I think Wales have been poor but I think its hard to judge them vs past teams simply because of how good the opposition is. I know England made Iran look terrible but they've beaten Uruguay and held Senegal to draw recently along with drawing with Korea in the qualifiers. The thing I guess you could say is Wales haven't punched above their weight like they did in previous attempts.
Day 6: Wales vs Iran | Qatar vs Senegal | Netherlands vs Ecuador | England vs USA
- Thread starter Samid
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I completely agree with what you've been saying, just think it would be hilarious if Senegal and Ecuador end up going through.
Hopefully Ecuador can replicate the cohesion and fluidity they showed in the 1st half against Qatar. What also impressed me was their maturity and game management. It's most certainly going to be an interesting game.
Not to mention that just being a World Cup side at all is a massive achievement for us. How many sides from each of Wales/Scotland/England/Ireland/NI have simply not qualified for each of these World Cups in that timeframe?
Being the worst team to get to the World Cup in that context is like being the poorest billionaire.
They already punched above their weight though, Wales due to population size is overachieving already by qualifying to a WC from Europe.
What nations like Scotland and Wales did in the past, producing top players in 70s,80s, and 90s, was already a massive overachievement considering their population size, which was even smaller back then.
That context should always be mentioned, which is why I always praise Uruguay,Croatia, Serbia, etc cause they produce top players despite the very small population.
For example, brazilian football is as dominant as you would expect them to be, considering the massive amount of money they invest in football (only 3-4 countries in Europe invest more than them) and their massive population size, the surprise would be if they were less dominant.
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Are you saying billionaires can be good guys?
100%, I know many in Ireland who'd take in a heartbeat, both my kids would(they've never seen Ireland at one), it also means I get to rub it in quite a bit.
I don't think theres a particular worst team, just lots of teams who aren't as strong and on any given day one can have a worldie and pull off a shock or a nightmare and get smashed.
It seems like Rugby is the bigger game in Wales too? I know right now soccer probably comes in miles behind GAA sports and probably rugby in Ireland too, at least down here in the south west.
Absolutely no way is rugby as big as football here. Think things are skewed by the fact that our football team is shite and our rugby team is great right now but on the occasions we do have a decent footie team in the major tournaments it's way more massive. GAA is the big problem, so many potentially quality footballers end up playing that instead because it's the main sport in all those counties. It's sacrilege for them to choose footie over it.
I don't understand why BBC and ITV think they are in any position to give us moral lectures on Qatar from people who can barely string two sentences on football, let alone the societal issues at hand.
As an Irishman, I would say it ranks Gaelic football, soccer, rugby, then hurling in terms of interest (with hurling being much more popular in specific counties). However we are certainly far more talented in rugby and rugby is much more popular among women in Ireland. I was really young when 2002 World Cup happened but it was amazing. Feel quietly confident we should make 2026 due to it being expanded to 48 teams, despite us being pretty rubbish. The nation would definitely be fully behind the lads if we qualify, just as we were in 1990, 94 and 2002
I thought alcohol was banned?
Whilst they are sitting back and enjoying the hospitality they are receiving.
I often go up to Galway or somewhere and Connaught for example pull much bigger crowds than Galway United, I know its a province vs a local team but even local rugby teams tend to get bigger crowds than local soccer. Maybe its just theres alot more soccer teams and its spread thinner? Would be interesting to compare with both teams at their best though for sure. It also helps Irish Rugby Clubs are among the best of the best so the support doesn't drift maybe.
I'm from the north east where football is the bigger deal by far, but yeah, it's very fair to say that rugby is king in the south where most of the population is. Probably quite safe to say it's a similar situation to Ireland with GAA where a lot of promising young athletes will be hoovered up by that.
Definitely more sport competition than in England where you probably don't play rugby or cricket or whatever unless you've got a double barrelled surname and say "yah".
Not a huge fan of his but surprised Depay isn't starting. Solid Dutch team though with a lot of technical ability (if a lack of a genuine top class striker)
England must be fancying their chances of the next round if they top the group
England must be fancying their chances of the next round if they top the group
Most Irish soccer fans support Premier League clubs. I kinda support St Pats and have a soft spot for Sligo Rovers since I went to school in Sligo but I never attend games. The poor standard of the league makes it very difficult to watch these games for me, especially when I don't feel a really strong connection. My club is Man Utd and I've supported them since I was young, I don't feel any sort of similar passion for either of these Irish clubs. Any Irish fans who support rugby clubs support Irish clubs, such as Leinster or Connacht.
Discounting the Welsh Premier League, Club football (Cardiff City, Swansea City etc) is far better supported than club Rugby in Wales, but International Rugby is different. The whole nation seems to get up for it when Wales play international Rugby and people are willing to pay an exorbitant amount to see Wales play at home. That said, you'd be surprised at the number of people watching Wales play Rugby that can't name a single player. I always felt like it was an excuse for many to have a massive piss-up.
Why did they change the entrance music to Seven Nation Army for this match? The one they used in all the other games is fire.
Prepare for an "inspiring" 1-1 match
Ah come on, clearly that's because most football fans support PL clubs, not their local clubs, rightly or (more likely) wrongly.
I'll say one thing, the IRFU is a much better run org than the FAI, having the four provinces was a genius move.
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Hate shit like this.
Oranje thobes 
Come on Netherlands do it for Louis!
Gakpo!
Gakpo again. Sign him.
Brilliant from gakpo
Announce Gakpo.
Great goal by Gakpo
wow
Sign him up!
Sign him the feck up
What a goal by Gakpo
Ah come off it. It was the 110th minute on a baking hot day. Ffs!
Yeah he's gonna cost 70m
Gakpo!!! What a strike
As soon as I put the game on, Gakpo scores. Sign him up!
Gapko in
What a player
Sign him up, Fergie.
The worst part about that is they are forcing them to drink Bud.
