Internationals March (World Cup Qualifiers)

[Samid]

*Matches kick off at 20:45 CET unless otherwise stated. All times CET.

MATCHDAY 1
Wednesday 24 March

Group A: Portugal vs Azerbaijan, Serbia vs Republic of Ireland
Group D: Finland vs Bosnia and Herzegovina, France vs Ukraine
Group E: Belgium vs Wales, Estonia vs Czech Republic
Group G: Gibraltar vs Norway, Latvia vs Montenegro, Turkey vs Netherlands
Group H: Cyprus vs Slovakia, Malta vs Russia, Slovenia vs Croatia

Thursday 25 March

Group B: Spain vs Greece, Sweden vs Georgia
Group C: Bulgaria vs Switzerland, Italy vs Northern Ireland
Group F: Israel vs Denmark, Moldova vs Faroe Islands, Scotland vs Austria
Group I: Andorra vs Albania, England vs San Marino, Hungary vs Poland
Group J: Germany vs Iceland, Liechtenstein vs Armenia, Romania vs North Macedonia

MATCHDAY 2
Saturday 27 March

Group A: Republic of Ireland vs Luxembourg, Serbia vs Portugal
Group E: Belarus vs Estonia (18:00), Czech Republic vs Belgium
Group G: Montenegro vs Gibraltar (15:00), Norway vs Turkey (18:00), Netherlands vs Latvia
Group H: Russia vs Slovenia (15:00), Croatia vs Cyprus (18:00), Slovakia vs Malta

Sunday 28 March

Group B: Georgia vs Spain (18:00), Kosovo vs Sweden
Group C: Bulgaria vs Italy, Switzerland vs Lithuania
Group D: Kazakhstan vs France, Ukraine vs Finland
Group F: Denmark vs Moldova (18:00), Austria vs Faroe Islands, Israel vs Scotland
Group I: Albania vs England (18:00), Poland vs Andorra, San Marino vs Hungary
Group J: Armenia vs Iceland (18:00), North Macedonia vs Liechtenstein, Romania vs Germany

MATCHDAY 3

Tuesday 30 March

Group A: Azerbaijan vs Serbia (18:00), Luxembourg vs Portugal
Group E: Belgium vs Belarus, Wales vs Czech Republic
Group G: Gibraltar vs Netherlands, Montenegro vs Norway, Turkey vs Latvia
Group H: Croatia vs Malta, Cyprus vs Slovenia, Slovakia vs Russia

Wednesday 31 March

Group B: Greece vs Georgia, Spain vs Kosovo
Group C: Lithuania vs Italy, Northern Ireland vs Bulgaria
Group D: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs France, Ukraine vs Kazakhstan
Group F: Austria vs Denmark, Moldova vs Israel, Scotland vs Faroe Islands
Group I: Andorra vs Hungary, England vs Poland, San Marino vs Albania
Group J: Armenia vs Romania (18:00), Germany vs North Macedonia, Liechtenstein vs Iceland

 

[GledTheRed]

Let the injuries commence.

 

[Samid]

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[Annihilate Now!]

Let the injuries commence.

I think there will be more mystery injuries/niggles that force people to withdraw from squads then ever before.

 

[Samid]

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[Nickosaur]

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Nice to see Robert Sanchez (Brighton gk) in there! Replaces Kepa? Well deserved.

 

[Blackwidow]

The discussion in Germany is more about necessary quarantines that players would have to make if the would play some of the matches. Right now that includes all Austrian players that play in Germany for the match against the Scots and e.g. Lewandowski for Poland's match in England. Quarantine right now is 14 days without exceptions.

 

[Crustanoid]

How many of our players can potentially get injured/COVID?

 

[Samid]

The discussion in Germany is more about necessary quarantines that players would have to make if the would play some of the matches. Right now that includes all Austrian players that play in Germany for the match against the Scots and e.g. Lewandowski for Poland's match in England. Quarantine right now is 14 days without exceptions.

Haaland can't stat pad vs Gibraltar because of you buggers.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Che Adams is supposedly going to get called up to the Scotland squad for the upcoming qualifiers.

If that means no more McBurnie I'm all in on that!

 

[Devil77]

Comeback for Zlatan Ibrahimovic’ in the Swedish NT. 39 years old.

 

[Samid]

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Zlatan isn't back. Back is Zlatan.

 

[SwedishFish]

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Zlatan isn't back. Back is Zlatan.

 

[lefty_jakobz]

Che Adams is supposedly going to get called up to the Scotland squad for the upcoming qualifiers.

If that means no more McBurnie I'm all in on that!

Unfortunately McBurnie still got a place in the squad (1 goal in 21) he must have sordid secrets on SC to be included.

Surprised theres no space for Turnbull, Billy Gilmour or Nathan Patterson in the squad.

 

[SilentWitness]

Che Adams is supposedly going to get called up to the Scotland squad for the upcoming qualifiers.

If that means no more McBurnie I'm all in on that!

Adams is a good coup for us. He is obviously a level below the top English strikers which is why he has chose us (As he was never going to get a game for them with all the talent at their disposal) but if we can get him and Dykes to form a good partnership then that’s promising.

 

[Still ill]

Adams is a good coup for us. He is obviously a level below the top English strikers which is why he has chose us (As he was never going to get a game for them with all the talent at their disposal) but if we can get him and Dykes to form a good partnership then that’s promising.

Could be massive for you. I really like him. That's the sort of find that we Irish would kill for at the moment.

 

[KranjskaKlobasa]

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Even I barely recognize Slovenian squad for those three matches. My prediction L-L-D.

 

[SwedishFish]

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Even I barely recognize Slovenian squad for those three matches. My prediction L-L-D.

The big star Hamsik got hit with an injury and is supposedly out for at least a month. Will need to get back on track quickly before the Euros this summer.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Unfortunately McBurnie still got a place in the squad (1 goal in 21) he must have sordid secrets on SC to be included.

Surprised theres no space for Turnbull, Billy Gilmour or Nathan Patterson in the squad.

I was hoping Gilmour would feature but not to be. Turnbull was another. Can only assume he thinks it is still too early for them, not that I agree.

Adams is a good coup for us. He is obviously a level below the top English strikers which is why he has chose us (As he was never going to get a game for them with all the talent at their disposal) but if we can get him and Dykes to form a good partnership then that’s promising.

Absolutely, was happy with that news before the squad was announced. Yeah, that could be a cracking partnership and just give us something else up front that we have been lacking.

 

[MrBrightside1989]

I was hoping Gilmour would feature but not to be. Turnbull was another. Can only assume he thinks it is still too early for them, not that I agree.



Absolutely, was happy with that news before the squad was announced. Yeah, that could be a cracking partnership and just give us something else up front that we have been lacking.

Dykes has struggled recently and like McBurnie hasn't scored many goals. I wonder if Adams and Fraser may be a good partnership? Perhaps with Christie/Armstrong supporting.

 

[SilentWitness]

Dykes has struggled recently and like McBurnie hasn't scored many goals. I wonder if Adams and Fraser may be a good partnership? Perhaps with Christie/Armstrong supporting.

I feel like Dykes/McBurnie would be a better fit than Fraser in the "Danny Ings" role like at Southampton. They won't score as much but they'll put in the shift to ruffle the backline and give Adams the space to operate.

 

[Vault Dweller]

I feel like Dykes/McBurnie would be a better fit than Fraser in the "Danny Ings" role like at Southampton. They won't score as much but they'll put in the shift to ruffle the backline and give Adams the space to operate.

I agree. Dykes has struggled recently but looked very good for us despite being isolated. I wonder if having Adams up front with him will allow each player to have more space, Dykes to put himself about and look for the ball and Adams to use his pace and feed off what Dykes can bring.

 

[SCP]

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[Blackwidow]

Comeback for Zlatan Ibrahimovic’ in the Swedish NT. 39 years old.

Meanwhile in Germany 31-year-old Thomas Müller does not get a game despite having been by far the best German offensive player in the recent 2 years...

 

[SilentWitness]

Pickford out of these games, could be a great chance for Pope or Henderson to cement a Euro spot.

 

[lefty_jakobz]

I was hoping Gilmour would feature but not to be. Turnbull was another. Can only assume he thinks it is still too early for them, not that I agree.



Absolutely, was happy with that news before the squad was announced. Yeah, that could be a cracking partnership and just give us something else up front that we have been lacking.

Looks like hes picking the players that got us through to the Euros, which is fair enough, however theres players in this squad who are off form and some who have hardly played. Should be picking players in form instead of being loyal to certain players.

I thought Turnbull would be a shoe in. Playing well in poor Celtic team, young Patterson has solid in the few games hes played with Rangers and wee Billy Gilmour is the kind of player you look to build our whole team around. Why he hasnt included any is a surprise.

McBurnie has done nothing anytime ive seen him play for Scotland yet he still gets picked.

Ryan Gauld is another who should have been included as he gives us something totally different from any other player.

Hopefully he has picked his squad rightly and we actually go out to win these games rather than not lose as had been the case with the last round of games.

We’ve got quite a decent pool to pick from now, we could be quite an open attacking team if only he’d trust some of the younger players.

 

[Teja]

Damn they are playing 3 games in 6 days. Hope Bruno and Rashford get rotated a bit. England definitely have the depth to do it, not sure about Portugal.

 

[P-Nut]

Portugal should definitely be contenders at the tournament. Seem to have sprung a really good squad together out of nowhere

 

[Samid]

Portugal should definitely be contenders at the tournament. Seem to have sprung a really good squad together out of nowhere

Out of nowhere? They're defending champs!

 

[hasanejaz88]

Portugal should definitely be contenders at the tournament. Seem to have sprung a really good squad together out of nowhere

So many of their players in their best form. Bruno, Ruben, Cancelo, Guerriro, Andre Silva, Bernardo Silva and Diego Jota. That doesn't include Ronaldo who is still doing well this season.

 

[P-Nut]

Out of nowhere? They're defending champs!

Yeah, but last time felt more like a fluke than anything, whereas now I'd say they've got an actual squad that are all performing well at their clubs.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Damn they are playing 3 games in 6 days. Hope Bruno and Rashford get rotated a bit. England definitely have the depth to do it, not sure about Portugal.

England have loads of injuries. People are talking about Lingard getting called up!!!

 

[slored1]

The big star Hamsik got hit with an injury and is supposedly out for at least a month. Will need to get back on track quickly before the Euros this summer.

Hamsik is Slovakian . I know our countries sound similar, but the players are quite different.

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Even I barely recognize Slovenian squad for those three matches. My prediction L-L-D.

Yeah, we're going to be terrible. Jokic is back for whatever reason and our attackers are getting worse every month it seems. Also probably the best player in the domestic league is called up for under 21's, so there's no real gain from this international break.

 

[Peyroteo]

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We should go all out, play Palhinha in front of Dias and Pepe and then put Bruno, Bernardo, Felix, Jota and Ronaldo all on the pitch together with Guerreiro and Cancelo as fullbacks.

Instead it will be probably a Danilo-Moutinho-Bruno midfield or something alng those lines and any team with an above average midfield will control the game.

 

[Gandalf Greyhame]

That Portugal squad looks so good.

-----------------Patricio--------------------
Cancelo--Pepe---Dias--Guerreiro
-----------Neves----Moutinho---------
---Jota---------Bruno----------Felix---
--------------------CR7----------------------

Neto is better for balance on the left, but Felix and Bruno are too good to be left out, so one of them will be out wide. I'm guessing it will be Felix. Or Maybe they play a diamond.

I couldn't find a place for Bernardo Silva/Neto/Andre Silva.
I guess 'injuries' will determine who misses out.

 

[SwedishFish]

Hamsik is Slovakian . I know our countries sound similar, but the players are quite different.


Yeah, we're going to be terrible. Jokic is back for whatever reason and our attackers are getting worse every month it seems. Also probably the best player in the domestic league is called up for under 21's, so there's no real gain from this international break.

My bad, I hadn't had enough coffee today.

 

[SCP]

We should go all out, play Palhinha in front of Dias and Pepe and then put Bruno, Bernardo, Felix, Jota and Ronaldo all on the pitch together with Guerreiro and Cancelo as fullbacks.

Instead it will be probably a Danilo-Moutinho-Bruno midfield or something alng those lines and any team with an above average midfield will control the game.

This time I only disagreed with 2 of his choices. Sanches and Rafa, the 11 I don't know, but I suppose being 3 consecutive games there will be rotations.

Anyway what I like most on him is that unlike moronic Rui Jorge he actually leaves players out of his choices when they don't play (William) or when they aren't performing well (Guedes or Semedo).

That's why I don't understand Sanches or Rafa, even if 2 out of 25 is almost perfect, while Rui Jorge is leaving players like Inácio, Vinagre, Mangas, who are playing constantly, out of the under 21's.

Even Fábio Silva not playing much for Wolves should be there, but I don't like Rui Jorge. Of course I only praise Santos when he makes the final lists and when he speaks on the press conferences, because during the 90 minutes...

 

[Peyroteo]

This time I only disagreed with 2 of his choices. Sanches and Rafa, the 11 I don't know, but I suppose being 3 consecutive games there will be rotations.

Anyway what I like most on him is that unlike moronic Rui Jorge he actually leaves players out of his choices when they don't play (William) or when they aren't performing well (Guedes or Semedo).

That's why I don't understand Sanches or Rafa, even if 2 out of 25 is almost perfect, while Rui Jorge is leaving players like Inácio, Vinagre, Mangas, who are playing constantly, out of the under 21's.

Even Fábio Silva not playing much for Wolves should be there, but I don't like Rui Jorge.

Inácio not being called to the U21 is bonkers, he honestly should even be considered for the main team in the near future if he keeps playing like this.

Sanches I understand because he's a pretty unique player in the squad. Rafa should have been replaced by someone else but the likes of Guedes haven't been doing that well either so it's ok, it doesn't really make much diffeence either way.

Hope both Palhinha and Nuno Mendes get a chance to prove themselves before the Euros, I can see Palhinha earning the starting spot right away as he's the kind of player Santos will love.

 

[giorno]

I see Zlatan decided to call himself back for Sweden

 

[SCP]

Inácio not being called to the U21 is bonkers, he honestly should even be considered for the main team in the near future if he keeps playing like this.

Sanches I understand because he's a pretty unique player in the squad. Rafa should have been replaced by someone else but the likes of Guedes haven't been doing that well either so it's ok, it doesn't really make much diffeence either way.

Hope both Palhinha and Nuno Mendes get a chance to prove themselves before the Euros, I can see Palhinha earning the starting spot right away as he's the kind of player Santos will love.

Rui Jorge is an idiot, last time he called Pote to the under 21”s he saw the 3 games from the bench already being the best scorer in the League. Instead we have to see Gedson or Jota. I doubt we will qualify from the group stage.

Regarding the main team the only game I really fear is at Serbia, while I am not a Santos lover I know with him there’s no fecking around, even Bruno Fernandes received a indirect public warning for the firs half he had in Croatia, the last game we played there. With him you can have a crap performance here or there but at worse we will lose 1 or draw 2 but we will qualify.