Qualifying for the 2018 World Cup

Just saw some stuff about the playoff draw today on SSN, they showed some goals from the teams in the draw including Xhaka tapping in for Switzerland after a hapless keeper ****ed up. Close ups showed it was of course our friend Gulacsi playing for Hungary.

 

Confirms what I last said, which was based on the new rankings (I found a nerd who had worked out all the new points tallies):

Pot 1 Russia, Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Belgium, Poland, France

Pot 2 Spain, England, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay. In pot 2 if they qualify: Peru, Switzerland, Italy.
Next in line if someone loses a playoff: Croatia (if they qualify), Denmark (if they qualify), Iceland.

Pot 3 (assuming Croatia go into pot 2) has loads of teams that aren't quite there yet. As Costa Rica could just about slip into pot 2, the only team sure to be in pot 3 are Egypt. Iran and Serbia will probably get in there too...
Denmark*, Iceland, Costa Rica, N Ireland*, Rep Ireland*, Sweden*, Tunisia*, Egypt.
Next in line: Senegal*, Iran, DR Congo* (v unlikely to make it), Serbia, Nigeria.

 

Playoff draw:

• Northern Ireland v Switzerland
• Denmark v Republic of Ireland
• Croatia v Greece
• Sweden v Italy

The happiest will be the Republic (who drew the weakest seed) and Croatia (who drew the weakest team).

Sweden won't be happy - and I doubt Italy will be either.

 

Hope Norn Iron go through.

 

I don't think playing at home in the first leg helps them (or Sweden, or Denmark). Croatia should put Greece out of reach in leg 1, but the other first legs should be tight, leaving the teams playing at home in leg 2 in a decent position.

 

I know im going against what I said before about home nations but I don't actually mind either Irish teams, it was just the scots and welsh, think republic is due to the amount of players weve had from there recently and especially Big Dave. Hopefully they get through.

 

Plus when Henry screwed them over with that handball a few years back,

 

You can say that again. ****ty draw for Sweden, would be a really big ask to get by Italy.

 

yeah that left a sour taste in the mouth and lessened Henry's reputation a bit didn't it.

 

Both ROI and Norns have a great chance, the former in particular.

Expect Croatia to comfortably get through anarl.

Italy-Sweden will be tougher than most will expect.

 

Deluded

Sepp Blatter, talking to Corriere della Sera about a comeback. “I feel like I was victim of a gigantic plot. I wasn’t accused by ordinary justice systems, but by the Americans. And by the British, especially the British … My mission is not over.”

 

In recent years haven't they just had eight top seeds and then drawn the rest on a geographical basis, meaning there is no pot two, three or four based on rankings? Or are they going back to that (which was better in my opinion)?

 

We always get f*cked in the draws.

Last WC qualification we had a tough group as well.


Then we got Portugal & Ronaldo in blazing goal scoring form in the play offs
The options were


This time around


I should've placed a bet that we would get the toughest seed out of the 4 in the playoffs again


Not bitter tho....

 

It ll be a complex long drawn out draw.
You can't have more than 2 Euro teams in one group.

 

Ooh, scary.

 

Blatter really is a massive twat

 

They're going back to the old way - and I agree, it's better. The only problem now is the world rankings themselves, which are fundamentally flawed and need rethinking.

 

they are a bit stupid when you get teams that have won the world cup who aren't ranked as the best team immediately after

 

I don't agree with that angle. It's one knockout competition - a team that is exceptional for 4 years but suffers one defeat should be ranked above a team that struggles for 4 years but puts together a few good results over one month.