FAI...June 2024 Friendlies v Hungary and Portugal

[Wildweasel74]

I see our wee country (Northern Ireland to sensible people) got took down by those mighty Luxenbourgs, they couldnt stop sniggering on ITV about it

[Captain Obvious]

Going to be another defeat?

[rodney trotter]

Of course it is, Alaba had been the best player on the field like he was in Dublin.

[5 Sams]

I see our wee country (Northern Ireland to sensible people) got took down by those mighty Luxenbourgs, they couldnt stop sniggering on ITV about it

An OWC supporter tweeted earlier...."Fcuk that....beat by a radio station". Hard not to laugh.

[AQMP]

To be fair to Wilson, the ball hit off Green and went to Alaba's feet

[EC Unique]

It's going to take an OWC man to sort this mess out. Who's got Martin O'Neill's number?

[ballinaman]

Good god I'm going to be a very drunk man in Cologne....might just stay in the pub over there.

[rodney trotter]

Good god I'm going to be a very drunk man in Cologne....might just stay in the pub over there.

Germany still need a win for automatic Qualification, so it could be ugly.

[ballinaman]

Good god I'm going to be a very drunk man in Cologne....might just stay in the pub over there.

Germany still need a point for automatic Qualification, so it could be ugly.

Jeeze, McShane and O'Dea to start? better bring bodybags with me...

[rodney trotter]

Good god I'm going to be a very drunk man in Cologne....might just stay in the pub over there.

Germany still need a point for automatic Qualification, so it could be ugly.

Jeeze, McShane and O'Dea to start? better bring bodybags with me...

Ha, be lots of goals anyway.

[Farrandeelin]

Any Irish player play decent tonight?

[GalwayBayBoy]

I see our wee country (Northern Ireland to sensible people) got took down by those mighty Luxenbourgs, they couldnt stop sniggering on ITV about it

I don't know how NI do it. In recent years they seem to have beaten a lot more good teams than Ireland have but they are always liable to lose to the really crap teams as well. Whereas Ireland tend to beat all the bad teams but can only draw at best with good sides.

[Sidney]

An OWC supporter tweeted earlier...."Fcuk that....beat by a radio station". Hard not to laugh.

At least that's not as bad as Uzbekistan who were beaten by a team with a pair of tits of up front.

[thewobbler]

I see our wee country (Northern Ireland to sensible people) got took down by those mighty Luxenbourgs, they couldnt stop sniggering on ITV about it

I don't know how NI do it. In recent years they seem to have beaten a lot more good teams than Ireland have but they are always liable to lose to the really crap teams as well. Whereas Ireland tend to beat all the bad teams but can only draw at best with good sides.

I'd guess it's something to do with trying hard to raise profile when they can. Most of the NI team are playing at journeyman levels, and putting in a big individual performance against England, Spain or Russia can only help their careers. Against the other minnows, it's irrelevant.

ROI's players seem to have the opposite going on. Against the big international sides, they seem to play with a fear that if they're torn apart, it won't help their careers. When added to the fact that it is important for Ireland not to lose internationals anywhere, for fear of going down to the next seeding pool, it's all a big fear fest.

[thejuice]

I see Trap made the point that Ireland are at a disadvantage because our domestic league is below standard. I think there is a grain of truth to that. As I said before,  soccer is popular nationally but when it comes to supporting the game in a way that would actually benefit the game in this country, it's non-existent. The game of soccer in Ireland is under resourced to really produce and sustain any meaningful success.