International Football thread

[Gingerfinch]

I presume San Marino play the 'big boys' in an effort they will improve, but sitting back and getting hammered doesn't help.

[budgetmeansbudget]

What a miss by Milner, no surprise.

[mikesiva]

I presume San Marino play the 'big boys' in an effort they will improve, but sitting back and getting hammered doesn't help.

My point exactly...they sit back and get hammered, because they play nobody but the big boys, and have no confidence. It's like expecting Bangladesh to improve as a Test cricket nation by playing India all the time....

IMHO, the Europe World Cup qualifying should be either six groups of seven, or seven groups of six only. The teams ranked outside the top 90 should play a league among themselves. That would make it 13 or 14 teams to play a league to choose two or three teams to play with the big boys. My preliminary league would include Andorra, San Marino, Malta, Liechtenstein, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Macedonia, Belarus, Finland and Latvia. Three teams from this group would advance to the real qualifiers, and if there are any good teams among them, such as Georgia, then the cream would rise to the top....

But watching farcical matches such as England vs a lacking-in-self-confidence San Marino is a cynical money-spinning waste of everyone's time....

[budgetmeansbudget]

Terrible game, terrible pitch, terrible referee, terrible own goal, terrible lack of interest from England players, and Milner he;s just plain terrible.

[SaintPowelly]

I presume San Marino play the 'big boys' in an effort they will improve, but sitting back and getting hammered doesn't help.

My point exactly...they sit back and get hammered, because they play nobody but the big boys, and have no confidence. It's like expecting Bangladesh to improve as a Test cricket nation by playing India all the time....

IMHO, the Europe World Cup qualifying should be either six groups of seven, or seven groups of six only. The teams ranked outside the top 90 should play a league among themselves. That would make it 13 or 14 teams to play a league to choose two or three teams to play with the big boys. My preliminary league would include Andorra, San Marino, Malta, Liechtenstein, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Macedonia, Belarus, Finland and Latvia. Three teams from this group would advance to the real qualifiers, and if there are any good teams among them, such as Georgia, then the cream would rise to the top....

But watching farcical matches such as England vs a lacking-in-self-confidence San Marino is a cynical money-spinning waste of everyone's time....

Don't watch it then

Problem solved

[mikesiva]

I presume San Marino play the 'big boys' in an effort they will improve, but sitting back and getting hammered doesn't help.

My point exactly...they sit back and get hammered, because they play nobody but the big boys, and have no confidence. It's like expecting Bangladesh to improve as a Test cricket nation by playing India all the time....

IMHO, the Europe World Cup qualifying should be either six groups of seven, or seven groups of six only. The teams ranked outside the top 90 should play a league among themselves. That would make it 13 or 14 teams to play a league to choose two or three teams to play with the big boys. My preliminary league would include Andorra, San Marino, Malta, Liechtenstein, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Macedonia, Belarus, Finland and Latvia. Three teams from this group would advance to the real qualifiers, and if there are any good teams among them, such as Georgia, then the cream would rise to the top....

But watching farcical matches such as England vs a lacking-in-self-confidence San Marino is a cynical money-spinning waste of everyone's time....

Don't watch it then

Problem solved

So, you get great joy out of watching this, then?

Says everything I knew about this farce....

[dan08]

There are preliminary rounds in the Asian qualifying so that could be done in Europe too. Although in Asia there are so many shocking teams that about ten of San Marino standard still get through to the main round.

[SaintPowelly]

I presume San Marino play the 'big boys' in an effort they will improve, but sitting back and getting hammered doesn't help.

My point exactly...they sit back and get hammered, because they play nobody but the big boys, and have no confidence. It's like expecting Bangladesh to improve as a Test cricket nation by playing India all the time....

IMHO, the Europe World Cup qualifying should be either six groups of seven, or seven groups of six only. The teams ranked outside the top 90 should play a league among themselves. That would make it 13 or 14 teams to play a league to choose two or three teams to play with the big boys. My preliminary league would include Andorra, San Marino, Malta, Liechtenstein, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Macedonia, Belarus, Finland and Latvia. Three teams from this group would advance to the real qualifiers, and if there are any good teams among them, such as Georgia, then the cream would rise to the top....

But watching farcical matches such as England vs a lacking-in-self-confidence San Marino is a cynical money-spinning waste of everyone's time....

Don't watch it then

Problem solved

So, you get great joy out of watching this, then?

Says everything I knew about this farce....

San Marino would much rather play aginst England/Spain/France/Italy than Kazakhstan and Lithuania every other game

[sussexpob]

That would make it 13 or 14 teams to play a league to choose two or three teams to play with the big boys. My preliminary league would include Andorra, San Marino, Malta, Liechtenstein, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Macedonia, Belarus, Finland and Latvia.

Iceland were ranked below most of those teams recently, and currently top a very tough group. 6 months ago, you would have put them on the list. Wales have never qualifed for a major tournament.

Belarus have drawn or beat quite a lot of top teams - France, Holland, Italy, Argentina, Ecuador, Germany, Mexico have all lost or failed to beat them

Kazakhstan pushed Czech Republic all the way on Friday to the last few minutes, and outplayed Holland away in the first game in that group, leading 0-1 at half time and should have been 3-0 up. Holland only sealed the gave with a Van Persie last minute penalty.

Azerbaijan have conceeded only one goal in their last 4 group matches, and shut out an excellent Croatia side on Friday. Clearly a team improving.

Georgia have taken points off a few good teams in the past, outclassed Scotland yesterday.

[Gingerfinch]

Rooney should have taken that first time.

[budgetmeansbudget]

Milner off, hurrah.

[mikesiva]

The fact remains, SP, that all of those European teams ranked outside of the top 100 are propping up their respective tables. Each of the nine groups seem to have matches like this one, which are only of interest to those who want to make money from die-hard football fans.

I agree, dan...UEFA could easily embrace what is done in Asia and Concacaf. It doesn't matter what San Marino wants. They should earn the right to play the likes of England.

Barbados have to fight through the qualifiers to earn the right to play teams like USA and Mexico, and until they're good enough, they won't play them. It's called "offering them an incentive"....

Here's another option, if the league option is too long....

I would like to see home-and-away playoffs taking place between the teams that are outside the top 100 in UEFA, something like this....

1) Macedonia vs Liechtenstein
2) Lithuania vs Malta
3) Azerbaijan vs San Marino
4) Moldova vs Malta
5) Luxembourg vs Andorra
6) Kazakhstan vs Georgia

A second round of playoffs between the winners would then mean that only three teams would advance to the real qualifiers, resulting in less farcical matches like the one we're watching now....

If San Marino want to play England, Spain, France and Italy, then they would have to earn that right, by beating the likes of Lithuania and Kazakhstan. What goes for Barbados should also go for San Marino....

I much prefer the system where Barbados earn the right to play Mexico and USA, than the system where San Marino is handed matches against England, regardless of how crap their football field, tactics, or quality of play are.

[sussexpob]

In fact, what is quite laughable is this suggestion that big teams waste their time playing these teams.

Apart from Portugal, England and Germany (who only just went top after the 7th match) each group is topped by a team considered inferior to the second or third placed teams.

Wales ahead of Belguim, ranked 2nd in the world
Slovakia over Spain
Austria over Russia and Sweeden
Iceland over Czech Republic and Holland
Northern Ireland over Romania
Croatia over Italy

Teams are clearly improving across the board, there are very few easy teams out there to pound 10-0 anymore

[Gingerfinch]

I've no real issue with San Marino playing in the qualifiers, but have a bloody go, and don't just sit back and hope the opposition don't score too many.

[sussexpob]

I've no real issue with San Marino playing in the qualifiers, but have a bloody go, and don't just sit back and hope the opposition don't score too many.

They are part timers, the fact that are fit enough to contain a team composed of players from the finest domestic league in the world is an achievement in itself.

You really think a painter and decorator, a bar owner, and a few accountants that train in their own time would be able to take the initiative against a load of guys who play football for a living, and who train in the gym or on the field everyday of their lives?

The poor guys must be knackered