It's a bit more complicated due to there being host nations. But they could get France and Portugal indeed. The fourth team is supposed to come out of Play-Off League C (because Scotland is in there). Unless Hungary make it out of there, then it gets switched.
Internationals November (Euro Qualifiers + Friendlies)
- Thread starter Samid
- Start date
Yeah, for the Netherlands I think this tournament comes too early. There's a ton of talent coming through though, it'll only get better in the tournaments after.
State of the group stage now:
Group A: Italy
Group B: Belgium, Russia, Denmark
Group C: Ukraine, Netherlands
Group D: England
Group E: Spain
Group F: Germany
Group A: Italy
Group B: Belgium, Russia, Denmark
Group C: Ukraine, Netherlands
Group D: England
Group E: Spain
Group F: Germany
One thing i can't quite figure out is why don't Bulgaria go right into League C playoff and have Israel / hungry / Romania go into League A playoffs.
Does it have to do with hungry and Romania being host nations?
I feel bad for Bulgaria if they have to play Iceland and not Scotland.
Does it have to do with hungry and Romania being host nations?
I feel bad for Bulgaria if they have to play Iceland and not Scotland.
Yeah, Frenkie is really important. But he's going to be extraordinary I think, and he still has at least 10 years in him. I don't mind relying a bit on him. But 17 year old Ihattaren will play a big role in midfield too in the future, he would have been called up and played probably for the first time today, but his father passed recently so he skipped this period. He's perhaps the biggest Dutch talent at that age. There really is a lot of talent coming up again suddenly. For now my main concerns would the right and left back, but there's some talents coming through there too in the next years. But yeah, this summer's tournament comes a bit early, Netherlands is going to be much stronger the tournaments after that.
One thing about international football right now is that I don't see any outstanding teams. France have gone off the boil since the World Cup, Spain have a weakness upfront, England haven't performed well against big teams, Holland have been meh as well considering Germany beat them away and then they couldn't beat N.I as well.
It's not as clear as in the early 2010's when you had Spain and Germany as the best teams in the world and consistently doing well.
Belgium look like the strongest contender, but they have shown to fail at the biggest stage in the previous two competitions. Italy may spring a surprise because people won't expect them to go far but they have done well in qualifying.
France will probably be up for it at the tournament again though. But even during the World Cup I didn't think they played great as a team, they just had and still have so much individual quality.
I think many sides look pretty good though. Germany, Spain and Italy have declined, but start to improve since the last world cup. France will do well in the knockout games again. England look very strong. Netherlands on the up again too and Belgium is still strong. Portugal and Croatia has declined, but are still decent. Plenty of teams can win it and I would not rule out any outsiders either.
Such a joke of a competition now. Give the biggest team the advantage of playing their games at home. Give them the advantage of seeding. One group is played in London and Glasgow, the other in Copenhagen and Moscow. It's a massive pisstake.
Really? Northern Ireland, Estonia and Belarus are minnows, beating them says nothing, even if it's 6-1 or 8-0 and do not forget the shit show in NIR. Both games against the Dutch (how good are they even? Babel?) were anything but convincing either. (Central) Defense has been an utter mess, even before Süle got injured. That alone will probably rule out a good tournament.
Werner and Reus haven't really been utilized well (though to be fair Reus has been hit and miss at club level this season), Sane is injured, Gnabry is the only one attacker with a positive development.
Yeah, he's only 18. Him and Stengs are both AZ players. Both also had a freak injury that left em out for a year. He's normally a striker not a leftwinger, but he was quite good yesterday. Stengs seemed too nervous and didnt have the confidence to really try anything.
Most yeah. I'd be surprised if there wasn't some trouble to be honest.
Job done..... awesome performance, proud of the boys. Played Hungary off the park,still attacking at 2-0 up! A real shift. Great experience now for the kids and lower league players!
See you there.
I think we can be positive about our chances if we get Sane and the CBs back from injury and in good shape in time for the tournament. Something like this would have a decent shot at winning:
Sane - Werner/Reus - Gnabry
Kroos - Goretzka/Havertz
Gündogan
Halstenberg - Rüdiger - Süle - Kimmich
Neuer
Löw probably won't put Kimmich at RB and the defence is a significant downgrade on peak Hummels+Boateng, but none of the other teams look that great and they would at least be competitive.Kroos - Goretzka/Havertz
Gündogan
Halstenberg - Rüdiger - Süle - Kimmich
Neuer
I'm no expert on these things, but given that it's his second torn ACL in that knee Süle will probably be happy if he doesn't go the Badstuber way, let alone be in top shape 8 months later.
Löw seems to have settled on a 343, so seeing a possession oriented 433 would be a bit of a surprise and the lineup you posted reminds me of the imbalanced mess of the 2018 WC.
We still have no real holding midfielder nor striker, at this point it's more of a collection of (sort of) big names, than a cohesive team.
I expect something like this:
Neuer - Ginter, Tah, Rüdiger - Klostermann, Kroos, Kimmich, Halstenberg - Gnabry, Werner/Reus, Sane
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Still Neuer in goal?!
Guy was world class.....in 2017. I think if he's still selected as number one for euros that will hurt the team as Ter Stagen is simply a better keeper nowadays and has had to wait long enough to play in a major tournament.
I think outside of Bavaria the public is strongly on MAtS's side, but Neuer is still at least a very good keeper and probably an integral part of the team hierarchy. Picking him as number one won't be the reason why things don't work out. It creates a lot of controversy, but given the state of our central defense I think keeping an in-form Hummels banished so he can pick Can at CB has a far greater impact on the team's fortunes.Still Neuer in goal?!
Guy was world class.....in 2017. I think if he's still selected as number one for euros that will hurt the team as Ter Stagen is simply a better keeper nowadays and has had to wait long enough to play in a major tournament.
Either Hummels was really toxic to the inner climate of the team (wouldn't rule that out to be fair) or Löw must be a stubborn idiot.
Been a positive international break overall.
No injuries, Rashford is on fire, James must be flying with confidence after qualifying.
No injuries, Rashford is on fire, James must be flying with confidence after qualifying.
I'm positive. We've got a really strong midfield with Kroos, Gündogan, Kimmich, Brandt, Havertz, Goretzka and Can and an attackimg line up featuring Sane, Gnabry and Werner can hurt every team in the world. Also, we've got the two best keepers in the world, arguably.
I agree that our defense is weak, though. Löe should get his shit together and nominate Hummels. Süle is injured, Tah very talented but also extremely nervous in internatiomal matches, Rüdiger solid but nothing more.
I agree that our defense is weak, though. Löe should get his shit together and nominate Hummels. Süle is injured, Tah very talented but also extremely nervous in internatiomal matches, Rüdiger solid but nothing more.
Hopefully England get Wales in the group as it is a guaranteed 3 points for England even if we are shit like last Euros.
Ah shit, at least we won`t get Iceland.
England could get France, Portugal and Scotland. The world champions, the European and Nations League champions and a geographical rival that will see it as their biggest game in possibly 20 years and it will be in their back yard.
Could be fun.
Could be fun.
We get Ukraine from pot 1 and probably Romania from pot 3. So we're basically through to the ko stages.
This Euro sucks. One group is basically already done.
Hopefully, it's the first and last time we have a cup, World or Euro, in this format.
Hopefully, it's the first and last time we have a cup, World or Euro, in this format.
I dont mind it. At least I can go to a few matches without having to travel an inconveniently far distance.
Can't remember ever witnessing a weird draw like this. It's a bit ridiculous.
The political stuff doesn't help either. Like Ukraine not being able to be drawn against Russia in the GS which affects group B and C.
I'd take a 5-0 loss against you if it means progressing further than you again!
Me too, I live in Wales and would have a lot of fun with that scoreline.
So after yesterday's draw, these are the definite Play-offs:
Path A: Bulgaria vs Hungary - Iceland vs Romania
Path B: Bosnia vs NIR - Slovakia vs Ireland
Path C: Norway vs Serbia - Scotland vs Israel
Path D: Georgia vs Belarus - North Macedonia vs Kosovo
Winner of Path C will go in England's Group, winner of Path B will go in Spain's group, the 2 other paths in either Germany or Holland's group.
This means Wales and Finland will be in either Italy's or Belgium's group. So:
Group A: Italy, Finland/Wales
Group B: Belgium, Russia, Denmark, Finland/Wales
Group C: Ukraine, Netherlands, Path A/D
Group D: England, Path C
Group E: Spain, Path B
Group F: Germany, Path A/D
Denmark has been drawn as the team to play all games at home, so Denmark vs Russia will be in Copenhagen and Belgium vs Wales/Finland in St Petersburg. So group B is almost completely done before the draw even takes place. At least Belgium-Denmark is a less familiar match-up. If i'm not mistaken there hasn't been a game between those two nations in almost twenty years.
Path A: Bulgaria vs Hungary - Iceland vs Romania
Path B: Bosnia vs NIR - Slovakia vs Ireland
Path C: Norway vs Serbia - Scotland vs Israel
Path D: Georgia vs Belarus - North Macedonia vs Kosovo
Winner of Path C will go in England's Group, winner of Path B will go in Spain's group, the 2 other paths in either Germany or Holland's group.
This means Wales and Finland will be in either Italy's or Belgium's group. So:
Group A: Italy, Finland/Wales
Group B: Belgium, Russia, Denmark, Finland/Wales
Group C: Ukraine, Netherlands, Path A/D
Group D: England, Path C
Group E: Spain, Path B
Group F: Germany, Path A/D
Denmark has been drawn as the team to play all games at home, so Denmark vs Russia will be in Copenhagen and Belgium vs Wales/Finland in St Petersburg. So group B is almost completely done before the draw even takes place. At least Belgium-Denmark is a less familiar match-up. If i'm not mistaken there hasn't been a game between those two nations in almost twenty years.