2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

The draw:

Group A: Netherlands, France, Sweden, Bulgaria, Belarus, Luxembourg

Group B: Portugal, Switzerland, Hungary, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Andorra

Group C: Germany, Czech Republic, NORTHERN IRELAND, Norway, Azerbaijan, San Marino

Group D: WALES, Austria, Serbia, REPUBLIC OF IRELAND, Moldova, Georgia

Group E: Romania, Denmark, Poland, Montenegro, Armenia, Kazakhstan

Group F: ENGLAND, Slovakia, SCOTLAND, Slovenia, Lithuania, Malta

Group G: Spain, Italy, Albania, Israel, FYR Macedonia, Liechtenstein

Group H: Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Estonia, Cyprus

Group I: Croatia, Iceland, Ukraine, Turkey, Finland

The winners of each group will qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the eight best runners-up will advance to the second round (play-offs).

Second round (play-offs): The eight best runners-up from the first round will play home-and-away over two legs. The four winners will qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

good draw for ireland but we are still too shit to come out of that group

Group A is a bastard! Not unhappy with Scotland's draw tbh.

portugal/switzerland group the usual farce both nations seem to get

Zlatan constructing FIFA voodoo doll rn

Recently learned that Scotland was in the original Group of Death and was the only team in that group not to get to the knockouts. Although now I see that the term was apparently used earlier in Mexico.

Good draw for Denmark, though the manager always complains about having to travel so far all the time.

Bolivia manager Angel Guillermo Hoyos picks 93-man squad.

cast that net yo

No point even pretending not to be awed and grateful to the servant robbie keane has been to his country, regardless of the frustration his style/effort combo brought at times

Ah yeah we all enjoyed slagging him from time to time but you cant deny he was a top top player for ireland

couldnt believe the chants they sing for him at the la galaxy games

guess you gotta work with what you have

Gonna fucking win it

What an absurdly competent, incisive start.

Six of the Kosovo squad were only cleared to play by FIFA four hours ago.

This game is not competent anymore but it is very entertaining. Pitch is like a tarts tights

Hendrick a bizarre mix of strength, technique and utter foolishness. I think I'm very fond of him

Meanwhile, the Welsh Xavi gets his first ever Welsh goal as we go two nil up against shambolic Moldova

Guess what about this ref

Cunt since we scored

Like not just lol dmac, this is certifiable bias

that was a shocker alright

O Shea looks a mile from international standard

Ref booked two irish players in that first half for comedy, ignored two or three cert yellows for the Serbs. Completely hampers the midfield early on.

That said tactics since minute two have been laughably absent.

Offside? Think not.

Good call, if close.

whistle-blowing was a bit ostentatious though

still a cunt

Oh ya a cunt for the years. He'll get his own song when we qualify the cunt

We look the match for them again now we've decided to be.

I mean tbh we look a good deal better than these lads when we want.

a veritable festival of the defensive arts

fucking get in Murphy!

Oops

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeWNQR5nRDE

Ah here how much better is it than watching a trap team away tbf

Oh christ

Take that, all considered

Best tackle all night from.dunphy on whelan there. Ouch.

after the early goal they were pretty formless and too deep most of the time, but at least they showed up in the 2nd half

After quinn came on he harried them well.

Finishes four nil in Cardiff after Bale penalty deep into injury time.

this ireland team scoring an early goal is a fairly concerning event.

p great result though - it took a while, perhaps due to the need to undo trapp's cultural lobotomy, but mon has really built a team with bottle. and bottle is all irish teams really have.

We have our bottle back, but we were hardly shamed technically out there. Disagree with the tenor of the analysis from rte here, we have as good a set of players from midfield as weve done since the halcyon days of Matty holland

Why did we only start playing after we went behind? Same old Ireland

Hendricks only player with a bit of guile. Stating the obvious but what is the point of glen whelan. I dont see much of him in the prem but he cant be so utterly useless for stoke

Old argument. Surrounded by better players.

Brady, hendrick, long, coleman all well fit to play a bit, and I don't think we'd mind the balance ito numbers if they were allowed or encouraged to.

Look, a draws a good result particularly with that ref. We didn't deserve more, although imo it was there for the taking.

hourihane, egan, o'dowda better than what's being put out there

Hurling has spoiled my footy for good. Semi-watching the sinking of the titanic called Lolland. Lovely chip by Berg puts Holland 1-0 down against Sweden.

Janssen is "alright" though, in case anyone wonders.

The Blind leading the Blind

Exactly. Blind Jr.'s cowardly man-bun not scoring any sympathy points either. Blind sr. can just fuck off imho.

Spas Delev, who has scored nine times in his last seventy-eight appearances in Polish and Bulgarian domestic football, and never before at international level, managed it twice in fifteen minutes vs the Netherlands.

Only good thing abt this shambles is Danny Blind will be butchered in the press. He's such a fucking tool and I hate him so so much.

He selects a 17 yo who's only played a hand full of games for Ajax. He lets him debut in a way too tricky and uneasy match, the poor guy makes an error leading to a goal. By halftime Blind throws him under the bus by keeping him in the dresser. Way to destroy a young player, man.

Something is rotten in the state of Holland! Seems to be no decent young talent coming out of their lately which is surprising

Blind out. Bless.

There's lots of talent Michael B, it's just mistreated, misjudged and misguided by layers and layers of incompetence within the association.

I guess you could say Danny was blind to the teams deficiencies
(•_•)
( •_•)>⌐■-■
(⌐■_■)

Meanwhile, Scotland still in it. I would've taken a loss rather than that horrific legbreak Coleman endured on Friday

Yes, thank the Lord for that useless bawbag, Chris Martin.

I'm not ready to post itt yet

Ban wales

Too fuckin' right, what's a principality doing in the World Cup anyway?

I'm not ready to post itt yet

Ban wales

Coleman injury could've been avoided if the ref had the nerve to send Bale off earlier

this is a proper ding-dong

ireland making a lot of bad & stupid decisions tho

deems what do u make of christie, i quite like him

Same

This is vg compared to last match btw

Good contest good atmosphere

Woof

switched over to watch iceland/ukraine

iceland should be four up

ukraine are as bad as i've ever seen a non-minnow

james mcclean with the worst decision to shoot i think i've ever seen there

I like Christie and he linked up well with Brady in the 1st half but his delivery stinks

Brady was brilliant. Different level to every other Irish player.

Sadly the Socceroos are leading in their qualifier play-off so the prospect of the US having to play Syria to get to Russia is receding before our eyes.

Well in the football at least.

Late equaliser keeping the dream alive.

Darren Fletcher and Barry Bannan? I ask you!

I've got both scotland and chile on the brink today. got a feeling neither will make the finals (well scotland definitely won't tbh)

Not if Strachan has anything to do with it.

he's a thrawn body

slovakia red card yaaaaaaaaas

Ref's a homer.

never in doubt

22:46

England reach World Cup finals

A strange sight as some England players went over to celebrate with fans after the final whistle but there was nobody there. Wembley had emptied out long before the final whistle.

things that effortlessly sum up etc

Lol t bomb

If Argentina don't score in the next 45 minutes, they could potentially be relying on Brazil, who have already qualified, and Colombia - who could effectively qualify today, to turn up against Peru and Chile in the final round.

chile conceded and then scored a minute later, now at 90 minutes up 2-1. squeaky bum time

it's also gross to watch this on tv because the estadio monumental is literally rocking and it's like watching a camcorder recording of the game

Paraguay with a ludicrous comeback!

Two points separating 3rd and 7th.

Dybala and Icardi sitting as unused subs seems bizarre but idg Argentina at all. I think they will qualify if they beat Ecuador away but wouldn't want to put any money on it.

conmebol seems to be one confederation where playing home or away does seem to make a huge statistical impact on the outcome of the game.

chile sitting third but conceivably could end up 6th and out. argentina win, colombia and peru draw and that would do it. fuuuuck.

if chile lose to brasil, which, they will

chile ought to be fine now

meanwhile, iceland!

i am very invested in chile qualifying and argentina not, but chile will absolutely lose in brasil taking things out of their hands.

yeah the iceland story is great, the gift that keeps on giving.

surely with peru and colombia playing each other you'll be ok, or have i not done the math

s

if peru and colombia draw and chile lose colombia would go above chile on points and peru would go above chile on goal difference

if argentina and paraguay both win in that scenario then potentially chile could end 7th

tl;dr everyone from 3rd to 7th could end up eliminated. uruguay at 2nd could end up 5th and having to do the playoff

Why does the tunnel look like a nightclub?

Couldn't make it to the Azteca tonight but the match has been hilarious. Continuous Mexican pressure from the start with the team and the crowd increasingly incredulous that they hadn't scored. Shahdon Winchester nips up the other end to make it 0-1 T&T.

No way we hold on to the lead (and it is a dead rubber anyway) but this is great fun.

Wales v Ireland is going to be a proper cup final

Do us a favour and put Wales out fergawdsake.

Sweden leading 8-0 while Holland's only technical chance of q is trying to beat their goal diff lol. RIP us.

Do us a favour and put Wales out fergawdsake.

― Tom's Tits Experiment (Tom D.), Saturday, October 7, 2017 4:47 PM (one hour ago)

Unlikely although Bale is out for the game

eh, two mediocre teams. It's up for grabs

lol Belarus equalise.

An hour in and it's Andorra 0 Portugal 0 too.

Netherlands need to beat Sweden by seven to have a shot at the playoffs.

I watched Costa Rica vs Honduras last night, which was an appalling match. Honduras needed a win to keep their chances alive, Costa Rica a draw to qualify.

Honduras were leading with twenty minutes to go and spent the rest of the match diving, feigning serious injury, taking forever with goal kicks, etc - leading to six minutes of added time. Costa Rica scored in sixth of them.

welcome 2 concacaf

liked the announcer on this

"El Mundial! El Mundial! El Mundial!" How Waston's goal sounded on Teletica: pic.twitter.com/9aYOsc6pAw

— Jon Arnold (@ArnoldcommaJon) October 8, 2017

God bless Leigh Griffiths, now watch Strachan fuck it up by playing nine men behind the ball in the second half.

surely not?

Slovenia equalize, what does Strachan do? Take off a forward and put on another midfielder of course!

Henderson is an absolute nothing in this team, he's like a science fiction concept midfielder

bye bye Scotland ;_;

Oh well, all over, hopeless in the second half, there's one guy who can score a goal out there, I doubt there's another Scotland player on the pitch whose career goal tally is in double figures.

SNODGRAAAAAAAASS

There you go, put on a player who knows how to score the occasional goal instead of fucking James fucking McArthur et al.

love a bit of Snod tbh

it's alarmingly like watching Wolves under Big Mick

At least we'll be rid of Strachan and his inexplicable favourites like Barry Bannan, Chris Martin, Anya, this useless cunt Phillips. Darren Fletcher, go and pick up your pension ffs.

Mo Salah making sure Egypt qualifies for the first time in 28 years. Odd stat seeing they won the African Nations thrice in a row ('06, '08, '10) but didn't qualify for the WC those years.

Shelvey >>>> All of England's current midfielders

That was the most Scotlandy most Strachany thing I have ever watched. It's so predictable.

Indeed, they're unlikely to get an easier qualification group next time out, Sloveniaka and as top seeds a boring crappy England team full of comically overrated Spurs players, managed by Gareth Southgate into the bargain.

Any chance that this isn't total dogshit

Watching anyway of course. Good anthem

Brady's existential despair over the omission of Hoolahan is quite something

Not good so far!

We can't string three passes together

This is fine

Disciplined stuff. Possession isnt the aim

McClean a cheap thug as always

Christie could do a job under poch imo

yaaaaaaas

\m/

Ramsey is so shit

5 mins!

Fuck off Wales a goals no good to ye

McClean still a stupid thug

Stupid stupid thug.

George if you don't shut the fuck up

blow the fucking whistle!

I don't believe it.

Call trap. Tell him that's what negative but organised football looks like

That should be red from meyler

Trap out

fucking hell my heart

thank you Tom Lawrence

Ya dancer. Also Iceland, gud job ladssons

pleased for Ireland, Wales were as bad as I've seen them for years. Ramsey at Kane v Iceland levels of hubristic ineptitude

The volte face from dunphy and Brady after a win is fucking shameless. Tarts.

keepers who think punting it long is beneath them are a blight in general

pretty shameful stuff from Wales

only Welsh player that looked remotely up for it was the 17-year-old

Dunphy said we would win it at half-time tbf

Magine

Just magine

Having to try to explain tactics to Jeff Hendrick

Good lad but

lol I was charmed

some exhibition from duffy

God Wales were a lot shittier than I expected

COYBIG

How do these play-offs work? Can we get a Rep Ireland-Northern Ireland show down?

apparently yes, unseeded v seeded

yeah

there are four seeded teams and four unseeded

Nordies will be seeded

neither of these teams belong at the wc

Thankig youse.

So that's Bale crossed out for the WC. Wonder who's next: Ronaldo, Messi, both?

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1597142596996027&id=101359523241016&_rdr

neither of these teams belong at the wc

― ogmor, Monday, October 9, 2017 8:55 PM (one minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Saw a Dutch pundit saying yesterday it's not all doom and gloom for Holland because in Qatar there will be even more countries in the WC? Madness. For him to find a dumb silver lining, and for so many nations participating tbh

hmmm, apparently not

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/breaking-northern-ireland-will-not-be-seeded-in-the-world-cup-playoffs-36212001.html

Shame.

Great stuff, the Irish + MON, having the Welsh go through would have been too much to bear. LOLz @ deems hate figure and Up the 'RA numpty McClean doing the business.

Thing is he's not at all half bad when he's not a liability but he's two types of liability, the violent will get sent off type as evidenced twice every match and the brutish oaf we saw thwacking the ball for the final twenty minutes of the game before last.

But not ineffective in a green shirt. I just really dislike him because he tries to hurt people.

I like McLean. Last night I was saying he's like the football equivalent of getting riled up watching In The Name Of The Father.

australia play off kicks off in 5mins
good luck syria!

0-1 Syria!

http://i26.tinypic.com/2ajucf4.jpg

oh shit, they're bringing on Aaron Mooy, he's well good

oh what is he still doing playing

a win here will mean they'll still have to beat USA/Panama/Honduras for a spot but cmon syria

ah dang it

they always had to score anyway. make another one and oz needs two. go syria.

i remember when he was at millwall like 20 years ago. why is he still there

loving the syrian gk

ffs

The volte face from dunphy and Brady after a win is fucking shameless. Tarts.

― passé aggresif (darraghmac), Monday, 9 October 2017 20:44 (yesterday)

Well said. Dunphy is like a broken record with the Wes worship. There's always a forgotten cult hero cruelly left out in the cold for Dunphy isnt there? Andy Reid, David O'Leary

It just shows up that they don't even back their own criticism, which shows that they know it's worthless.

Got to say I don't watch them anymore. High time the ken early/dunphy feud ended in the replacement of the latter by the former. Brady and Giles wouldn't be long fucking off at that stage I think.

Netherlands going to have some good company at this rate. Ecuador one ahead within a minute.

Netherlands match was a weird spectacle. 7-0 was obviously never going to happen. Robben scoring 2 to win 2-0 was good though. He decided it was his last cap. Gonna miss that guy, what a pro.

If Messi goes down tonight, Ornaldo should go down, too (they snatched Switzerland's ticket tonight... Switzerland won 9 out of 10 and still didn't qualify!) Nothern Ireland to beat Portugal plz.

Messi has equalised.

Still playing Benedetto, who has three caps and no goals, ahead of Icardi and Dybala.

What's the deal with Sampaoli not playing Messi and Dybala at the same time? I get they play the same position in theory, but c'mon, find a way, don't leave out one of your best. Managerial suicide.

That is his justification - and tbf Dybala has said he is too similar to Messi in the past as well - but Icardi is a straightforwardly great CF and similarly neglected.

Messi is going to do this single handed. 1-2.

'Too similar' is such a bogus argument when they are this good. Same goes for Icardi. If anything a justification for failure would be to throw your arms up and say: hey, I played the best players we had, unfortunately we've drawn 3,000 feet above sea level.

xp oic

Losing seven consecutive games and then fucking up the USA's qualification would make me unbelievably happy but i can't see Trinidad holding on to this lead for long.

2-0!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC1mSOY1hmI

Panama and Honduras both losing so US should be safe either way.

Tim Howard looks unbelievably shook. Very nearly scored a ludicrous own goal.

Time to kms

2-0 brasil. Chile out as scores stand

Bravo howler for the first. Palmed a 35yd fk to paulinhos

Chile still through to play NZ as Peru have conceded. Would be out if they squared it.

Would be out if Paraguay score though.

Peru equalise! Chile out as it stands.

Panama equaliser just now an absolute shocker, not one part of the ball crosses the line and the forward pushed it toward goal with his hand in any case. Even the corner it came from was incorrectly given.

Mario Kempes is doing the commentary here and thinks it's ridiculous, both coaches just laughing about it.

And Honduras equalise against Mexico. I think that puts the USA even out of the playoff place as it stands.

Watching injury time Peru Columbia now. Only 3 mins

Honduras now winning, which does put USA in the playoffs.

The US will def get at least a point against T&T though.

PANAMA SCORE!

Oof

Madness.

Five minutes of injury time for my boys to hold out.

US defending a free kick on the edge of their box with five players in the T&T half.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSS!

Costa Rica waste a whole minute of time added on arguing about a goal kick.

Just down to Honduras to run the clock.

lol, we're celebrating like we're going to Russia instead.

Expect more to be made of the equaliser, they've just shown it again and it's even more ridiculous this time round.

lol Mexican television dgaf about losing because it knocked out USA.

That is amazing. It never went anywhere near the line and was being held at the time!

fuck, i'm just gutted. i've been following this generation of Chilean players since they were teenagers. you could see the magic fizzle out this year, but still didn't think they'd screw up the qualifiers this badly. ugh.

It's going to be strange with no Chile, Netherlands, USA, Cameroon, Ghana, Algeria, probably Ivory Coast, etc.

yup

HI DERE. Barely paid attention to this and now reading this thread. Wtf

wtf nwc

Whoa, scenes. Very harsh on Chile. Especially considering they successfully appealed against Paraguayan Cabrera playing for Bolivia. It earned them a win instead of a 1-1 draw, but it also lead to overturning the Bolivia-Peru result (1-0) into a 0-3 win for Peru. And now Chile are out on goal diff. Dang.

Quack quack oops

WOW WOW! Video of what appears Falcao convincing Peru players one by one to deal for a draw that would qualify both pic.twitter.com/8laXomElvY

— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) October 11, 2017

Could have made a bit more of an effort to be subtle tbqh.

lol

Peru's goal was pretty unique too.

It was an indirect free kick which Guerrero curled in - which obviously shouldn't have stood if it had gone in directly but Ospina got a touch on it trying to make a save which meant it was no longer counted as a direct goal. I don't think i've ever seen that happen before.

If Ospina had let it just fly past him, it wouldn't have counted. Guerrero must have been counting on him trying to save it as he definitely went for goal.

Guerrero's goal by Peruvian TV.

Narrator: "Indirect free-kick, Paolo!
He takes it... GOAL!
He (Ospina) touched it!
He touched it!" pic.twitter.com/ihNUlVRT3W

— FlamengoENG 🇺🇸🇬🇧 (@FlamengoENG) October 11, 2017

https://youtu.be/Zu9aEuNXshQ

That Panama equaliser, for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

lol at all this, amazing

Whoa, scenes. Very harsh on Chile. Especially considering they successfully appealed against Paraguayan Cabrera playing for Bolivia. It earned them a win instead of a 1-1 draw, but it also lead to overturning the Bolivia-Peru result (1-0) into a 0-3 win for Peru. And now Chile are out on goal diff. Dang.

― Le Bateau Ivre, Tuesday, October 10, 2017 10:30 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this would be hilarious to me if i weren't so mad at chile for not qualifying !!!1111!!11

4-1 Croatia. Woeful defending from Greece. That Watford keeper playing for Greece is well dodgy

he pretty much handed everton the win on his own last week

Shocking penalty call against the Nordies

Norn Iron robbed, so they were.

33 team world cup

Italy going out if they can’t score in the next 25 minutes.

loving this ref

3 subs down and no insigne :/

Losing to this Sweden is a disgrace tbh :-/

all these playoff teams are crap

Otm. Worst play-offs in forever. And to think we'll only get more and more countries at the WC in the coming years... Fitba's in the gutter etc

Loving this game tbh and I'm a Italy fan

So am I. They're pressing hard now.

5 mins

Netherlands not being at a WC is a shame, but Italy; Italy not being there is a fucking tragedy.

That's why we have qualifiers

First time since '58 no Italy..

no goals in nine and half hours of playoff football

since Sweden scored in the first leg

#DeRossi: "Che cazzo entro io? Non dovemo pareggià, dovemo vince!", indicando Insigne. pic.twitter.com/Vr2uTy9wnF

— Valerio Curcio (@ValerioCurcio) November 13, 2017

"Why the fuck would I come on? We need a win not a draw"

(apparently)

Swedes were organised well at the back but Italy are so useless up front, no ideas

Darmian was one of their main attacking outlets...

Yeah yeah tragedy whatever there just aren't really any good players in this Italy team any more are there?

nope

Lots of good players, just not a team.

yeh agree with LBI - finally they replaced gabbiadini / darmian with belotti / el shawaaary with 30 mins left & looked way more dangerous immediately
obvs the insigne thing is insane but no idea what gabbiadini has done this season to deserve > belotti

I don't really keep up with Italian football that much but yeah my comment was mostly driven by Gabbiadini being in the team and thinking surely they'd have to do better upfront, in an absolutely crucial game, than some dude who isn't even holding down a consistent place in the Southampton team?

with their midfield they could almost certainly suffice with a lone forward in immobile or belotti but this is a manager that played 4-2-4 away vs spain haha

We've had our backs against the wall before. But we've raged... raged against the dying of the light #IRLDEN #RTEsoccer pic.twitter.com/djC9eJW2Lo

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) November 14, 2017

nice understated promo from irish tv

have we run out of Irish poets or wha

if only there were some Irish poets they could draw from

lol snap

“Idle as trout in light Colonel Jones

these Irish, give them no coins at all; their bones

need toil, their characters no less.” Trevelyan’s

seal blooded the deal table. The Relief

Committee deliberated: “Might it be safe,

Colonel, to give them roads, roads to force

From nowhere, going nowhere of course?”

one out of every ten and then

another third of those again

women – in a case like yours.

Sick, directionless they worked. Fork, stick

were iron years away; after all could

they not blood their knuckles on rock, suck

April hailstones for water and for food?

Why for that, cunning as housewives, each eyed –

as if at a corner butcher – the other’s buttock.

anything may have caused it, spores

a childhood accident; one sees

day after day these mysteries.

Dusk: they will work tomorrow without him.

They know it and walk clear. He has become

a typhoid pariah, his blood tainted, although

he shares it with some there. No more than snow

attends its own flakes where they settle

and melt, will they pray by his death rattle.

You never will, never you know

but take it well woman, grow

your garden, keep house, good-bye.

“It has gone better than we expected, Lord

Trevelyan, sedition, idleness, cured

in one. From parish to parish, field to field;

the wretches work till they are quite worn,

then fester by their work. We march the corn

to the ships in peace. This Tuesday I saw bones

out of my carriage window. Your servant Jones.”

Barren, never to know the load

of his child in you, what is your body

now if not a famine road?

#COYBIG

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Digging Launch Audio in a New Window
BY SEAMUS HEANEY
Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.

Under my window, a clean rasping sound
When the spade sinks into gravelly ground:
My father, digging. I look down

Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds
Bends low, comes up twenty years away
Stooping in rhythm through potato drills
Where he was digging.

The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft
Against the inside knee was levered firmly.
He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep
To scatter new potatoes that we picked,
Loving their cool hardness in our hands.

By God, the old man could handle a spade.
Just like his old man.

My grandfather cut more turf in a day
Than any other man on Toner’s bog.
Once I carried him milk in a bottle
Corked sloppily with paper. He straightened up
To drink it, then fell to right away
Nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods
Over his shoulder, going down and down
For the good turf. Digging.

The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap
Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge
Through living roots awaken in my head.
But I’ve no spade to follow men like them.

Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests.
I’ll dig with it.

#COYBIG

the accidentally pasted content adds to it imo

"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better."

Romantic Ireland's dead and gone
It's with Wes Hoolahan on the bench

tread softly,
for james mcclean needlessly cunts somebody in every match

looooooool

lmao

actually shitting it about this - it's going to be horribly tense.

Be not sad because all men
Prefer a lying clamour before you:
Sweetheart, be at peace again -- -
Can they dishonour you?

They are sadder than all tears;
Their lives ascend as a continual sigh.
Proudly answer to their tears:
As they deny, deny poor Daryl Murphy yet again

I was going to attempt something with "The Second Coming" but honestly it works just as well verbatim

the centre backs cannot hold

actually shitting it about this - it's going to be horribly tense.

― Bein' Sean Bean (LocalGarda), 14. november 2017 18:00 (sixteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Nah, it's going to be an easy win for Denmark 8)

I'm in bits ye cunts

on the one hand I wish I hadn't wasted my night in the pub on last night's game but on the other hand it isn't £1.50 a pint on a Tuesday so fuck it

Nae bother for MON + the lads.

it isn't £1.50 a pint on a Tuesday so fuck it

wtf?!?!?!?

Lol you poor Londoners

I have great faith in MON. His handling of the pitch/intensity of these ordinary players is a serious asset.

I'd back us to do exactly what we want tonight, like we did the last night.

We're going through.

A terrible beauty is born

at least you get to experience what it's like to be a west brom fan

Hartson 1 0

Oh offs

ffs

Sir while I defend to the death yr right to say so etc

lads

Ah lads.

Hell yeah!

Ward. Unforgivable

Lol, I gave completely up on this game after the first goal, but my neighbor is shouting really loudly when something happens.

oof, a mountain to climb now.

this qualification campaign has a been a poor one for a scots-chilean of italian and irish descent ;_;

How can ward be let live. So stupid so slow so deliberate he had no right to do that and must pay in blood

holy shit that eriksen goal, such a sweet hit

but ward is racking up the bonus pts on fantasy football this season so fair play

Denmark, Sweden and Iceland all making it would be absolutely perfect, especially because Norway did not.

i can't recall in my lifetime norway making a major tournament

Artur imo our best chance here

1994, 98, 00. Scandinavians have grudges.

ha wow cant remember them at all
martin braithwaite is a fifa hero of mine so hope he gets some game time today :)

tbf i looked at a norway team photo from that era and recognised henning berg tore andre flo and gunnar halle by face
oyvind leonhardson or however you spell it nowhere in sight haha

I feel for you lads, Ward's made me suffer plenty thru his "career"

He's been playing above himself all season but I meant that was cancerous from him

And now mcgeady is on that'll help our composure and decisions

Ffs

Just got home from work. Still worthwhile to put this on or is it done an dusted?

It'll be thunderous imo

Looked a penalty there

God I hate that we need a shithead like McClean

Time wasting already started I see

Eriksen!

Oh no.

ffs

Do these players even realise what it will be like to have a triumphant Freddie B on the ILF board next summer? Do they not care? Don't they know what's at stake here?

(vittigheder bror)

<3

just wait till all the panama fair weather fans invade the board

I'm getting a temp ban tonight, aren't I?

Denmark, Sweden and Iceland all making it would be absolutely perfect, especially because Norway did not.

Scandinavians 3 Celts 0

Not like the fuckin dubs aren't all Danish anyways

LOL of course!

oof

Can’t really claim Ireland have deserved to lose by less tbfttl.

Hey at least they deserve it this time.

Mere anarchy

Feeling quite keanelike towards the singing Irish fans tbpfh

http://drupal-images.tv2.dk/sites/images.tv2.dk/files/t2img/2017/08/06/960x540/275992621-8567368-f5a99fe70e52cea41d151d5db43dd54a.jpeg

What rough beast slouches to ward's Bethlehem to be born

Feeling quite keanelike towards the singing Irish fans tbpfh

Was just saying

Bloody Nora, the radio guy just mentioned Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale 'Der er forskel' to express the difference in quality between these two teams. This isn't supposed to be educational ffs

I don't know if that's fair. Individual fuckups from three goals.

Excommunicate whichever defender was responsible for the third Eriksen goal BTW.

Three individual fuckups too many tho tbf xp

Eriksen has scored eleven times in eleven qualifiers.

Ward again matt

Clearly had nothing to lose after the blackcap was donned in the first half over the cunt, the cunt

Three humdingers though, would have been genuinely gutted to see Eriksen miss the World Cup.

Agreed it's an ok consolation tbh

God mcgeady just ..... a total waste of a jersey

Now embarrassing

So brave McClean what a hero

Fuck....we need to score five now, right?

Big ask.

No arguing with that

only saw the first 6 minutes, went very well!

anyone got the final score?

bad week for michael martin o'neill and martin michael o'neill

a three foot box, a foot for every world cup

June, 2016

Some day I will go to Aarhus
To see his peat-brown head,
The mild pods of his eye-lids,
His pointed skin cap.

In the flat country near by
Where they dug him out,
His last gruel of winter seeds
Caked in his stomach,

Glenn Whelan,
Naked except for
The cap, noose and girdle,
I will stand a long time.
Bridegroom to the goddess,

ah you have to laugh

yup

I've very much enjoyed the seamus heaney itt

watching this. well done for the gay thing btw

why's kbp not posting at least

he's probably gone to the bloody game hasn't he

p fucking deflated about last night. it could be another 20 years before ireland make a world cup. or it could be five years, or it could be 35.

tho that's not mathematically possible you get the idea

calzino's probably never had a chance to watch a world cup playoff with a huddersfield player on another level to everyone else on the pitch

ireland will be fine, they're expanding the world cup aren't they? they'll be there, if not next time then the one after. in qatar. the world cup in qatar, featuring ireland

ah dang i forgot about the expansion

when does this stupid international friendly tournament start

isn't it like the top 8 countries in the world keep playing each other then after a year half the teams get relegated haha

i'm in favour of the expansion, the entire thing has been contracting for years from a european pov. in the 90s, second got us in. in 2002, we played iran in a playoff. for 2018 and 2014 we come second and end up playing seeded european teams.

i get it's a global tournament but fuck it like, the euros showed that letting the barbarians in was actually quite exciting, and that most of the teams are shit and likely to lose to a well-organised bunch of championship game lads.

thumb down
8 team world cup

including tahiti obvs

every country in the world should be involved, it should go on for four years then begin again

They're going to make it 48 countries or something? Kinda feel the same like LG. Holland will struggle hard the next ten years.

sounds just like my idea for expanding eurovision
thumb up

xp That's my ideal. And just a Wimbledon like draw. No seeds.

Playing random shit teams (us included) in a drawn out league format to qualify - attritional soul killing shit

Playing these same teams as part of a month-long tournament in one country- life's rich pageant

NB I 100% mean this

Ireland’s problem is lack of raw talent, Netherlands’ seems potentially easier to fix in the short term with better management? idk

Which is obviously easier said than done...

australia leading through truly hapless attempt to defend a free kick

Lack of raw talent versus who else?

We've a team of professional topflight or near enough footballers.

Our problems are kinda like but not totally like England's- these guys have no fucking idea of tactical adaptability and little respect for the basics of playing as a responsive unit.

Northern Ireland got a lot closer to qualifying with far less raw talent, far less even than Scotland tbh.

Which is why Scotland are trying to poach Michael O'Neill.

Our FA is shambolic. Better management should be able to fix it, but we've not had good management for five, six years now.

there's no skill in the irish team. like barely anyone can beat a man. cyrus christie was like christieano ronaldo relative the the rest of the side. no striker. no passers.

they might all be playing at a pro level but it's v clear what we're missing as a team. also the defence isn't actually any good when it's not part of a 10-man behind the ball effort.

Everyone blames the FA

Players, Mgmt, FA in that order until the former two sets literally resign in protest at whatever outrage has them underperforming

XP votm LG, the type of player we produce is alarmingly identikit. Apart from Wes <3

What Irish player learns any new skills/concepts after say 16? At that stage he's fully formed, needs 'experience and to toughen up a bit"

I mean I imagine that there's an opportunity to improve here like, I can't believe that idk Italians or Spaniards have this attitude in their pro careers

australia two nil another from jedinak this time from the spot

definition of a needless handball there honduras

xps tbf jon walters hit his prime aged 46

brexit could be a good opportunity for ireland to sign up some quality players or are all remoaners shit at football?

ok fuck this, i just watched a crystal palace player score a hat trick

obv by turning the stream off i'm missing the 5 minutes of honduran ultraviolence that will inevitably follow but w/e

ok fuck this, i just watched a crystal palace player score a hat trick

~the magic of the socceroos~

we're not as crap as italy!!!!!

:D

who did australia have to play in qualification?

#australiaout

They're in the Eurovision Song Contest now, what more do they want?

they have been in the asian qualifiers for a few years now, finished 3rd in their group iirc for a first playoff vs syria then this

"ok fuck this, i just watched a crystal palace player score a hat trick"

did he sign for villa last year or was that a loan

just because we couldn't finish above saudi arabia and barely beat syria... come on

He doesn't play for Charlton anymore, so I don't know why imago's getting so excited.

Wiki:

Michael John "Mile" Jedinak (Croatian pronunciation: [jedǐːnak]; born 3 August 1984) is a God amongst men and an Australian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Aston Villa and the Australia national team, of which he is the captain. He is a front-runner for Ballon D'Or award after scoring hat-trick vs Honduras in world cup qualifying playoffs. It has been said he is the greatest player to have ever lived.

i'd be happy if ireland became part of asia if it meant we got to the wc more often.

would be easier to visit china and japan also.

I see an opportunity for Holland to play in CONCACAF. Instead of having Surinam players in the Dutch squad, we'll turn it around. They're the better players anyway.

I don't think all the very sensible reasons not to do it should overshadow the fun that could be had if world cup qualifying groups were random/global rather than continental. would also help dilute the influence of tiny teams, force brazil to play against andorra for a change

Otm. And there'll be a real chance of an England vs Argentina qualifier. Scheduled on a Tuesday night. At Stoke.

So Poland in Pot 1, Spain in Pot 2. Uh, right, OK.

Holland in po... oh

:'(

Poland, England, Iran and Panama - would England qualify from that?

might hold Panama to a draw

feels like 2 or 3 points are there to be had maybe

hang on, TWP's retired, might have a shot at progressing

I kinda think Southgate's doing ok with what he's got tbh

xps you've forgotten england always draw sweden

Is this an attempt to right historical wrongs or something? Thank god Hungary aren't there.

I'm sure there's some genuine reason for Poland being top seeded but I can't help but think UEFA are just trying to keep Russia and Poland apart.

poland apparently gamed the airtight fifa rankings by not playing friendlies. i don't understand how it worked.

Gary Lineker fronting World Cup draw for Fifa feels like a kind of betrayal

wow, so many words

:)

on this quiet friday afternoon i present my extremely authoritative ranking of teams. the WC is ofc gloriously unpredictable, but this is m/l the baseline that will determine how surprised I am by the results

Germany
France
Brazil
Argentina
Spain
Belgium
Uruguay
Portugal
England
Mexico
South Korea
Nigeria
Egypt
Peru
Colombia
Switzerland
Croatia
Poland
Japan
Serbia
Morocco
Denmark
Senegal
Australia
Iceland
Costa Rica
Panama
Iran
Russia
Tunisia
Sweden
Saudi Arabia

Denmark way underrated

England way overrated

Denmark should be lower tbh

Sweden about right, though ;)

England as 9th favourites, bless you

I think I'd quite like us to get the same draw as in 2002

quite a few teams below England there who they'd at least struggle to beat

but never underestimate the effect that the absence of a lumbering, out of position white Pele will have

eriksen alone puts denmark above most other teams. international football is so bad that even one good player is disproportionately effective.

might be underrating switzerland bc i hate them

Croatia are surely too low there? South Korea might be too high as well.

Australia are the worst team to qualify imo.

seen a few people saying Morocco are a dark horse shout

Saïss certainly having a good season for the Wolves

I think just under half of the teams have a world class attacking/creative player who could make the difference, but you often get well-drilled teams overperforming in tournaments, and I would hope for at least one surprisingly strong run from morocco or someone. I've controversially decided to cast aside the customary despair wrt England, there seems to be less of a funk surrounding the team, but they're def one of the less predictable teams. my enthusiasm for son has lead to SK's somewhat optimistic placement, but they are a good tournie team and I hope they get out of their group. croatia have been struggling against some dross lately, hard to tell how much they'll improve

love south korea but their recent results have been badddd
xps think morocco qualified without conceding a goal

jesus those bags under Shearer's eyes. lol i couldn't even begin to tell you why i'm watching this

doesnt seem to many people backing Spain this time? think they've got a much better chance than Argentina and France, also would back them in a knockout game against Brazil

france are always underperforming and the argentine defence is shaky, spain have been pretty consistent

Shearer saying he doesn't think the travelling times are that important - how far is it from St. Petersburg from Ekaterinaburg?

Does he know Russia is the biggest country in the world?

shearers fully lost it

apparently the worst draw we could get would be Poland, Panama and Iran because getting a couple of big teams will allow us to focus. England famously being a team that turns up for big games in tournaments, of course. cheers Alan

that's what the Beeb pays the big bucks for

agree that england want as hard a group as possible for as dignified a round 1 exit as possible

Loving Maradona's yellow bow tie

Not understanding why they're doing two draws for each team tbh

the 1-4 spots within each group are randomly determined too

Shearer saying he doesn't think the travelling times are that important - how far is it from St. Petersburg from Ekaterinaburg?

tbfttl it's about half the distance of Porto Alegre to Manaus.

Hold on, Peru are second seeded?

England are so getting Poland.

spain and portugal in the same group is delicious

lol a timely reminder that Belgium are managed by Bobby Martinez, no sweat lads

Oh good we get to watch England play all the dudes we literally see every week.

I'm sure the commentators won't mention that.

I hope egypt progress at russia's expense

mental note to stick a tenner on Iceland to turn Argentina over in the first game

Group D is pure hipster shit.

France, Peru, could be worse. Poor Sweden.

Not much death on show yet.

Apart from the group with Spain and Portugal in you mean?

You need at least three teams in contention for a proper Group of Death.

Yes!

Fred will be happy.

lol (xp)

small nation mentality

ok now Group D is pure hipster

Russia vs Saudi Arabia as the first game of the tournament. #getthispartystarted

Overall a pretty good draw, no? Denmark lucky, but apart from Morocco and Iran nobody can be that upset.

group d not quite a group of death, more a group of sustained peril

great group for england

Group H could be interesting, all DARK HORSES all the time.

when did England last get out of a group? they may have a shot

I think Morocco could frustrate Portugal or Spain

lol russia vs saudi arabia is on my birthday too - gonna be sweet

i've decided i'm supporting mo salah's egypt

Overall a pretty good draw, no?

Dull as ditchwater for the neutrals. Apart from Por v. Spa.

Poland
Senegal
Colombia
Japan

^is that the most balanced WC group ever?

Calling Argentina v Croatia as the game of the tournament already. England v Belgium dead rubber probably the worst.

H is the Group of Life.

lol

Overall a pretty good draw, no?

Dull as ditchwater for the neutrals. Apart from Por v. Spa.

― Action of Boyle Man Prompts Visitor to Stay (Tom D.), 1. december 2017 17:00 (three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Well, yeah. These two things might be connected :)

Jose Fonte knows more about geography than Shearer.

Spain group closest to something of a death group.

I expect Morocco to shine and take second place.

Poland
Senegal
Colombia
Japan

^is that the most balanced WC group ever?

― ogmor, Friday, 1 December 2017 16:02 (forty-eight seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

According to our agreed-on Ogmor Quality scale, yes it is.

The same scale tells us that the easiest group is group A (cumulative quality points 81, where the best team gets 1 point and the worst gets 32) and the most difficult group is F (53).

now that's the sort of stats the people need to hear

Three quarters of the Spain group total next-door neighbours also, you could probably get from Portugal to Morocco in a car in an afternoon (NB this estimate is untested).

(via Spain obv)

My gut feel is that Colombia are comfortably the best team in that group but we'll find out.

colombia didn't look great getting beaten by SK the other day. that's definitely the most curious, I've not seen senegal play at all

How are Eng fucking thia up? I don't know but I'll enjoy finding out.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DP-RCM-X4AMgiVV.jpg

Love this pic; so many possible explanations for what might be happening here; most of them are more plausible than "this is the draw for the world cup 2018".

why are they in area 51

The general lack of legit good teams (four, maybe) should make this pretty even and interesting, I think.

Has anyone got tickets / plans to go?

I've not seen senegal play at all

Mane, Balde Keita, Sow and Niang up front, Koullibaly at the back - definitely wouldn’t bet on Colombia in their current form.

Russia could well be out of this after the first round; I can see Egypt and Uruguay ending above them.

Here's hoping.

I'm sure their fans will accept it with passive equanimity

Russia’s main problem, apart from Igor Akinfeev, is that they are incredibly boring but if they can click I think they should probably finish above Egypt.

Craig Bellamy
8/11
Tony Pulis
3/1
Ryan Giggs
11/2
Osian Roberts
8/1
Carl Robinson
10/1
Thierry Henry
18/1
Kit Symons
20/1
Rob Page
22/1
Dean Saunders
25/1
John Hartson
25/1

What a shitty shortlist for next Wales manager, wouldn't want any of these near a league one club.

standard Ryan Giggs hilarity:"Of course I'm interested," 44-year-old Giggs told Sky Sports.

"I've not spoken to anyone at the moment but I'd definitely be interested.

Thierry Henry!!

A bit like Giggs in that he wants to be an engine driver with an engine driver hat when he grows up, although obv Giggs is the extreme case,

Giggs very much the Full Kit Wanker of the management world. He carries a sheepskin coat, a pint of wine and a wound-down car window with him everywhere he goes these days.

and yet strangely never goes towards lower tier clubs where he might have an actual chance of being given an experimental chance

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/feb/01/russia-world-cup-locusts-pitch-damage-officials-fear

most of the world cup kits are v disappointing, boring and a bit 90s-blocky. I quite like japan & argentina's kits, and belgium's is good:

http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/adidas-new-kit-belgium.png

but the new nigeria kit is an instant classic

https://images.cdn.fourfourtwo.com/sites/fourfourtwo.com/files/styles/image_landscape/public/nike-news-football-soccer-nigeria-national-team-kit-12_original.jpg?itok=OAZj29nj

agree on all 4!

the away kits for portugal, france and croatia too

obvs the german 1990 nod too

oh that portugal away kit is nice and seems quite portuguese to me. the german kit is also deutsch as hell, not bad http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Leroy+Sane+Germany+Adidas+Present+New+Kit+PDmLLEODQtvl.jpg

These are all pretty nice, Nigeria especially. I like the French one too:

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C9nKP5NwspU/Wg3J6dfXvXI/AAAAAAABXPU/BlohnWUwZa00lHmXd-AaG_vFh8vLHVRKACLcBGAs/s550/france-2018-world-cup-kit-2.jpg

A lot of retro styling going on.

Ooh, new Spain and Germany away kits leaked today - very nice

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6aqVNBd-X3Q/WoHZD2UTDYI/AAAAAAABbGM/Btf2ce0pa0wZzs8j2LZYAJKhb6KWwEB4QCLcBGAs/s1600/adidas-germany-2018-world-cup-away-kit-2.jpg