Your expectations for Ireland's World Cup qualifying campaign

Fr Tod Umptious

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

^^that's the problem with fans of this Irish team.

We are not better than we are seeded.

if we finish 3rd in that group that is definitely an achievement to build on for 2020 quals.

Any Irish team from now on should be targetting last 16 of a 24 team euros, and possibly, in a miracle situation, a 2nd place on a WC qual group, and finishing 3rd in the WC group.

Anything better than that is a bonus, and thinking we can do better regularly, is fantasy land.
our previous tournament results are

2016 - qf
2014 - dnq
2012 - last place gs
2010 - dnq
2008 - dnq
2006 - dnq
2004 - dnq
2002 - l16
2000 - dnq
1998 - dnq
1996- dnq
1994 - l16
1992 - dnq
1990 - qf
1988 - group

Very same, ultimately misplaced, optimism was present post WC 2002, and we were 1st seeds if I'm not mistaken for the upcoming Euro 04 campaign.

siblers

Don't really fear Wales, play them without Bale and they are very average, Austria always seem to trouble Ireland, they seem to be one of our bogey teams so could see them causing a few problem, as for Serbia, for they players they have, I would have expected better from them. If they were to click into gear they could be formidable or they could be as hopeless as they were in their Euros qualifying campaign. We've qualified from harder groups before.

The_Kew_Tour

Remember after 2002 WC we thought we would walk into Euro 04?

It has be said unless we start to produce some good technical footballers we will always be playing catchup.

We got chance to qualify but most likely through playoff

Utdfan20titles

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

^^that's the problem with fans of this Irish team.

We are not better than we are seeded.

if we finish 3rd in that group that is definitely an achievement to build on for 2020 quals.

Any Irish team from now on should be targetting last 16 of a 24 team euros, and possibly, in a miracle situation, a 2nd place on a WC qual group, and finishing 3rd in the WC group.

Anything better than that is a bonus, and thinking we can do better regularly, is fantasy land.
our previous tournament results are

2016 - qf
2014 - dnq
2012 - last place gs
2010 - dnq
2008 - dnq
2006 - dnq
2004 - dnq
2002 - l16
2000 - dnq
1998 - dnq
1996- dnq
1994 - l16
1992 - dnq
1990 - qf
1988 - group

Where are you getting qf from?
Didn't Ireland lose yesterday?

8-10

siblers wrote: »

Don't really fear Wales, play them without Bale and they are very average

Why would they not play Bale though??

siblers

8-10 wrote: »

Why would they not play Bale though??

If he is injured or has an off day etc. I think Ireland are more than capable of keeping a lid on him.

8-10

siblers wrote: »

If he is injured or has an off day etc. I think Ireland are more than capable of keeping a lid on him.

Got it. So you mean you don't fear Wales because you think we can keep Bale quiet - this makes sense. From what you said initially it was you don't fear Wales because we can take them without Bale - which is unlikely to be happening.

I think set up correctly we can keep him quiet but on their day they can definitely take us and he is a class above anybody else we'll be playing in the qualifiers.

First 4 games are huge, get a few wins though and the away games out of the way and we're in great shape

That_Guy

Wales are arguably the toughest game we have but I think we can certainly be competitive against them.

We were pretty blessed that they were the top seeds when the draw was made.

Austria didn't show anything in these Euros but they're tricky customers and have put it up to us on more than one occasion in the recent past.

I think we should be full of confidence going into the campaign and I don't see why we can't comfortably finish second in that group. I'm looking forward to it anyway.

AgileMyth

Its an exciting time for Irish football, the first time since the late 90s we've had a group of young players with real talent.

Brady is the cream of this crop and hopefully winds his way back to playing for a top tier club. Hendrick is a proper football playing midfielder, we haven't had one of those in a long time. Hoolahan and the two Reids made claims for the role but none held down a spot long term.

We've all worried about what will happen after Given for a long time now, Randolph is the answer, at least for the next 2 campaigns I'd imagine.

Replacing Robbie Keane is impossible, we'll never see a forward like him again. Shane Long is crucial to this campaign, we simply don't have a replacement. I'm still harbouring the hope Brady moves forward into a Bale/Ronaldo role.

We have Arter to come in. There's also the likes of Alan Judge, Jack Byrne, Chris Forrester, Richie Towell, Brian Lenihan. Any of whom could step up in the next few months/years.

briany

AgileMyth wrote: »

Its an exciting time for Irish football, the first time since the late 90s we've had a group of young players with real talent.

Brady is the cream of this crop and hopefully winds his way back to playing for a top tier club. Hendrick is a proper football playing midfielder, we haven't had one of those in a long time. Hoolahan and the two Reids made claims for the role but none held down a spot long term.

We've all worried about what will happen after Given for a long time now, Randolph is the answer, at least for the next 2 campaigns I'd imagine.

Replacing Robbie Keane is impossible, we'll never see a forward like him again. Shane Long is crucial to this campaign, we simply don't have a replacement. I'm still harbouring the hope Brady moves forward into a Bale/Ronaldo role.

We have Arter to come in. There's also the likes of Alan Judge, Jack Byrne, Chris Forrester, Richie Towell, Brian Lenihan. Any of whom could step up in the next few months/years.

So, we're saying that maybe Irish football isn't quite so doom and gloom as certain pundits have suggested?

Stephen15

Here's my optimistic and pessimistic prediction for the group
Start off with the optimistic
1.Ireland
2.Wales
3.Serbia
4.Austria
5.Georgia
6.Moldova

And here's my pessimistic prediction
1.Austria
2.Serbia
3.Wales
4.Ireland
5.Georgia
6.Moldova

I've included Wales not qualifying in the pessimistic side as I would like to see them qualify for the world cup and do well as chris coleman is a fantastic manager and so I'd like to see them do well for his sake as long as it's not at our expense, I like them aswell as it's not always Bale trying to steal the show he respects his teammates unlike ronaldo with portugal even though some of his team isint half as good as portugals. It's a tough group for the reason being that all sides will fancy their chances but with a bit of luck including us even georgia probably believe they can qualify since there isint two very strong teams and the rest relatively weak so that's why I think we can top it a playoff wouldn't bad either.

clsmooth

Suas11 wrote: »

I'm actually fairly optimistic about it, especially if they keep playing like they did against Italy and France. Moldova and Georgia should be pushovers. Serbia and Austria are nothing great. The games against Wales will be vital obviously. I don't think there's any reason why Ireland shouldn't at least finish 2nd.

This is the difficult stage. Remember after WC 2002. Quite often teams get caught out early after big tournaments in the next qualification cycle

Bob123321

Realistically we should finish 1st or 2nd it's the easiest qualifying group we've got in a long time. As it stands Austria are poor as we've seen, Wales are dependant on one man, Serbia will always be tricky but beatable. I wouldn't worry too much once we keep the spirit we had through the Euros we'll be heading to Russia in 2018

Green Fella

It depends if the glass is half full or half empty

The Serbia away game is very big as is the Austria game, we will know very quickly where we stand

HalloweenJack

Germany aside, our group at the Euros this time is a lot tougher than the group in 2002.

The_Kew_Tour

Would be thrilled with 8 points from first 4 games

Georgia away could be very tricky. You would expect them to have another Scotland result in them.

If we want top the group we most likely will have get least 3 wins, from the 6 games, against top 3, home and away.

Cosmo Kramer

8-10 wrote: »

Is Walters not likely to retire?

I'd say he'll stick around for another two years. I could be wrong but, judging by his interview after the game yesterday, he sounded like a man ready to go again in September rather than a man who had come to the end of the road.

With him and Hoolihan I think their late starts as internationals make them more likely to stick around than players who became fully involved in the Irish setup in their early 20s like Given, O'Shea and Keane.

irishguitarlad

Arter coming back will be a boost but I dont think we will qualify for another international tournament in a good few years. We have an absolutely terrible youth system and with other smaller nations working hard on their systems for example wales, I dont really see a bright future.

Green Fella

I wonder should we revert to a more Long Ball style Jack Charlton stuff, like we saw vs Italy which was successful. With a high intensity.
Most of our players cannot pass the pall and panic under possession.

riffmongous

Austria are a much better team than Ireland, they've had an unbelievably disappointing euro campaign where they have played nothing like they did in the qualifiers (austria hammered sweden in the qualifiers btw) but I've watched every game from both teams now going back to 2012 and I feel confident in saying that they'll get 4 or 6 points from us.

briany

Hard to know how it'll go. I really want to see Ireland make it to another WC, and I think that's a group of players who could do something at one. Not go all the way or anything, but certainly give us another few moments to savour.

First game away to Serbia's going to be crucial. It will set the tone for the whole campaign. Ireland win that and we can start to really believe in the team's chances of first place. Wales have not really impressed me all that much. I know they're through to the quarters but with an easier route than many. The only formidable result they've is vs. a demoralised Russian side. Austria will be the deciding factor. They're a good team and if they get their act together, they'll make things very tough for Ireland. They'd be my pick to take first, if I were betting, with a three way dance for second.

It's a group somewhat akin to the 2004 qualifiers where Ireland had Russia and Switzerland. Ireland were coming off a spirited WC showing and we all looked at the group and said, "Yeah, that's winnable." Well, no. The championship hangover is a real thing, it would seem. How O'Neill coaches the team past this awkward phase as the team rolls its sleeves up for another difficult campaign will be the kind of thing that helps him attain a place in Irish managerial greatness. That and qualifying for the World Cup, of course.

keano_afc

I certainly wouldn't be getting too far ahead of ourselves. Its a tough group. Austria are a lot better than they showed at the Euros, and Wales have Bale and Ramsey, who are streets ahead of anything we have. Second place would be an achievement.

briany

keano_afc wrote: »

I certainly wouldn't be getting too far ahead of ourselves. Its a tough group. Austria are a lot better than they showed at the Euros, and Wales have Bale and Ramsey, who are streets ahead of anything we have. Second place would be an achievement.

It is a tough group. In many ways I'd prefer the usual group with a runaway favourite and a couple of decent sides, of which Ireland would be one. You know where you stand there, moreso. This, you just don't know how each team will perform, and that uncertainty makes me uneasy.

topmanamillion

RedemptionZ wrote: »

Come on man, we're not a good footballing side. We're incredibly limited on the ball, definitely behind Serbia and Austria in that regard. If we play defensively and organise ourselves well we can get results against teams our level or below and with a bit of luck we can get some points off the better teams.

But let's not get carried away. We did incredibly well to get out of our group in the Euros. We did well just to qualify. If we qualify for the World Cup then great. But like someone else has alluded to, we're living in fantasy land if we think we can start qualifying for every major tournament. Croatia have had a much better squad than us for the last World Cup and still couldn't make it. Austria on paper are better than us. We could definitely get a result, could easily lose too. Serbia again better than us on paper, same story as Austria. If we finish third it's still a respectable result given our squad.

You make us sound like a pub team or worse like we are the Nordies!

I'm not saying we played tiki taka but we have some very nice little footballers and I really enjoyed some of the moves we put together during the tournament.
Henderick, Brady, Hoolahan & Coleman are all very competent on the ball.

How are Serbia better than us on paper? Bar the fact they won the U20 World Cup people are really jumping the gun with Serbia!
If, and it's a big if, those players fulfil their potential it more than likely won't happen by the time we meet them in September. This campaign is a bedding in one for them.
Of course it'll be a tough game. We had tough games against Georgia in the previous campaign.

Croatia have desperately under achieved and they really blew a glorious chance to make the final /win the competition by playing piss poor against Portugal, a really bang average team. I don't see the relevance in even mentioning them.

I'm not expecting us to walk qualifying but we'll be right in the mix.
Some on here would make you believe we'll do well not to be tanked by Moldova!