World Cup 2010 Qualification - Europe

[Kyriakos]

I didnt see the game, but we won 2-1 vs Israel

The next game against Switzerland is important, and we should at least get a draw.

 

[holy king]

Well Poland 10 - 0 San Marino

Perhaps we are doing well and Northern Ireland was just a 1-off game?

doom and gloom, huh?

 

[TheLastOne36]

Or it just shows how really inconsistent we are, we went from playing the worst game in the last 20 years of which have been the worst 2 decades of polish football, only to beat the record of most goals scored in a game 2 days later.

 

[Joe Harker]

Northern Ireland are super human at home

England, Spain, Denmark, Sweden and now Poland, you're hardly the first one to fall foul of them

 

[jeps]

Probably did, actually. Is me rooting for Latvia over the Swiss to qualify a bad thing? GL Greece, you have been worthy adversaries.

 

[Grisu]

Probably did, actually. Is me rooting for Latvia over the Swiss to qualify a bad thing? GL Greece, you have been worthy adversaries.

rooting for any team over the Swiss is a bad thing

 

[Pangur Bán]

Or it just shows how really inconsistent we are, we went from playing the worst game in the last 20 years of which have been the worst 2 decades of polish football, only to beat the record of most goals scored in a game 2 days later.

The N. Ireland game was the worst game in 20 years? Are you smoking something?

 

[TheLastOne36]

One of the worst. Weve had a cuple bad ones, like Colombia and Euro Germany, i don't remember any games from the 1990's, so i can't say anything, but it's been a very bad decade for our football.

 

[Verbose]

Or it just shows how really inconsistent we are, we went from playing the worst game in the last 20 years of which have been the worst 2 decades of polish football, only to beat the record of most goals scored in a game 2 days later.

Nah, technically better teams suddenly turning out like crud against N. Ireland is no fluke at all.

Having grown up with the Swedish national eleven in the 80's I recognise what the N. Irish are doing. They make better teams crap but being patient, really digging in and working for the team, and by being utterly, utterly defensive-minded. Then they can neutralise stronger teams, and with some good offensive capacity up front (Healy), they get lucky pretty often.

Sweden consistently played like that in the 80's. Epic boring football, but it gets results, and if done right it gives small nations a fighting chance.

The big problem for teams doing this is that while it makes them able to get good results against stronger teams, it's no bloody use at all against weaker teams, in all these "must win" games they also have to bag to qualify. (Sweden is very often still a boring team defending well against better opponents, Portugal of late, but it has graduated to at least reasonably consistently beating teams weaker on paper, which so far is a recipy for qualification.)

That's what happaned to the NI team in the last qualifier. They got impressive results against Spain, Denmark and Sweden only to stumble on Iceland et al.

 

[Pangur Bán]

One of the worst. Weve had a cuple bad ones, like Colombia and Euro Germany, i don't remember any games from the 1990's, so i can't say anything, but it's been a very bad decade for our football.

A bunch of results. Only in the last campaign you lost 3-1 at home to the might of Finland.

I mean, Poland are a decent team, but Europe didn't exactly shake because Poland lost in Belfast. They've beaten a bunch of much better teams there in recent years.

 

[TheLastOne36]

The thing about the Finland game was that, they beaten us well. We were not prepared, beenhakker only recently came on, and despite that we did play a good game. I wouldn't count it as it was enterteining and more of a test game for Beenhakker.

Verbose, i think i understand what your saying, they are playing like Greece in 2004.

Well if so, then the Northern Irish game doesn't mean we suck again, it's just northern ireland playing well at home + Boruc's belfast blunder. it just means that we have to try harder to qualify in our easy group. I expect 3-0 vs Northern ireland when we play at Chorzow.

Actually, i'm really hopeful for the future of the Polish NT. We have tons of players coming in,

Obrianak is a french born pole, he just got his citizenship, he should start playing for us starting with our friendly vs South Africa in June, then we got Thiago Rengal, a Brazilian born pole from Parana (Parana has over 1mil poles with brazi in total having around 3 mil) who is getting his citizenship, and will have it by the WC.

Then we have Janczyk, Lewandowski, Boguski, Blaszczykowski, Kokoszka, Jonczyk, Saloman(our first Polish born black player) and a whole ton more. (All of them are below the age of 24)

If we qualify to the WC then i think we can be a force to be reckoned with as most of our young players are going to become a vital part of our national team, and be much more improved. Add our insane goalkeepers, Brozek and Jelen, and get rid of all our older players like Krzynowek, and we have a stacked team. Infact, i think most of our players are going to be sold in the summer, heading to bigger teams in Europe.

 

[Pangur Bán]

Well if so, then the Northern Irish game doesn't mean we suck again, it's just northern ireland playing well at home + Boruc's belfast blunder. it just means that we have to try harder to qualify in our easy group.

Exactly. Most teams who are candidates to qualify lose at least one game of the Northern Ireland type, i.e. a medium team away from home. It was not a particularly disastrous result on its own. The Finnish game was a much more surprising result.

 

[holy king]

Nah, technically better teams suddenly turning out like crud against N. Ireland is no fluke at all.

Having grown up with the Swedish national eleven in the 80's I recognise what the N. Irish are doing. They make better teams crap but being patient, really digging in and working for the team, and by being utterly, utterly defensive-minded. Then they can neutralise stronger teams, and with some good offensive capacity up front (Healy), they get lucky pretty often.

Sweden consistently played like that in the 80's. Epic boring football, but it gets results, and if done right it gives small nations a fighting chance.

The big problem for teams doing this is that while it makes them able to get good results against stronger teams, it's no bloody use at all against weaker teams, in all these "must win" games they also have to bag to qualify. (Sweden is very often still a boring team defending well against better opponents, Portugal of late, but it has graduated to at least reasonably consistently beating teams weaker on paper, which so far is a recipy for qualification.)

That's what happaned to the NI team in the last qualifier. They got impressive results against Spain, Denmark and Sweden only to stumble on Iceland et al.

i stilll remember those two epically boring austria-sweden games in the world cup qualifier for france 98.
(both won with a single wide shot for austria )

 

[holy king]

If we qualify to the WC then i think we can be a force to be reckoned with as most of our young players are going to become a vital part of our national team, and be much more improved. Add our insane goalkeepers, Brozek and Jelen, and get rid of all our older players like Krzynowek, and we have a stacked team. Infact, i think most of our players are going to be sold in the summer, heading to bigger teams in Europe.

clearly you mean a force that can make the last 16? (and maybe the quarter finals with a ton of luck.)

 

[Hitti-Litti]

Exactly. Most teams who are candidates to qualify lose at least one game of the Northern Ireland type, i.e. a medium team away from home. It was not a particularly disastrous result on its own. The Finnish game was a much more surprising result.

Actually I think they're evenly surprising: Northern Ireland beat Poland at home and NI is weaker than Finland, while Finland is better than Northern Ireland but won Poland in Bydgoscz(spelling?), so the surprise is quite even.

 

[TheLastOne36]

clearly you mean a force that can make the last 16? (and maybe the quarter finals with a ton of luck.)

Obviously, Argentina, Germany, Spain, and friends are still 100 x better then us.

 

[TheLastOne36]

Actually I think they're evenly surprising: Northern Ireland beat Poland at home and NI is weaker than Finland, while Finland is better than Northern Ireland but won Poland in Bydgoscz(spelling?), so the surprise is quite even.

The game was played in Belfast. The Finland game was not that surprising imo. It was our first game with a new coach after all.

btw it is Bydgoszcz.

 

[Rossiya]

Northern Ireland beat Poland at home and NI is weaker than Finland, while Finland is better than Northern Ireland but won Poland in Bydgoscz(spelling?), so the surprise is quite even.

btw it is Bydgoszcz.

You're both wrong. It's "Bromberg".

 

[Pangur Bán]

Actually I think they're evenly surprising: Northern Ireland beat Poland at home and NI is weaker than Finland, while Finland is better than Northern Ireland but won Poland in Bydgoscz(spelling?), so the surprise is quite even.

N. Ireland beating Poland in Belfast is not in the slightest bit surprising, whereas Finland beating Poland in Poland was surprising. No disrespect, but I wouldn't say Finland are much better (a little more experienced perhaps). But anyway, the Finnish victory was more surprising because Poland were beaten at home by a larger margin.

 

[holy king]

You're both wrong. It's "Bromberg".

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