Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

I watched pretty much all to England goal, annoyingly after I turned off and had to go out, they scored twice!!! The Croatia goal was a bit of a joke from our defenders, but we did pretty well.

Watched the Northern Ireland v Austria second half.... two lovely goals from the Austrians to take the win, although Kyle Lafferty is lucky the ref didnt see him get the West Ham man in a headlock on the ground, because to me it was a clear red card.

Apparently the win yesterday has secured our spot in Euro 2020 if we miss out on our qualifying group.

budgetmeansbudget wrote:Apparently the win yesterday has secured our spot in Euro 2020 if we miss out on our qualifying group.

is that how it works? Either way, I prefer this to a friendly and so do the players going by their reaction to winning.

I think the Nations league has a lot to recommend it. It's good for England to play more regularly against the sort of opposition that they have so often failed to beat in the past, without all substitutions that normally ruin friendly encounters.

Based on the highlights, I think England were very impressive yesterday. First half, in particular, England looked like a team capable of tearing Croatia to pieces. When they attack at pace, they always look dangerous. Soft goal to concede, but they didn't panic and so found a way to win. Very different from the England of old

what I particularly like is that a whole range of players can come into and out of the side without diminishing the team as a whole. Again very different from the England of old.

There is much to like and much to find encouraging about this England team, atm

Gingerfinch wrote:

budgetmeansbudget wrote:Apparently the win yesterday has secured our spot in Euro 2020 if we miss out on our qualifying group.

is that how it works? Either way, I prefer this to a friendly and so do the players going by their reaction to winning.

I've seen contradictory articles, one on the BBC website saying qualification is already secure and another in the telegraph online saying it isn't!

it helps England's seeding when the qualifying groups are put together, I believe

I confess I don't know what happens next summer when the finals of this take place

budgetmeansbudget wrote:

Gingerfinch wrote:

budgetmeansbudget wrote:Apparently the win yesterday has secured our spot in Euro 2020 if we miss out on our qualifying group.

is that how it works? Either way, I prefer this to a friendly and so do the players going by their reaction to winning.

I've seen contradictory articles, one on the BBC website saying qualification is already secure and another in the telegraph online saying it isn't!

Wikipedia says playoff qualification for Euro 2020 is guaranteed. All Nations League group winners are guaranteed a playoff place if they don't automatically qualify for Euro 2020. Euro 2020 Qualifying Playoff places are determined through performances in the Nations League.

From England's perspective, I think automatic qualification for Euro 2020 is guaranteed if Portugal, Switzerland and the other Group A winner win their Euro 2020 qualification groups.

To add to the above, the winner of each tournament qualifies outright. So England go to a finals week in June, the winner out of all 4 group winners progresses to Euro 2020, and is taken out the draw for qualifiers. The losing three teams are guaranteed a play off if they dont top their groups, and also are given a qualifying group with one less match home and away, against the worst ranked sides (Ie, England dont have to go through the formality of destroying Andorra 14-0 in front of 10 fans).

Most interestingly, each of the four levels has a final, and each of the winners qualify outright. So, at the moment for instance, one of Belarus, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Macedonia will be guaranteed to be at 2020 courtesy of winning their final.

I believe (dont hold me to it) that each of the 12 winners of groups are also guaranteed a playoff at the end, with top level meeting bottom. So worse case scenario..... England lose every game in June. They lose all 8 matches in qualifying.... they'd then get Azerbaijan or Belarus over two legs to qualify.

So, for all intense and purpose, I think thats where the confusion comes from.... England might as well be considered qualified, because there is no hope in hell Azerbiajan or Georgia would beat them over two legs.

Clear as mud. Thanks UEFA.

blimey... that's a complicated process

Germany relegated!

mikesiva wrote:Germany relegated!

Loew seems to have a bit of a crisis on his hands, and surely wont have the job much longer. He is a little bit trapped by previous failures, because the nation demands to bounce back instantly after the World Cup display, but at the same time he is being pressured by the press to rip up the team that he has over seen for years and get the newer generation in. So their last squad was very inexperienced, lots of players 23 years and under, so its only natural playing teams of the calibre of France, it will take a while for them to come good and build a team.

Although generally, it should come as no surprise, as the new ranks of German youth simply havent shone as much as the WC winning team. There was a feeling with that team, from the age of 18-21 years, that they had endless supplies of possible world class players. At the moment, this lot have talent maybe but not in the same scope.

Ronaldo scores a hat trick!

mikesiva wrote:Ronaldo scores a hat trick!

not a big suprise lol

The Man City contingent have been shitt.

Sterling, Delph, Stones and Walker.

I still don't have a scooby how the hell Walker or Stones get anywhere near the Man C team.