Euro Qualifiers

[Hoop Blah]

It's on ESPN tonight.

Ta.

Will be attempting to tune into that one then.

[hiro]

Sorry to interrupt with Non-Euro Qualify.
We, Japan have just beaten full strength Argentine in Saitama, Japan.
Messi, Teves and Mascherano played full time, but never had a clear chance to break the goal.
Japan's Okazaki scored only goal of the game in the run of the play.
Leicester’s latest signing Abe played last 20 minutes.

Argentine beat Spain a month ago, and we have beaten Argentine tonight. So can we claim the best in the world?

[Stuka]

Sorry to interrupt with Non-Euro Qualify.
We, Japan have just beaten full strength Argentine in Saitama, Japan.
Messi, Teves and Mascherano played full time, but never had a clear chance to break the goal.
Japan's Okazaki scored only goal of the game in the run of the play.
Leicester’s latest signing Abe played last 20 minutes.

Argentine beat Spain a month ago, and we have beaten Argentine tonight. So can we claim the best in the world?

Good result but I think Korea DPR is the best team in the world due to inspired guidence from the Dear Leader. Their results may not always reflect their greatness but through great courage and footballing workings of the Juche philsophy, it is only a matter of time before the '1000 Mile Horse' gallops to triumph.

[Starfish]

Crunch games for Ireland this weekend. Home tonight against Russia and away to Slovakia next Tuesday. I predict two draws and I might not be too unhappy about that. Certainly Ireland have not won against a side seeded higher than them in a group stage for a very long time.

[Maguire]

Sorry to interrupt with Non-Euro Qualify.
We, Japan have just beaten full strength Argentine in Saitama, Japan.
Messi, Teves and Mascherano played full time, but never had a clear chance to break the goal.
Japan's Okazaki scored only goal of the game in the run of the play.
Leicester’s latest signing Abe played last 20 minutes.

Argentine beat Spain a month ago, and we have beaten Argentine tonight. So can we claim the best in the world?

Hiro - Japan are the new "unofficial" football world champions:

http://www.ufwc.co.uk/

Going back to the first ever football international, this follows each winner until they lose a game, at which point the title goes to whoever beat them. Spain took the title in the World Cup final from the Netherlands. Argentina took it from Spain and now Japan have taken it from Argentina.

You're playing South Korea next...

[Silver Fox]

Lovely stuff, and not only because of who the top unofficial world champions are

[BR2]

Crunch games for Ireland this weekend. Home tonight against Russia and away to Slovakia next Tuesday. I predict two draws and I might not be too unhappy about that. Certainly Ireland have not won against a side seeded higher than them in a group stage for a very long time.

Please don't let there be a dodgy handball otherwise the paddies will bleating for another 2 years at the very least.

[Starfish]

Crunch games for Ireland this weekend. Home tonight against Russia and away to Slovakia next Tuesday. I predict two draws and I might not be too unhappy about that. Certainly Ireland have not won against a side seeded higher than them in a group stage for a very long time.

Please don't let there be a dodgy handball otherwise the paddies will bleating for another 2 years at the very least.

At the very least. And I'm a Paddy myself.

Anyway, a great start to the evening for Ireland. Having won in Moscow, Slovakia looked like the team to beat but they lost today 3-1 away to Armenia - that makes Ireland's 1-0 victory there look a lot more impressive. Any kind of victory tonight against Russia would put us in a great position (but as I said earlier, I really don't expect that!).

[prostak]

I think Ireland have a decent chance of taking the Russians. If Trap can bear to play with a little optimism, it's probably the best time for a decade to face them.

[leon]

christ, Scotland are bad.

[M-U-R-T-Y]

HRK on for Wales for his second cap, pleased for him.

[PEARCEY]

HRK on for Wales for his second cap, pleased for him.

Yeah but Wales have been shit yet again.

[Y21]

GOAL for Long! Good lad.

[M-U-R-T-Y]

Long scores for ROI, get in!

[RoyalChicagoFC]

Serbia oh dear, 1-3 to Estonia in Group C --one has to imagine that they were kinda counting on three points from that one

LOL w/*no homo* @ the Vukcevic goal celebration in Montenegro 1-0 Switzerland

[roadrunner]

Sorry to interrupt with Non-Euro Qualify.
We, Japan have just beaten full strength Argentine in Saitama, Japan.
Messi, Teves and Mascherano played full time, but never had a clear chance to break the goal.
Japan's Okazaki scored only goal of the game in the run of the play.
Leicester’s latest signing Abe played last 20 minutes.

Argentine beat Spain a month ago, and we have beaten Argentine tonight. So can we claim the best in the world?

Only with eyes wide shut.

[RoyalChicagoFC]

Each of Spain's three goals against Lithuania were headed home from balls sent in from the right (and, I do believe, from open play in each instance)

Viva la revolución!

Serbia oh dear, 1-3 to Estonia in Group C --one has to imagine that they were kinda counting on three points from that one

LOL w/*no homo* @ the Vukcevic goal celebration in Montenegro 1-0 Switzerland

Vucinic FFS --I saw it right the first time; Sky/SportingLife at first reported it wrong and corrected it an hour after the fact; and I posted it here in the meantime

[prostak]

Turkey, as it happened, presented no problem for Germany.

Quite a few strange scores last night - Estonia recorded their best ever result by winning 3-1 in Serbia. Lovely goal by Kink for the equaliser. Reminded me of the first goal I saw Gylfi score for Reading against Burton. In context - this is a nation who regularly play friendlies against Andorra, and don't expect to win by more than a couple. In the tri-nation Baltic Cup, they are largely there for the sake of politeness. Now, thanks to this win and having scared an admittedly godawful Italy side last month, some fans seem to think they've a good chance of qualifying for Poland/Ukraine. It probably won't happen - Mart Poom is still the best Estonian player of all time - but they're in a great position for a team who were quite recently around the Luxembourg/Faroes level.

[LUX]

oi, I resent that#.

Luxembourg beat Switzerland away in the last WC qualifiers. Who then beat Spain out in South Africa. Therefore.............

I saw Lux draw with Belorus last night. In Belorus's last away qualifying game they won in Paris.

#not really, they are indeed limited. No idea how Luxembourg got away with a draw last night. Should have been 5 0 down. But they could have won it right at the end.

ps Hleb played for the Belorussians. A class above all other 21 players, but looked overweight. Hang on, just checked, it may have been his brother .........

[Starfish]

Ireland were given a lesson for most of their game last night. Until Robbie Keane (the cheating pcunt) took a tumble for no reason whatsoever. I have to say I would have been unhappy had Ireland managed a draw after that.