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Subject: World Cup Qualifying
We had a normal match against Singapore winning 4-0. Maybe we should have scored some more.
Not so good was the 1-1 draw of bosnia against mexico, though it remains possible to get that 3rd spot.
We climbed at the National teams ladder and gained a 41th place at the moment !
Not so good was the 1-1 draw of bosnia against mexico, though it remains possible to get that 3rd spot.
We climbed at the National teams ladder and gained a 41th place at the moment !
3. Canada 6 4 0 2 59-5 12
3. Portugal 6 4 0 2 30-10 12
3. Bulgaria 6 4 0 2 26-10 12
3. Österreich 6 4 0 2 29-16 12
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3. Venezuela 6 4 0 2 13-9 12
3. Cymru 6 4 0 2 18-17 12
3. Australia 6 3 2 1 25-12 11
3. Belarus 6 3 1 2 27-15 10
3. South Africa 6 3 1 2 18-14 10
3. Sverige 6 3 1 2 14-16 10
3. Colombia 6 3 1 2 25-15 10
3. Perú 6 3 1 2 35-8 10
3. Slovenija 6 3 0 3 41-14 9
3. Ireland 6 3 0 3 10-13 9
We still have a chance of playing the WC !!!
next week Polska will play u-20 against our team, so that will be equally matched teams i think.
It will be an exciting match, but if we win it, we may have a nice future !
grtz
3. Portugal 6 4 0 2 30-10 12
3. Bulgaria 6 4 0 2 26-10 12
3. Österreich 6 4 0 2 29-16 12
**************************************
3. Venezuela 6 4 0 2 13-9 12
3. Cymru 6 4 0 2 18-17 12
3. Australia 6 3 2 1 25-12 11
3. Belarus 6 3 1 2 27-15 10
3. South Africa 6 3 1 2 18-14 10
3. Sverige 6 3 1 2 14-16 10
3. Colombia 6 3 1 2 25-15 10
3. Perú 6 3 1 2 35-8 10
3. Slovenija 6 3 0 3 41-14 9
3. Ireland 6 3 0 3 10-13 9
We still have a chance of playing the WC !!!
next week Polska will play u-20 against our team, so that will be equally matched teams i think.
It will be an exciting match, but if we win it, we may have a nice future !
grtz
For fairness of the system I would hope they don't. This isn't friendlies, and every decision impacts teams in one way or another and could potentially stuff other teams up and have you qualify as a result of a team playing a weaker squad.
For fairness, Poland have to throw every match from now on because they threw the one against Ukraine.
The idiots use the excuse that they've qualified already which isn't even true. If they lose all the rest of their matches they will end on 15 points and that doesn't guarantee them a place.
The idiots use the excuse that they've qualified already which isn't even true. If they lose all the rest of their matches they will end on 15 points and that doesn't guarantee them a place.
I'm aware of that, but at the same time Ukraine won't finish in 3rd place, well shouldn't anyway. I agree entirely, should be the same throughout the entire campaign, not just suddenly. Apparently they're going U21 against Bosnia as well, which surely won't make Bosnia happy they're going in U20 with you and U21 for them.
I guess if they did this for the remaining 4 matches and missed out due to it, I wouldn't care as much. Just in a cut-throat qualification season such as this, every little minor thing has consequences. Already, even if Poland qualify, they've probably now pushed themselves to a 2nd seed in the world cup, and feel sorry for whatever 3rd seed draws them as a 2nd seed.
I can't stop them from doing so, I can just see some implications of doing so (just like with the new nt ranking points situation) which has put yourselves into a shocker of a group.
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I guess if they did this for the remaining 4 matches and missed out due to it, I wouldn't care as much. Just in a cut-throat qualification season such as this, every little minor thing has consequences. Already, even if Poland qualify, they've probably now pushed themselves to a 2nd seed in the world cup, and feel sorry for whatever 3rd seed draws them as a 2nd seed.
I can't stop them from doing so, I can just see some implications of doing so (just like with the new nt ranking points situation) which has put yourselves into a shocker of a group.
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Oh, I agree with you 100%. It shouldn't be done at all. If they reverted to their normal team from now on, the damage would be minimised. The finishing positions in the group won't be affected by that one match.
I've taken a look at the group standings. If they lose all their matches from now on and end on 15 points, they will only finish 4th and won't qualify. Even third with 15 points wouldn't be enough (18 looks the likely cut off).
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I've taken a look at the group standings. If they lose all their matches from now on and end on 15 points, they will only finish 4th and won't qualify. Even third with 15 points wouldn't be enough (18 looks the likely cut off).
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From what I've seen 19/20 looks to be the cutoff.
Canada beat Iceland they'll end on 21 points, finish 2nd in group, means Iceland finish 3rd but also on 21 points.
New Zealand/Portugal fighting for 2nd/3rd but as long as they don't cough up more points against weaker sides and only lose to Estonia then they finish on 21 points.
Austria already have 3 points from Romania, only have Romania left out of the top two seeds in their group (they've played Switzerland twice already), so if they only lose against Romania then they finish on 21 points also.
Similarly if we (Australia) only lose to Croatia from here on in, we finish on 20 points. Still we could lose to Uruguay I suppose which is a possibility.
Then there are a few other sides, like Sweden,Colombia sitting pretty for 19 points.
I don't think 18 will make it. Think 19 is the minimum.
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Canada beat Iceland they'll end on 21 points, finish 2nd in group, means Iceland finish 3rd but also on 21 points.
New Zealand/Portugal fighting for 2nd/3rd but as long as they don't cough up more points against weaker sides and only lose to Estonia then they finish on 21 points.
Austria already have 3 points from Romania, only have Romania left out of the top two seeds in their group (they've played Switzerland twice already), so if they only lose against Romania then they finish on 21 points also.
Similarly if we (Australia) only lose to Croatia from here on in, we finish on 20 points. Still we could lose to Uruguay I suppose which is a possibility.
Then there are a few other sides, like Sweden,Colombia sitting pretty for 19 points.
I don't think 18 will make it. Think 19 is the minimum.
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Ah, that's very interesting. I just took the halfway mark and doubled them which would've put a whole bunch of teams tie as the 4th qualifier on 18 points.
So, qualifying about to get underway again tomorrow. Tough first match, and essentially a must-win game against New Zealand.
I have a great familiarity with New Zealand's team, having coached it for 4 (non-consecutive) seasons. The team is renowned for it's strikers. Brent Gilbert is near triple-divine, and would start for many top 10 SK nations. Morcombe isn't far behind, and venerable Hird is still fearsome. They also have a great keeper in Taylor who is capable of stealing a match (though never once did while I was in charge, but see New Zealand's match against Italy in the last round of qualifying to observe Taylor at his best).
Their midfield and defense is ordinary. They lack a killer winger (Irvine looks alot scarier then he is - he may eventually be the wide threat they need. Root and Sansom are solid, but not as intimidating as the NZ strikers. The defense has strong primary skills, but is a little lean in secondary skills. Means they have some good games, and some bad games - can be very inconsistent. Hopeful to catch them on a bad day.
I have no familiarity with the new manager.
There is a line-up in place, but still tinkering with the selection.
I have a great familiarity with New Zealand's team, having coached it for 4 (non-consecutive) seasons. The team is renowned for it's strikers. Brent Gilbert is near triple-divine, and would start for many top 10 SK nations. Morcombe isn't far behind, and venerable Hird is still fearsome. They also have a great keeper in Taylor who is capable of stealing a match (though never once did while I was in charge, but see New Zealand's match against Italy in the last round of qualifying to observe Taylor at his best).
Their midfield and defense is ordinary. They lack a killer winger (Irvine looks alot scarier then he is - he may eventually be the wide threat they need. Root and Sansom are solid, but not as intimidating as the NZ strikers. The defense has strong primary skills, but is a little lean in secondary skills. Means they have some good games, and some bad games - can be very inconsistent. Hopeful to catch them on a bad day.
I have no familiarity with the new manager.
There is a line-up in place, but still tinkering with the selection.
Nice way to start. :) I apologize for not being around at match time - I make a point of doing that. But I'm struggling with a cold, and didn't feel up to getting up early this morning.
The scoreline is flattering. Given the number and quality of chances, it should have been much closer. A draw or NZ win would both have been legitimate from those opportunities. NZ strikers, despite all having fantastic shooting skill, finished poorly.
I didn't think the start boded well. :) Penalties like that one are a bad dice roll - could easily be a harmless chip back to the keeper. And NZ rallied for a spell after that, but Roberts stood tall. Permall and Mabizela (despite his form) were excellent. The injury to NZ's Root was a significant break - Irvine is a hammerhead who lost several matches for me when I was NZ coach.
Tactically it didn't quite go the way I expected. As the underdog I gambled on NZ's tactic. With a new manager I generally assume they will use something they are comfortable with - ie., their club tactic. In this case that would have meant a 532. So instead of running Mabizela down the flank into a defender I was trying to position him in a seam. I was surprised they only used 4 at the back (given Mabizela's stature). His positioning was still effective, but like I said, was intended for 5 at the back. Defensively, I was pleased with the deployment - they got a few through balls, but most of their chances came from broken tackles.
Anyway, a good start. :)
The scoreline is flattering. Given the number and quality of chances, it should have been much closer. A draw or NZ win would both have been legitimate from those opportunities. NZ strikers, despite all having fantastic shooting skill, finished poorly.
I didn't think the start boded well. :) Penalties like that one are a bad dice roll - could easily be a harmless chip back to the keeper. And NZ rallied for a spell after that, but Roberts stood tall. Permall and Mabizela (despite his form) were excellent. The injury to NZ's Root was a significant break - Irvine is a hammerhead who lost several matches for me when I was NZ coach.
Tactically it didn't quite go the way I expected. As the underdog I gambled on NZ's tactic. With a new manager I generally assume they will use something they are comfortable with - ie., their club tactic. In this case that would have meant a 532. So instead of running Mabizela down the flank into a defender I was trying to position him in a seam. I was surprised they only used 4 at the back (given Mabizela's stature). His positioning was still effective, but like I said, was intended for 5 at the back. Defensively, I was pleased with the deployment - they got a few through balls, but most of their chances came from broken tackles.
Anyway, a good start. :)
The other group match was true to form. #1 Brasil defeated #2 USA in a closely fought contest. This is the result South Africa wanted (IMO). A draw between #1 & #2 would have complicated the race for second place - I think we want 1 team to run away with first place.
No action for South Africa this week. But there has been some other action in the group. The New Zealand - Brasil game is worth a watch if you have nothing better to do (spoilers follow).
Taylor (New Zealand's keeper) was the proverbial brick wall in this one. He's certainly capable of that kind of performance, though he never once did that for me while I was in charge. :D New Zealand's tactic looked suspiciously like one I left on the chalk board, but then again 532s often look similar. And it wouldn't be anything to be proud of anyway, as Brasil had a ton of chances, but just couldn't score. The draw is probably a good thing for South Africa. It would have been better (from South Africa's perspective) for USA (the team that dropped points last week) to be shedding points. But at this point it's hard to know if it's Brasil or USA that will be most vulnerable at the end of qualifying.
Taylor (New Zealand's keeper) was the proverbial brick wall in this one. He's certainly capable of that kind of performance, though he never once did that for me while I was in charge. :D New Zealand's tactic looked suspiciously like one I left on the chalk board, but then again 532s often look similar. And it wouldn't be anything to be proud of anyway, as Brasil had a ton of chances, but just couldn't score. The draw is probably a good thing for South Africa. It would have been better (from South Africa's perspective) for USA (the team that dropped points last week) to be shedding points. But at this point it's hard to know if it's Brasil or USA that will be most vulnerable at the end of qualifying.