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2012 European Football Championships Qualifying thread

Infinite Chaos

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Sorry if someone has laready started the thread or we're waiting for the actual championships but there's some really good games being had at the moment.

Last nights significant or intersting scores -

Russia 0 - 1 Slovenia (David vs Goliath - David sees off Goliath)

Georgia 0 - 0 Israel

Sweden 6 - 0 San Marino (in the good old days, England used to knock 6 past San Marino)

Turkey 3 - 2 Belgium (more bad news for Belgium on top of possible disintegration of the country)

Czech Republic 0 - 1 Lithuania (David vs Goliath - David sees off Goliath)

Norway 1 - 0 Portugal (not quite David vs Goliath - but a significant result)

Germany 6 - 1 Azerbaijan (Is Azerbaijan part of Europe?)

Rep of Ireland 3 - 1 Andorra (nice to see the rep winning again)

Switzerland 1 - 3 England (woohoo, but don't don't get carried away!)

Italy 5 - 0 Farioe Islands (did the italians get a nose bleed after scoring 2?)

Bosnia Herzegovena 0 - 2 France (back to winning ways for La France at last)

Scotland 2 - Liechtenstein (sigh of releif after Scotland's result on Saturday)

Germany will obviously make it, Spain were busy losing to Argentina last night but they will get to the finals and I'm interested to see the footballing direction that Holland take after their poor tactics and footballing in the World Cup Finals.

England 2 wins in two games, the reporters here are itching to start crowing but we've done this before and then fizzled out at the actual competition.
 
The German football machine is playing even better than they did in the world cup.
They're taking this Euro. Final either against Spain or Holland, England makes it to the semi.

Of course there's a long time till the Euro itself so who knows.
 
Final is 2 years off, so saying it will between Germany, Spain or Holland is a bit premature. 2 years is a long time in football.. players get older, replacements are not as good and of course there are injuries.
 
Sorry guys - I didn't mean this thread to be about predicting who will be in the final itself - but who will make it to the championships themselves and who won't.

I looked at the qualifier groups -

Group H - Norway (1st place) Denmark (2nd place) Portugal (4th place)
Group F - Croatia (1st place) Israel (2nd place) Greece (5th place)

Hopefully some upsets on the way, would be good to see Israel make it to the championships proper and I don't mind seeing Portugal or Greece drop out..
 
Final is 2 years off, so saying it will between Germany, Spain or Holland is a bit premature. 2 years is a long time in football.. players get older, replacements are not as good and of course there are injuries.

Or as I said, "Of course there's a long time till the Euro itself so who knows".

Those are merely my guesses.
 
Sorry guys - I didn't mean this thread to be about predicting who will be in the final itself - but who will make it to the championships themselves and who won't.

I looked at the qualifier groups -

Group H - Norway (1st place) Denmark (2nd place) Portugal (4th place)
Group F - Croatia (1st place) Israel (2nd place) Greece (5th place)

Hopefully some upsets on the way, would be good to see Israel make it to the championships proper and I don't mind seeing Portugal or Greece drop out..

Israel is unlikely to make it to the Euro itself, we always fall because of the goals differential between us and Croatia/Greece, it's almost predetermined.

And Greece is 4th place I believe, not 5th.

Edit: Oh right, Greece and Georgia share the same position right now.
 
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Israel is unlikely to make it to the Euro itself, we always fall because of the goals differential between us and Croatia/Greece, it's almost predetermined.

Well, Israel didn't help themselves with a goalless draw last night. They used to produce some good strikers - I remember one guy spent time at Liverpool FC some years ago.

Oh right, Greece and Georgia share the same position right now.

Yeah, but positive thinking and if the competition ended right now would mean Greece were 5th. I know local rivalries (and agreements) means some teams will help each other (Argentina vs Peru for example) but come on - Israel can beat Latvia and Malta easily.
 
Well, Israel didn't help themselves with a goalless draw last night. They used to produce some good strikers - I remember one guy spent time at Liverpool FC some years ago.

Israel has a very good chance of going to the Euros in that group. And the "one guy" is Yossi Benyaoun, presently of Chelsea FC, a very under-rated player in my opinion. I always try to buy him in Football Manager games because he can play so many places and is a great over all player.

Yeah, but positive thinking and if the competition ended right now would mean Greece were 5th. I know local rivalries (and agreements) means some teams will help each other (Argentina vs Peru for example) but come on - Israel can beat Latvia and Malta easily.

Israel can beat anyone in the group. Latvia, Malta and Georgia should be sure wins, and the Greece team is getting old and should be in a transition phase, so that is a possibility too. Only big-wig in the group is Croatia, and even here I give Israel on the day a 50/50.
 
Sorry guys - I didn't mean this thread to be about predicting who will be in the final itself - but who will make it to the championships themselves and who won't.

I looked at the qualifier groups -

Group H - Norway (1st place) Denmark (2nd place) Portugal (4th place)
Group F - Croatia (1st place) Israel (2nd place) Greece (5th place)

Hopefully some upsets on the way, would be good to see Israel make it to the championships proper and I don't mind seeing Portugal or Greece drop out..

Group H is a strange one.. as it stands now the winners will be either Denmark or Norway... Portugal is sinking fast .. 4-4 against Cyrpus (HAHAHAHA) and loosing 0-1 in Norway... catastrophic start for them.
 
I tuned to BBC Scotland on cable, and wished I hadn't! I forgot the masochism needed to watch. We were dire throughout, and only fumbled in the winner in the 97th minute. Even the home commentators were saying that "Get out of jail" didn't describe the result! Roll on Spain and the Czechs! Not.
 
-- the "one guy" is Yossi Benyaoun, presently of Chelsea FC --

I just remembered - I was thinking of Ronny Rosenthal, he had an amazing start at Liverpool. Completely forgot about Benayoun. He played at Liverpool for a while too if I remember?

-- Only big-wig in the group is Croatia, and even here I give Israel on the day a 50/50.

There's no disgrace getting second place. have to check if the top two or the 1st place get to go to the qualifiers.
 
-- I forgot the masochism needed to watch. We were dire throughout, and only fumbled in the winner in the 97th minute. Even the home commentators were saying that "Get out of jail" didn't describe the result! Roll on Spain and the Czechs! Not.

Haha! (sorry) However I have a Scottish friend here who won tickets in a competition to see all of England's matches in the World Cup and he went and sang the opposition National Anthem at every game... including "Deutschland Uber Alles" (I'm exaggerating) so I feel no sympathy now.

The Czech Republic lost last night ... as did Spain 4-1 to Argentina however Scotland may get the kickback if Spanish pride is wounded enough.
 
Well, Israel didn't help themselves with a goalless draw last night. They used to produce some good strikers - I remember one guy spent time at Liverpool FC some years ago.

You're referring to Benayoun and he's playing now for Chelsea.
A lot of the players in the Israeli NT are playing or have used to play in top European leagues.
Benayoun for Liverpool and Chelsea, Ben Sahar also for Chelsea but most recently for Espanyol before moving back to Hapoel Tel Aviv FC, now in the champions league, the goal keeper Dudu Auoat is in Mallorca and there are some others in smaller clubs like Blackpool and West Ham.

Still Israel tends to be very unlucky when it comes to big tournaments, even Malta has managed to score a goal against the Israeli NT in the first qualifications match that was hosted in Israel. (ending result 3-1 to Israel)
They're mostly scared to lose and are not taking enough risks to score goals, as it was in Georgia.
Players have also complained though that the field in Georgia was the worst field they've ever played at.

Yeah, but positive thinking and if the competition ended right now would mean Greece were 5th. I know local rivalries (and agreements) means some teams will help each other (Argentina vs Peru for example) but come on - Israel can beat Latvia and Malta easily.

Assuming Israel beats Latvia outside sure it can get the 9 points left to get from them, but that would put it at 13 points and without some hard winnings against Croatia and Greece it wouldn't get it to the championship itself.
I can only hope that once Itay Shechter gets well from his injury and the manager realizes that Gili Vermouth needs to be a permanent player and not someone you enter in the 78th minute things would start looking different, as for the capabilities that the Israeli NT presented in Georgia it simply stands no chance.
 
There's no disgrace getting second place. have to check if the top two or the 1st place get to go to the qualifiers.

Both the winner and the runner-up of each of the 8 groups are moving on to the final tournament taking place in the host country where the 16 teams get separated into 4 groups of 4.
 
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You're referring to Benayoun and he's playing now for Chelsea--

Thanks Apocalypse, but I'm old enough to have been referring to Ronny Rosenthal. I remember watching a couple of his games for Liverpool in the 80's. Have to confess Benayoun slipped my mind though before PeteEU and you reminded me.

Both the winner and the runner-up of each of the 8 groups are moving on to the final tournament in the qualifications taking place in the host country where the 16 teams get seperated into 4 groups of 4.

In which case, Israel has an even better chance unless some of the others "do a favour" for Greece...
 
Thanks Apocalypse, but I'm old enough to have been referring to Ronny Rosenthal. I remember watching a couple of his games for Liverpool in the 80's. Have to confess Benayoun slipped my mind though before PeteEU and you reminded me.

Hah, I would have never guessed you've meant to Rosental.
 
Thanks Apocalypse, but I'm old enough to have been referring to Ronny Rosenthal. I remember watching a couple of his games for Liverpool in the 80's. Have to confess Benayoun slipped my mind though before PeteEU and you reminded me.



In which case, Israel has an even better chance unless some of the others "do a favour" for Greece...

Greece's "buddy" in world competitions is usually Cyprus, though I can see Malta losing to them 0-16 so they can pass on the qualifications.
 
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-- Rosental.

My bad if I spelt his surname wrong.

Greece's "buddy" in world competitions is usually Cyprus, though I can see Malta losing to them 0-16 so they can pass on the qualifications.

Should I take an educated guess that Greece vs Malta is the last match of the group? ;)

It's early in the championships but a couple more good results for Israel (forget last night) and we should have a brand new team at the championships.
 
My bad if I spelt his surname wrong.

No, his official English surname is indeed Rosenthal, I just don't like adding an h after my t when it's not necessary. :2razz:

What I've meant is that I haven't lived long enough to know when someone is referring to Ronney Rosenthal.

Should I take an educated guess that Greece vs Malta is the last match of the group? ;)

Dunno really, but very possible.

Edit: Just checked, yes, Greece's final match is against Malta!
 
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Both the winner and the runner-up of each of the 8 groups are moving on to the final tournament taking place in the host country where the 16 teams get separated into 4 groups of 4.

No, it's different this year, they have to keep changing it because Europe keeps getting more countries :mrgreen: . There are 9 qualifying groups, all the winners progress, as well as the single best 2nd place team, the other eight 2nd placed teams have a play-off to qualify. Also, remember there are 2 hosts so they both get to qualify.

Scotland have a good chance off making the play-off, but only because both Lithuania and Czech Republic are terrible teams. It's a bit tragic how far the Czechs have fallen.
 
-- Ronney --

OK, now I KNOW you're pulling my leg. He is known as "Ronny" here.

- Greece's final match is against Malta!

haha!

Maybe there should be a pool thread to guess how many goals Malta have to let through to let Greece get 2nd place.

I'd put £5 on them needing 4 clear goals.
 
No, it's different this year, they have to keep changing it because Europe keeps getting more countries :mrgreen: . There are 9 qualifying groups, all the winners progress, as well as the single best 2nd place team, the other eight 2nd placed teams have a play-off to qualify. Also, remember there are 2 hosts so they both get to qualify.

Scotland have a good chance off making the play-off, but only because both Lithuania and Czech Republic are terrible teams. It's a bit tragic how far the Czechs have fallen.

Well that sucks.
They said though that in Euro 2016 there will be 24 teams qualifying, meaning that the winnter, runner-up, and third place of each of the 8 groups will qualify.
 
OK, now I KNOW you're pulling my leg. He is known as "Ronny" here.

Details details...

haha!

Maybe there should be a pool thread to guess how many goals Malta have to let through to let Greece get 2nd place.

I'd put £5 on them needing 4 clear goals.

There's a limit to how wide they can open their legs without people realizing that there's something stinky going.
Imagine if Greece needs for example 8 goals to progress? (obviously a rare situation, but possible)
 
-- There's a limit to how wide they can open their legs without people realizing that there's something stinky going

That's a lot more forthright than I might have said..

--Imagine if Greece needs for example 8 goals to progress? (obviously a rare situation, but possible)

Just looking at their total record in European qualifiers... 68 losses in 89 games, 43 goals for and 252 against.

The other way to look at it is for Israel to not allow the goal difference position to arise: win more matches and qualify outright into the next qualifying stage.
 
I just remembered - I was thinking of Ronny Rosenthal, he had an amazing start at Liverpool. Completely forgot about Benayoun. He played at Liverpool for a while too if I remember?

LOL Ronny Rosenthal is like several decades ago haha.. thought you meant current footballers.

And yes Benayoun played for Liverpool and West Ham I believe.
 
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