2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

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)