FAI...New Manager is Heimir Hallgrimsson

[Captain Obvious]

And no Italy in the World cup. Beaten 4-1 on penalties.

It just shows you that the qualification is a joke. A number of top European teams are not going but dozens of pub teams are

Am I right in saying it's the 3rd World cup in a row that Italy haven't reached?

[From the Bunker]

Fouls

Czechia 23 Ireland 13

Czechia 21 Denmark 11

Yellows

Czechia 1 Ireland 2

Czechia 1 Denmark 2

Home advantage huge for Czechia in playing on the edge.

[JPGJOHNNYG]

And no Italy in the World cup. Beaten 4-1 on penalties.

It just shows you that the qualification is a joke. A number of top European teams are not going but dozens of pub teams are

They don't deserve to be there if they can't beat Bosnia ffs.

Maybe not but look at the state of some of the shit going. NZ just have to turn up to qualify as there is zero competition

[An Watcher]

By that logic all you'd have would be european teams plus Brazil n Argentina.  Costa Rica just missed out on the semis one year.  Couple of African teams the same.

[Wildweasel74]

A number of teams at this yrs world cup are cannon fodder! Like letting Div 4 team playing for Sam Maguire.

[JPGJOHNNYG]

By that logic all you'd have would be european teams plus Brazil n Argentina.  Costa Rica just missed out on the semis one year.  Couple of African teams the same.

Yep so the best teams then !why should geographic location give you an advantage?

It's nearly always 5/6 European teams in the last 8.

It's like giving the best golfer in Tajikistan an invite to the masters just for the craic

[thewobbler]

Now there's 48 teams, I think it's more than fair to grant automatic qualification to all former winners.

The WC needs colour and contrast. But it also needs the best teams involved.

[From the Bunker]

The thing is none of the Asian, African, North American, Oceanian countries got in the way of Italy qualifying. Bosnia H. got in the way.

The World Cup is about seeing the Countries of the world compete against each other. We get to see the different cultures come up against each other.

The Euros and Coppa America covers the dominant Continents competing with possibly more quality teams.

[ranch]

Increasing the number of teams involved by 16, but giving Europe only 3 of those spots is the bigger issue. Of course the smaller federations were going to be in favour of the increase, North America now gets 6 spots for example. The increase in finances for these smaller nations guarantees Infantino the votes to stay in power for as long as he wants. I assume UEFA lobbied for more than 16 spots at the World Cup but Infantino knows he has the votes already from other parts of the world.

In a 48 team world cup I'd say 18 would be a fair number for Europe, Africa 9, Asia 7, South America 7, North America 5, Oceania 1. That would leave one spot that could maybe be settled by a play off between 1 team each from Africa, Asia, North America and South America.

I wouldn't be in favour of any teams other than the hosts automatically qualifying, and possibly the most recent winner.

[Baile Brigín 2]

By that logic all you'd have would be european teams plus Brazil n Argentina.  Costa Rica just missed out on the semis one year.  Couple of African teams the same.

Yep so the best teams then !why should geographic location give you an advantage?

It's nearly always 5/6 European teams in the last 8.

It's like giving the best golfer in Tajikistan an invite to the masters just for the craic

Open tournaments do exactly that and the Masters invites amateurs and college players, so bad analogy.

It is the world cup, there has to be a geographic spread.

[mouview]

And no Italy in the World cup. Beaten 4-1 on penalties.

It just shows you that the qualification is a joke. A number of top European teams are not going but dozens of pub teams are

They don't deserve to be there if they can't beat Bosnia ffs.

Maybe not but look at the state of some of the shit going. NZ just have to turn up to qualify as there is zero competition

Being brutally honest, we're not a lot above the level of a pub team ourselves. We can't pass the ball much and struggle for scores against all the middling-to-better teams. We're horrid to watch and would add nothing sporting-wise to the tournament.

[weareros]

Still hard to escape that we blew a very winnable draw. The Danes had already began to self-destruct in their two final group games and Czechs were already in disarray with players downing tools with dispute with their association, new elderly manager brought in for the playoffs to try and calm things, down 2-0 to us early in the game. The pity is the gap between Hungary game and March, as we did start to look a decent team in those final two group games. But didn't deserve it in the end. Hard to see us ever qualifying again. Too many European countries are just more technically gifted and the once minnows like the Bosnias have passed us out.

[seafoid]

Still hard to escape that we blew a very winnable draw. The Danes had already began to self-destruct in their two final group games and Czechs were already in disarray with players downing tools with dispute with their association, new elderly manager brought in for the playoffs to try and calm things, down 2-0 to us early in the game. The pity is the gap between Hungary game and March, as we did start to look a decent team in those final two group games. But didn't deserve it in the end. Hard to see us ever qualifying again. Too many European countries are just more technically gifted and the once minnows like the Bosnias have passed us out.

International Soccer is uasal agus iseal. Mid ranking teams go in phases. We are in an upward phase. We^ll qualify for the Euros and if we get some new talent and make enough progress we could be contenders for WC qualifying next time around.

[Baile Brigín 2]

And no Italy in the World cup. Beaten 4-1 on penalties.

It just shows you that the qualification is a joke. A number of top European teams are not going but dozens of pub teams are

They don't deserve to be there if they can't beat Bosnia ffs.

Maybe not but look at the state of some of the shit going. NZ just have to turn up to qualify as there is zero competition

Being brutally honest, we're not a lot above the level of a pub team ourselves. We can't pass the ball much and struggle for scores against all the middling-to-better teams. We're horrid to watch and would add nothing sporting-wise to the tournament.

Did you miss the last year?

[mouview]

Still hard to escape that we blew a very winnable draw. The Danes had already began to self-destruct in their two final group games and Czechs were already in disarray with players downing tools with dispute with their association, new elderly manager brought in for the playoffs to try and calm things, down 2-0 to us early in the game. The pity is the gap between Hungary game and March, as we did start to look a decent team in those final two group games. But didn't deserve it in the end. Hard to see us ever qualifying again. Too many European countries are just more technically gifted and the once minnows like the Bosnias have passed us out.

International Soccer is uasal agus iseal. Mid ranking teams go in phases. We are in an upward phase. We^ll qualify for the Euros and if we get some new talent and make enough progress we could be contenders for WC qualifying next time around.

Soccer isn't our game, we don't play it with any skill or imagination. None of our players play for any of the top clubs in the country they ply their trade in. As wearos said, even nations as small and smaller than ourselves are technically superior. We lost control in the second half v Czechia because we couldn't string a few passes together and we were dispossessed too easily. Coaching/management isn't the issue  - I doubt Guardiola / Ancelotti / whoever would make any difference to us as we're so limited, not that there's a danger any top coach would touch us with the FAI €40m on the hook.

Looking forward, we should be ok for keepers for the next 10 years or so, assuming Kelleher / Bazuno stay healthy. Ditto forwards, with Ferguson and Parrott. None of O'Shea / O'Brien / Collins would even be regarded as international class defenders and midfield is a waste land. The new players coming in are from championship teams. The outlook is bleak.