furious if it wasn't given. Looking at it in slow motion you can see it probably wasn't one but he's raised his arms and put himself in the position where one can be given.

noodler

osarusan wrote: »

NI's account of the tie will be a terrible decision that cost them, but that version is possible only because Switzerland failed numerous times to kill the tie off.

They'll be right to say it so.

smelly sock

Rekop dog wrote: »

I'd include Brunt too in best 11, he's probably got more Prem assists than our combined squad.

Probably not a whole lot between positions like first choice goalkeeper and striker, it's championship level for both of us right now.

Again id habe to disagree.

Randy is much better than McGovern as is Westwood or Elliot.
Shane Long all though having a poor spell is far and away better than any of there strikers.

Brady, McClean , Hendricks , Arter all playing in pl consistently speaks for itself.

Tactics are our issue.

noodler

smelly sock wrote: »

Again id habe to disagree.

Randy is much better than McGovern as is Westwood or Elliot.
Shane Long all though having a poor spell is far and away better than any of there strikers.

Brady, McClean , Hendricks , Arter all playing in pl consistently speaks for itself.

Tactics are our issue.

Brunt I'd take in a heart beat.

Lafferty is a strange one, like McClean, can't get a start for his club but excellent international scoring record.

Dallas looked very impressive this campaign.

smelly sock

noodler wrote: »

Brunt I'd take in a heart beat.

Lafferty is a strange one, like McClean, can't get a start for his club but excellent international scoring record.

Dallas looked very impressive this campaign.

Id have brady left full. Brunt is good going forward but poor in defence.

noodler

smelly sock wrote: »

Id have brady left full. Brunt is good going forward but poor in defence.

Well, he's an actual full back, unlike Brady.

Brady ain't too hot on the defending himself.


Its an even older squad than ours though.

Next campaign could be extremely tough.

NIMAN

osarusan wrote: »

NI's account of the tie will be a terrible decision that cost them,

And we still don't go on about Thierry Henry?

smelly sock

noodler wrote: »

Well, he's an actual full back, unlike Brady.

Brady ain't too hot on the defending himself.


Its an even older squad than ours though.

Next campaign could be extremely tough.

Brunt in his younger years was a winger.

Rekop dog

smelly sock wrote: »

Again id habe to disagree.

Randy is much better than McGovern as is Westwood or Elliot.
Shane Long all though having a poor spell is far and away better than any of there strikers.

Brady, McClean , Hendricks , Arter all playing in pl consistently speaks for itself.

Tactics are our issue.

Randolph has been poor at club level. He's only picked because he's made himself undropable in Green. But McGovern has arguably been even better for NI. It's difficult to choose.

No point referring to the player Long once was, we're talking about current sides and we have a 34 year old championship player leading the line for us ahead of him.

I agree we've a better panel but there's not a whole lot between us.

And your point re tactics is laughable. We've consistently got positive results against better sides than us using them and are a home win away from our first back to back major tournaments in almost 30 years with our weakest squad in that time.

smelly sock

Rekop dog wrote: »

Randolph has been poor at club level. He's only picked because he's made himself undropable in Green. But McGovern has arguably been even better for NI. It's difficult to choose.

No point referring to the player Long once was, we're talking about current sides and we have a 34 year old championship player leading the line for us ahead of him.

I agree we've a better panel but there's not a whole lot between us.

And your point re tactics is laughable. We've consistently got positive results against better sides than us using them and are a home win away from our first back to back major tournaments in almost 30 years with our weakest squad in that time.

If we played to win games rather than draw we would be at the world cup already?

Rekop dog

smelly sock wrote: »

If we played to win games rather than draw we would be at the world cup already?

Couldn't disagree more. But this argument has been done to death so I'm not going to cover it again.

osarusan

NIMAN wrote: »

And we still don't go on about Thierry Henry?

Did I mention Henry in any way?

The antics after that handball were truly embarrassing and an FAI masterclass in how to erode sympathy...if that makes you feel better.

NIMAN

osarusan wrote: »

Did I mention Henry in any way?

The antics after that handball were truly embarrassing and an FAI masterclass in how to erode sympathy...if that makes you feel better.

I didn't say you still go on about it, but collectively we do.:rolleyes:

citytillidie

So with 4 games to go here is how the current seedings look for the draw on the 1st

Pot 1
Russia
Germany
Brazil
Portugal
Argentina
Belgium
Poland
France

Pot 2
Spain
Switzerland
England
Colombia
Mexico
Uruguay
Croatia
Iceland

Pot 3
Costa Rica
Tunisia
Egypt
Senegal
Iran
Serbia
Nigeria

Pot 4
Japan
Morocco
Panama
South Korea
Saudi Arabia



Peru 2
Italy 2
Denmark 2 or 3
Sweden 3
Ireland 3
Australia 4
Honduras 4
New Zealand 4

NIMAN

How are Poland in Pot 1 ahead of some of those Pot 2 teams?

irishman86

I forgot the game was on but i'm delighted. NI have a few players i like but the fans for me are among some of the most horrible people i've ever came across. Ive said it before but they have been raised to hate.

The Talking Bread

Rekop dog wrote: »

Randolph has been poor at club level. He's only picked because he's made himself undropable in Green.

He is probably the best keeper in the Championship at the minute in fairness.

citytillidie

NIMAN wrote: »

How are Poland in Pot 1 ahead of some of those Pot 2 teams?

by playing the ranking system and not playing friendly games, they are ranked 6th in the FIFA rankings

irishman86

NIMAN wrote: »

How are Poland in Pot 1 ahead of some of those Pot 2 teams?

Fifa rankings, they great craic

Cake Man

Look after Denmark on Tuesday and then get a draw of Poland, Switzerland, Iran and ourselves. That'd be the job!

The Talking Bread

NIMAN wrote: »

How are Poland in Pot 1 ahead of some of those Pot 2 teams?

They are ranked 6th in the world. Whether on merit or not. Thems the rules

noodler

And by qualifying for tournaments regularly as group winners in fairness (bar coming second to the Germans which got them. Qualification for 2016 anyway).

irishman86

The Talking Bread wrote: »

He is probably the best keeper in the Championship at the minute in fairness.

You think?
Alex Smithies/ Westwood for me
But outside that your probably right. There isnt a great depth of keepers at a quick glance in the championship

mickmackey1

The Talking Bread wrote: »

Croatia are 5/4, 11/8 in some places to win the match tonight.

That is a very good price. It isn't as if Greece are anyway more intimidating at home.

A fool and his money...

paulie21

2 goals in the 5 UEFA playoff games so far. A penalty and poxy deflection. Is it caginess or bad quality?


Edit: Forgot about the Croatia v Greece 1st leg

Bridge93

Croatia in that first game scored more goals than Greece, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Ireland, NI, Australia, NZ, Peru and Honduras combined

NIMAN

When it gets to play-offs, there is zero openness.
Its all too cagey.
Managers won't attack too much for fear of losing.

I must say i do feel bad for the North and im not going to focus on what a couple of bigots said about the Republic when Henry scored the goal but for the genuine fan and also the good team spirit they have along with a great manager. It was a poor decision to award the penalty by the ref. Who knows it may have went to penalties tonight or the North might have won it in extra time.

As for the Republic, i think we will take the Danes. I must admit it can be soul destroying when we camp in our own half against the likes of Moldova and Georgia but I can live with a bit of caution where we are up against Wales or Denmark. I felt we done well last night and even had a few chances ourselves. Such a pity Jon Walters isnt available. Id certainly be confident of going through in this event. I feel we will sneak it Tuesday night though. The Danes arent all that. Serbia were better and even they were beatable i felt.

AllGunsBlazing

The small matter of Italy's world cup qualification record hanging over the edge of a cliff tonight vs Sweden. Should be a good'un.

NIMAN

AllGunsBlazing wrote: »

The small matter of Italy's world cup qualification record hanging over the edge of a cliff tonight vs Sweden. Should be a good'un.

I'm sure UEFA/FIFA would rather have Italy in the WC instead of Sweden, so expect Italy to get every decision and likely a very crucial one.

alta stare

[quote="[Deleted User];105249020"
I must admit it can be soul destroying when we camp in our own half against the likes of Moldova and Georgia but I can live with a bit of caution where we are up against Wales or Denmark.[/quote]

100% agree. This would be the issue id have aswell. We let the poor teams dictate to us how the game is going to play. Against the bigger teams being tight and cautious is expected.

AndyBoBandy

I think we’ll beat Denmark, probably 2-0

Their not that great (I know, neither are we), but they play the long ball effectively bypassing their best player, hoping for decent knock downs. We are very solid defensively and can deal with that quite well.

Bar any defensive calamities, I think we will not concede a goal, while also playing more adventurously, creating enough chances to score a goal or 2.

Edit: will it be extremely nerve wracking? Of bloody course it will! But when is it ever not with Ireland?

smelly sock

NIMAN wrote: »

I'm sure UEFA/FIFA would rather have Italy in the WC instead of Sweden, so expect Italy to get every decision and likely a very crucial one.

Id agree there. Missing out on this world cup might just be the kick in the arse the Italians need though. A bit like France in 94.

FCIM

AllGunsBlazing wrote: »

The small matter of Italy's world cup qualification record hanging over the edge of a cliff tonight vs Sweden. Should be a good'un.

All or Nothing

World Cup, Ventura's hazard (in an attempt) to avoid the apocalypse.

Insigne out, Jorginho leads, Florenzi in and there's Gabbiadini.

Buffon pushes away goodbye azzurro (Buffon avoids his Italian farewell) "We don't get used to the mediocrity" (We shouldn't become mediocre).

Riva "We need legs (running) and courage. No joking. We will go through".

We will be there tonight... and in Russia.

We need to win by two goals to overturn the 1-0 (defeat) in Solna. Italy pushed on by 74000 fans. We haven't missed the World Cup since 1954 and if it happens the manager will be sacked.

Rekop dog

Ventura is clueless. Crazy not starting insigne the other night , and even crazier bringing him on for Verratti in centre mid.

Jorginho has to cover Verratti's suspension tonight. I'd be dropping Parolo and have Insigne and Immobile playing wide forward and Belotti central.

FCIM

Rekop dog wrote: »

Ventura is clueless. Crazy not starting insigne the other night , and even crazier bringing him on for Verratti in centre mid.

Jorginho has to cover Verratti's suspension tonight. I'd be dropping Parolo and have Insigne and Immobile playing wide forward and Belotti central.

In honesty, he's not the worst manager at a Torino, Bari, Verona sort of level but he has no credentials whatsoever for managing top (I know that term is relative with the Italian national team at the minute) players. He's never managed one of le grandi squadre and hasn't even been coach of a Fiorentina, Roma or Lazio. He managed Napoli, but at a time when i partenopei were in Serie C so relatively speaking the biggest club he's managed is Sampdoria which suggests the FIGC were nuts to appoint him.

callaway92

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

I think we’ll beat Denmark, probably 2-0

Their not that great (I know, neither are we), but they play the long ball effectively bypassing their best player, hoping for decent knock downs. We are very solid defensively and can deal with that quite well.

Bar any defensive calamities, I think we will not concede a goal, while also playing more adventurously, creating enough chances to score a goal or 2.

Edit: will it be extremely nerve wracking? Of bloody course it will! But when is it ever not with Ireland?

How in God's name can you be confident that we will score 2 goals?

There are 3 possible results here.

0-0, 1-0 or 0-1

Rekop dog

FCIM wrote: »

In honesty, he's not the worst manager at a Torino, Bari, Verona sort of level but he has no credentials whatsoever for managing top (I know that term is relative with the Italian national team at the minute) players. He's never managed one of le grandi squadre and hasn't even been coach of a Fiorentina, Roma or Lazio. He managed Napoli, but at a time when i partenopei were in Serie C so relatively speaking the biggest club he's managed is Sampdoria which suggests the FIGC were nuts to appoint him.

Yeah so much wrong with how he set up Friday. Even using Candreva as one of the wide players in a defensive 5 diminishes his attacking ability somewhat. He plays wide in the front 4 for inter.
It's like Ventura has his favoured system and just tries to fit players in regardless of how suitable they are to the roles.

Sad thing is so many of Italy's players in amazing form at club level. Immobile stats in particular this year are insane, he's top scorer in all the big leagues in Europe as well as having most assists in Serie A.

AndyBoBandy

callaway92 wrote: »

How in God's name can you be confident that we will score 2 goals?

There are 3 possible results here.

0-0, 1-0 or 0-1

I believe, at home, with Meyler (hopefully) playing, as well as perhaps Wes & Long, and with the noise of the crowd, we'll create more/better chances.

If we can create 2/3 decent chances in the first 20-25 minutes, while keeping the Danes at bay, I think we'll press on and win it.

if we are 1-0 up with 10-15 minutes to go, the Danes will have to start pushing up, leaving more room for the counter.

FCIM

Rekop dog wrote: »

Yeah so much wrong with how he set up Friday. Even using Candreva as one of the wide players in a defensive 5 diminishes his attacking ability somewhat. He plays wide in the front 4 for inter.
It's like Ventura has his favoured system and just tries to fit players in regardless of how suitable they are to the roles.

Sad thing is so many of Italy's players in amazing form at club level. Immobile stats in particular this year are insane, he's top scorer in all the big leagues in Europe as well as having most assists in Serie A.

Often that's the case with managers who suit teams of Torino, Bari and Verona's level. As an Interista, I'm delighted Spalletti is not with Italy, but the national team needs a coach of his calibre. Someone who can adapt his own plans to suit the players he has rather than knock square pegs into round holes. Inter aren't as good as they have been under Spalletti but we aren't as bad as we were under certain other recent managers who would keep Ventura good company.

It's hard to see who is out there for Italy though if they get rid of Ventura as Conte doesn't want the job anymore. I presume they sounded out Spalletti and Allegri when the Chelsea coach left. That only leaves Ancellotti as a strong enough character to walk into the dressing room and command respect from players who come from top clubs but I don't know would he want it. I often think players at that level need someone who can say this is what I've achieved and until you achieve it you'll shut up and listen to me. Maybe it's not the case in the Italian dressing room and I am only conjecturing as there is no evidence but Ventura is hardly a man who is going to get Juventus, Inter, Milan, Napoli, PSG, Roma, Manchester United and Chelsea players excited.

Kenjataimu

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

I believe, at home, with Meyler (hopefully) playing, as well as perhaps Wes & Long, and with the noise of the crowd, we'll create more/better chances.

If we can create 2/3 decent chances in the first 20-25 minutes, while keeping the Danes at bay, I think we'll press on and win it.

if we are 1-0 up with 10-15 minutes to go, the Danes will have to start pushing up, leaving more room for the counter.

If we score we'll just drop back and defend for the rest of the game. It'll be the same as against Wales.

I can't see us scoring two unless the Danes equalise.

Dearg81

Rekop dog wrote:

Ventura is clueless. Crazy not starting insigne the other night , and even crazier bringing him on for Verratti in centre mid.

What's the story with Insigne? Does he just not fit into his formation? I would have thought that he's their best player offensively.

TheCitizen

Kenjataimu wrote: »

If we score we'll just drop back and defend for the rest of the game. It'll be the same as against Wales.

I can't see us scoring two unless the Danes equalise.

Well we beat Bosnia 2-0 at home in the last play off second leg to qualify for the Euros. We must start the game on the front foot like that game v Bosnia. If we do that we can dominate and out gun Denmark in every department. It's fairly clear what we need to do.

Hareide will be hoping we are cautious. If anything he is a more negative coach than MON and his team more primitive and conservative in their outlook and attitude. Don't play into his hands, go out and score goals and open the game up.

We've done it before under MON when the pressure is on. We'll do it again tomorrow night. Ireland to qualify.

Billy86

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

I believe, at home, with Meyler (hopefully) playing, as well as perhaps Wes & Long, and with the noise of the crowd, we'll create more/better chances.

If we can create 2/3 decent chances in the first 20-25 minutes, while keeping the Danes at bay, I think we'll press on and win it.

if we are 1-0 up with 10-15 minutes to go, the Danes will have to start pushing up, leaving more room for the counter.

We really shouldn't be starting Wes, but we really also should have been bringing him on the other night. I'd only start him against teams we really 'should be beating' who might park the bus but would have him coming on between 45-65 minutes in basically every single game.

FCIM

Dearg81 wrote: »

What's the story with Insigne? Does he just not fit into his formation? I would have thought that he's their best player offensively.

Insigne isn't Cristiano Ronaldo, he's not Messi, but Ventura has used him like as if he thinks he is and it hasn't worked. Insigne's performances for Italy have been sterile but more blame should go on Ventura for that. The Napoli player needs a system around him that helps his style of play and that's precisely what he gets at the San Paolo. With Italy, Ventura has looked for him to be the type of player who settles games on his own and he doesn't have that type of ability. Subsequently, Ventura appears to have given up on arguably the most talented player at his disposition.

Rekop dog

Dearg81 wrote: »

What's the story with Insigne? Does he just not fit into his formation? I would have thought that he's their best player offensively.

Immobile and Belotti are both better goalscorers than him so it's hard to quantify best but they play more central for their clubs so should score more. Immobile definitely been the best this season, arguably one of the standout players in Europe.

Ventura seems to prefer playing them two as an old school striker partnership. Insigne's best position is wide forward so he doesn't really fit in anywhere naturally. He did play a 4-4-2 against Albania earlier in the year with Insigne and Candreva in wide midfield positions and they probably looked at their most balanced overall imo.

Personally would play all 3 up front but he seems reluctant to test that.