FAI...June 2024 Friendlies v Hungary and Portugal

[An Watcher]

Whoever we get are gonna wish they never drew Ireland.  We're going to give them a footballing lesson!!

[general_lee]

I'd hope for Hungary obviously. Sweden are no slouches I wouldn't be hopeful against them or Ukraine. Bosnia likewise could be a handful. It's all down to luck of the draw though and equally as important is the order of the home/away leg. Wouldn't fancy travelling to any of them hoping to nick a goal.

[stew]

The 20 teams that have qualified for UEFA EURO 2016 can start to think about the finals draw in Paris on 12 December after the UEFA national team coefficient rankings, that will determined the seedings, were announced.


The rankings published today after the end of the nine qualifying groups decided seedings for the play-off draw on 18 October. The positions following those ties in November will determine the pots for the finals draw.

• Hosts France take position one in Group A and holders Spain were also guaranteed a place in the highest seeding tier regardless of ranking.


Watch: Perfect England
• Joining Spain in Pot 1 are Germany, England, Portugal and Belgium, who all topped their qualifying groups.

• Definitely in Pot 2 are Italy, Russia, Switzerland, Austria and Croatia.

• If Bosnia and Herzegovina win their play-off, they will also be in Pot 2. If they lose, Ukraine can enter that pot by winning their play-off. If both teams lose, the Czech Republic will be the sixth team in Pot 2.

• Definitely in Pot 4 are Iceland, Wales, Albania and Northern Ireland.

• The Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Turkey must wait until the play-offs are completed to discover which pots they will be in.

Overall, compared with the rankings at the time of the UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying draw, Austria have leapt 15 places to 11th, Iceland rose 11 to 27th while Belgium and Poland both went up ten positions. Like Iceland, Northern Ireland and Albania were both in Pot 5 when the qualifying draw was made; eliminated pair the Netherlands and Greece were in Pot 1.

*The national team coefficients are calculated on a country's recent results. In the current rankings, 20% weighting is given to UEFA EURO 2012 results (qualifying/final tournament), and 40% each to the 2014 FIFA World Cup (qualifying/final tournament) and UEFA EURO 2016 (qualifying).


Highlights: Germany beat Poland
Coefficients of teams qualified for the final tournament
France (46.416) – guaranteed in Group A, position 1 as hosts
Spain (37.962) – guaranteed in Pot 1 as holders
Germany (40.236) – Pot 1
England (35.963) – Pot 1
Portugal (35.138) – Pot 1
Belgium (34.442) – Pot 1
Italy (34.345) – Pot 2
Russia (31.345) – Pot 2
Switzerland (31.254) – Pot 2
Austria (30.932) – Pot 2
Croatia (30.642) – Pot 2
Czech Republic (29.403) – tbc
Poland (28.306) – tbc
Romania (28.038) – tbc
Slovakia (27.171) – tbc
Turkey (27.033) – tbc
Iceland (25.388) – Pot 4
Wales (24.531) – Pot 4
Albania (23.216) – Pot 4
Northern Ireland (22.61) – Pot 4

Coefficients of teams in play-offs
Bosnia and Herzegovina (30.367) – seeded
Ukraine (30.313) – seeded
Sweden (29.028) – seeded
Hungary (27.142) – seeded
Denmark (27.140) – unseeded
Republic of Ireland (26.902) – unseeded
Norway (26.439) – unseeded
Slovenia (25.441) – unseeded

Wales are ranked what 11th in the rankings and they are in the fourth pot? Crazy.

[stew]

We must hope that we draw the best team, whoever they are, so that our execution may be swift and merciful. Regardless of opponent, we will be the technically poorest team in the play-offs, and even should we progress, maybe even the poorest at the finals itself, (though the Norn are probably not hectic either.) No point in going next year, travelling about France making eejits of ourselves like 4 years ago in Poland. We'd bring zilch to the tournament and it's unlikely to improve us as a squad, given that our 1 skillful player is already well over 30. End it now so we don't have to spend 3 weeks next June cringing and watching between our fingers.

They just got done beating the world champions ffs Enough with the negativity, get Hungary, beat them and take a holiday next summer in France.

[Bord na Mona man]

We'd bring zilch to the tournament

We'd bring the famous Irish fans though.

[mouview]

They just got done beating the world champions ffs Enough with the negativity, get Hungary, beat them and take a holiday next summer in France.

Holidays is for wimps!

Seriously though, does anyone enjoy watching Ireland play footie? If they were an English league club would you pay to go see them?

[JoG2]

They just got done beating the world champions ffs Enough with the negativity, get Hungary, beat them and take a holiday next summer in France.

Holidays is for wimps!

Seriously though, does anyone enjoy watching Ireland play footie? If they were an English league club would you pay to go see them?

not particularly, but then again, my club football team and local soccer team play a fairly sh1t brand. It can be hard to watch, they don't win too many leagues / cups but, hey, they are my team, and get my support through thick 'n thin. Teams are better off without fair weather fans like yourself

[mouview]

not particularly, but then again, my club football team and local soccer team play a fairly sh1t brand. It can be hard to watch, they don't win too many leagues / cups but, hey, they are my team, and get my support through thick 'n thin. Teams are better off without fair weather fans like yourself

No, not a fairweather fan. The teams I follow, I follow through thick and (95% of the time) thin.

I usually watch Ireland when they play, but they haven't been easy to watch for many years now, maybe not since the days of Eon Hand. It's rather easy to become ambivalent to their progress when they are liking watching paint dry and results like the Germany one only come once in a blue moon.

Soccer in general is not a game suited to the British Isles as all nations are to varying degrees uncreative and technically very moderate.

[imtommygunn]

I would agree. Myself and a few friends go to the games. We really enjoy the occassion etc but sometimes the football can be tough viewing. We had hoped that when trap went the football would get better but it doesn't really seem to have.

If we don't play Glen Whelan in midfield I think the football is a lot better...

That being said for all the bad games we were at the germany game more than made up for it and *hopefully* the qualifier will too.

[AZOffaly]

not particularly, but then again, my club football team and local soccer team play a fairly sh1t brand. It can be hard to watch, they don't win too many leagues / cups but, hey, they are my team, and get my support through thick 'n thin. Teams are better off without fair weather fans like yourself

No, not a fairweather fan. The teams I follow, I follow through thick and (95% of the time) thin.

I usually watch Ireland when they play, but they haven't been easy to watch for many years now, maybe not since the days of Eon Hand. It's rather easy to become ambivalent to their progress when they are liking watching paint dry and results like the Germany one only come once in a blue moon.

Soccer in general is not a game suited to the British Isles as all nations are to varying degrees uncreative and technically very moderate.

Clarify what you mean by 'uncreative'. If you mean in a football sense, then fair enough, but if you mean inherently uncreative, and therefore 'unsuited' to soccer, then you're off your game

[mouview]

Clarify what you mean by 'uncreative'. If you mean in a football sense, then fair enough, but if you mean inherently uncreative, and therefore 'unsuited' to soccer, then you're off your game

Um.. am.. a bit of both. It's not that any nation is unsuited to soccer, but those that play it with more flair and invention usually tend to be of Latin temperment (Mediterranean rim, South American) and also Slavic origin (former USSR, former Yugoslavian etc.) I always like watching their club sides and am glad to see these nations qualify for major tournaments as they often entertain. Northern European / Nordic teams (people) tend to be more stolid, practical, better organised, less off-the-cuff in football (and in business, life in general etc.) I'm sure you'll agree there is a fair bit of difference between watching Norway / Sweden / Denmark play soccer and watching Italy / Portugal / Croatia.

Not sure where we, as Celts, fit in. We don't lack the passion associated with a Latin temperment but we do seem to lack (sporting) creativity and inspiration.

[AZOffaly]

Yeats, Shaw, Friel, Swift, Heaney, Keane and numerous others from literature and the arts. Countless musicians, our traditional music, dance and song. Our poetry. The list is pretty long. I don't think the heart of the Celt beats any slower for the creative arts than anyone else's.

But in soccer, I don't think it's a lack of creative temperment, I think it's coached out of us. I think they are trying to change that, but I think in soccer especially, it used to be so regimented, 11 v 11 at a young age, run the channels, get the ball forward, midfielders looking for the second ball knock down etc.

I don't think there's anything inherently less creative about us.

[Billys Boots]

I think coaching is the answer, but unlike AZ I don't think it's too much coaching, I think that it's a particular type or style of coaching.  I think we've been coached with a 'goal' in mind (object-oriented), score goals/avoid conceding in the easiest, most effective way - long ball, play the percentages, don't get caught on the ball. 

The middle-europeans were traditionally coached to look for flaws to exploit in the opposition - this is an inherently different tactic, in that each 'game' was approached differently on the field.  It also meant that it became possession-based, so the tenets of the 'percentage game', i.e. long ball, play the percentages, don't get caught on the ball, didn't apply.  Players had to become comfortable in possession, have time to assess their surroundings and make clinical decisions.

Other styles were recognisable - Italians developed catenaccio; sitting back, dragging the opposition into attack and counter-attacking effectively ... once. 

I think our style has derived from the British style - there's no doubt that it's out-dated internationally.  All the UK academies recognise this, but they haven't really been effective in changing it.  Changing the style starts with children - it's a long term project.  For example, the current Spanish 'system' is completely different to how Spain played up to ten years ago - it's really the culmination of the impact Johann Cruyff had on the Barca academy system (La Masia) from the mid-1908s, starting with the 5 yr olds.

There's a very good book on the way styles of play and football philosophies developed - Inverting the Pyramid by Jonathan Wilson (I think). 

[AZOffaly]

I think coaching is the answer, but unlike AZ I don't think it's too much coaching, I think that it's a particular type or style of coaching.  I think we've been coached with a 'goal' in mind (object-oriented), score goals/avoid conceding in the easiest, most effective way - long ball, play the percentages, don't get caught on the ball. 

The middle-europeans were traditionally coached to look for flaws to exploit in the opposition - this is an inherently different tactic, in that each 'game' was approached differently on the field.  It also meant that it became possession-based, so the tenets of the 'percentage game', i.e. long ball, play the percentages, don't get caught on the ball, didn't apply.  Players had to become comfortable in possession, have time to assess their surroundings and make clinical decisions.

Other styles were recognisable - Italians developed catenaccio; sitting back, dragging the opposition into attack and counter-attacking effectively ... once. 

I think our style has derived from the British style - there's no doubt that it's out-dated internationally.  All the UK academies recognise this, but they haven't really been effective in changing it.  Changing the style starts with children - it's a long term project.  For example, the current Spanish 'system' is completely different to how Spain played up to ten years ago - it's really the culmination of the impact Johann Cruyff had on the Barca academy system (La Masia) from the mid-1908s, starting with the 5 yr olds.

There's a very good book on the way styles of play and football philosophies developed - Inverting the Pyramid by Jonathan Wilson (I think).

I never said there was too much coaching I said it was the style of coaching.

[Billys Boots]

So we agree - there's a first!