In my eyes a World Cup is not a real World Cup if any of Brazil, Argentina, Germany or Italy are missing. I desperately hope Italy get through tonight. The atmosphere in the San Siro will be amazing. Really looking forward to watching this tonight.
I believe that the teams that do best in qualifying being there makes it a real world cup.
I think you are taking my statement too literally. I am talking about the romance of the World Cup. I have followed every World Cup from 1970 and read many articles about earlier World Cups and seen grainy footage of some of the games from that earlier era. I have always looked forward intensely to each World Cup. And it has always been irrelevant, in terms of how much I looked forward to it, if England qualified or not. The dramas, passion, triumphs, disasters, controversies, personalities, and sheer number of world class players that those 4 nations have brought to the event over the years I have been watching, and before, means that for me, if one of those nations is missing, a little bit of the magic will be missing.
In my eyes a World Cup is not a real World Cup if any of Brazil, Argentina, Germany or Italy are missing. I desperately hope Italy get through tonight. The atmosphere in the San Siro will be amazing. Really looking forward to watching this tonight.
I believe that the teams that do best in qualifying being there makes it a real world cup.
I think you are taking my statement too literally. I am talking about the romance of the World Cup. I have followed every World Cup from 1970 and read many articles about earlier World Cups and seen grainy footage of some of the games from that earlier era. I have always looked forward intensely to each World Cup. And it has always been irrelevant, in terms of how much I looked forward to it, if England qualified or not. The dramas, passion, triumphs, disasters, controversies, personalities, and sheer number of world class players that those 4 nations have brought to the event over the years I have been watching, and before, means that for me, if one of those nations is missing, a little bit of the magic will be missing.
Feel the same about the Dutch. However if you're not putting the opposition away you don't deserve to be there.
In my eyes a World Cup is not a real World Cup if any of Brazil, Argentina, Germany or Italy are missing. I desperately hope Italy get through tonight. The atmosphere in the San Siro will be amazing. Really looking forward to watching this tonight.
I believe that the teams that do best in qualifying being there makes it a real world cup.
I think you are taking my statement too literally. I am talking about the romance of the World Cup. I have followed every World Cup from 1970 and read many articles about earlier World Cups and seen grainy footage of some of the games from that earlier era. I have always looked forward intensely to each World Cup. And it has always been irrelevant, in terms of how much I looked forward to it, if England qualified or not. The dramas, passion, triumphs, disasters, controversies, personalities, and sheer number of world class players that those 4 nations have brought to the event over the years I have been watching, and before, means that for me, if one of those nations is missing, a little bit of the magic will be missing.
Feel the same about the Dutch. However if you're not putting the opposition away you don't deserve to be there.
Yes, I almost included them. Then I realised they have never won it!
Stuff Italy , Spain 82 when they beat the beautiful Brazil really fucked me off as an 11 year old no more Ziiiiico , Falcao , Socrates etc in that tourney
1. Northern Ireland or Switzerland 2. Croatia or Greece 3. Italy or Sweden 5. Tunisia or Congo 6. Morocco or Ivory Coast 7. Senegal or Burkina Faso or Cape Verde or South Africa
4. Ireland or Denmark (14th Nov, 19:45) 8. New Zealand or Peru (16th Nov, 02:15) 9. Honduras or Australia (15th Nov, 09:00)
That 'butterflies in my stomach' feeling, before the game in Dublin tomorrow. So nervous about this. I think we'll screw it up somehow and fail to qualify.
NZ 0 Peru 0 Honduras 0 Australia 0 Croatia 4 Greece 1 Denmark 0 Ireland 0 NI 0 Switzerland 1 Sweden 1 Italy 0 Switzerland 0 NI 0 Greece 0 Croatia 0 Italy 0 Sweden 0
6 0-0s from 9 games. Croatia scored more goals than the 11 other sides combined.
A symptom of the modern game - "better" coached sides who know how to defendas units plus the fear of losing.
Not many sides can play the sort of football that Barcelona and Man City do but plenty can know how to stop the opposition from playing. On the international stage, it is only the likes of the really weak sides such as Malta, Estonia, San Marino, Liechenstein that allow the number of goals per game to exceed the current average of less than 2.5 goals per game - this from an average of 4.6 per game some hundred years ago.
At club level, outside the PL, not one of our top sides average 2 goals per game - in fact the likes of Shrewbury (League 1) and Dover (National League), the very best teams in their respective divisions, average 3 or less goals every 2 games. But if the season stopped now they would be crowned champions and their supporters would argue that the end justifies the means. It does all rather make a mockery of the so called "beautiful game".
Please, please, PLEASE don’t mess it up tonight! I want to enjoy next years World Cup with you boys in it not sitting in a bar with a bunch of disinterested Danes supposedly supporting your Scandi “brothers” (Sweden) because you lot couldn’t beat a VERY average Irish side!
Please, please, PLEASE don’t mess it up tonight! I want to enjoy next years World Cup with you boys in it not sitting in a bar with a bunch of disinterested Danes supposedly supporting your Scandi “brothers” (Sweden) because you lot couldn’t beat a VERY average Irish side!
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Even the eleven and half year old me knew I had watched something special.
Glad I didn't know about Rossi's match fixing ban at the time though.
Italy have not lost a competitive home game since 1999.
Sweden to qualify
Honduras 0-0 Australia
New Zealand 0-0 Peru
Denmark 0-0 Ireland
Switzerland 0-0 N Ireland
Greece 0-0 Croatia
Italy 0-0 Sweden
Now 569 mins (9.5 hours) since last goal when Sweden scored on Friday.
Pushes Croatia into pot 2. Would much rather we drew Sweden than Croatia in the group stage.
If they do not, that leaves the door open for Denmark to get into pot 2 (given that they beat Ireland).
If both Peru and Denmark fail to qualify, Iceland will be in pot 2.
Northern Ireland orSwitzerland2. Croatia
or Greece3.
Italy orSweden5. Tunisia
or Congo6. Morocco
or Ivory Coast7. Senegal
or Burkina Faso or Cape Verde or South Africa4. Ireland or Denmark (14th Nov, 19:45)
8. New Zealand or Peru (16th Nov, 02:15)
9. Honduras or Australia (15th Nov, 09:00)
NZ 0 Peru 0
Honduras 0 Australia 0
Croatia 4 Greece 1
Denmark 0 Ireland 0
NI 0 Switzerland 1
Sweden 1 Italy 0
Switzerland 0 NI 0
Greece 0 Croatia 0
Italy 0 Sweden 0
6 0-0s from 9 games. Croatia scored more goals than the 11 other sides combined.
So nervous about this. I think we'll screw it up somehow and fail to qualify.
Not many sides can play the sort of football that Barcelona and Man City do but plenty can know how to stop the opposition from playing. On the international stage, it is only the likes of the really weak sides such as Malta, Estonia, San Marino, Liechenstein that allow the number of goals per game to exceed the current average of less than 2.5 goals per game - this from an average of 4.6 per game some hundred years ago.
At club level, outside the PL, not one of our top sides average 2 goals per game - in fact the likes of Shrewbury (League 1) and Dover (National League), the very best teams in their respective divisions, average 3 or less goals every 2 games. But if the season stopped now they would be crowned champions and their supporters would argue that the end justifies the means. It does all rather make a mockery of the so called "beautiful game".
Please, please, PLEASE don’t mess it up tonight! I want to enjoy next years World Cup with you boys in it not sitting in a bar with a bunch of disinterested Danes supposedly supporting your Scandi “brothers” (Sweden) because you lot couldn’t beat a VERY average Irish side!
Tak!
PS - I think it’s going to be very tight
Similar goal to that against Italy in the Euros.