VillaChris Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 Big thing for Nigeria was getting in Stephen Keshi as manager but he seems to be continually in dispute with them so wouldn't surprise me if they sacked him after he qualifies them for the world cup and they appoint some 70 year old german as a replacement. Nigeria are nowhere near as strong for me as they were during 94-2002 when the had the likes of JJ Okocha, Finidi George, Kanu, Taribo West and Sunday Oliseh to call upon. I don't think Africa produces that many great players anymore tbh aside from Ghana. That and the shambolic preparation from the FAs mean that's why they never really do much in world cups anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 A lot of African players are choosing to play for the new country rather than the old one. Just look at Belgium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 And poor old Nigeria get English cast offs like Anchiebe and Ameobi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted September 9, 2013 Author Share Posted September 9, 2013 I see Cape Verde have beaten Tunisia 2-0 in their final group game to seal top spot and a place in the play offs - quite an upset given both team's pedigree in WC qualification (having said that, I see CV have a current FIFA ranking of 36 - making them better than Gareth Bale and 10 other players combined!)... They are on the ascent...they made the final of the ACoN, and now on the verge of a WC spot. Good for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 I see Cape Verde have beaten Tunisia 2-0 in their final group game to seal top spot and a place in the play offs - quite an upset given both team's pedigree in WC qualification (having said that, I see CV have a current FIFA ranking of 36 - making them better than Gareth Bale and 10 other players combined!)... They are on the ascent...they made the final of the ACoN, and now on the verge of a WC spot. Good for them. they got to quarter final Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bose Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 Iceland came down from 4-1 to 4-4 away vs Switzerland on friday. Highlight of the game was a fantastic hattrick from AZ Alkmaar's Johann Gudmundsson, all the finishes were genuinely world class. Big game coming up at home tomorrow vs Albania. Here are the goals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted September 9, 2013 Moderator Share Posted September 9, 2013 I said it at the time, Iceland had a cracking U21 side a couple of years ago and I could see them challenging to qualify for senior finals tournaments. Even if they don't end up qualifying, they're now genuinely competitive rather than a whipping boy.They did what England never do. They kept that group of players together and kept them at that age group even though they were all probably better than the seniors. Because experience at competitive tournaments and togetherness was seen to be more beneficial in the long run. It's nothing like the scale of talent Belgium have, but it still qualifies as a golden generation for Iceland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 The population of iceland is about the same as the population of Coventry. It's quite an achievement to be so competitive considering the size of the pool of players available to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 though playing shit recent games nice to see Denmark back in contention in their group with Armenia. huge game tomorrow between the two. Armenia usually crack in the games they have a chance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted September 9, 2013 Moderator Share Posted September 9, 2013 Yeah Armenia really are a funny one. A proper banana skin that loses its slippiness at crucial times. Stop Mkhitaryan and you go a long way towards stopping them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voinjama Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 That Switzerland Iceland, Norway must be the worst European qualifying group of all time. Switzerland must be laughing, especially after the teams they got in 2010. We may have a scenario where Switzerland qualify and a much superior team like Denmark, Bulgaria or Croatia are not there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 Switzerland are better than Bulgaria and on current form probably Denmark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted September 9, 2013 Moderator Share Posted September 9, 2013 You say much superior Voinjama but actually Switzerland, for some inexplicable reason, continue to do well in international tournaments. They punch way above their weight and that 'weak' group is a reflection of their seeding. They are the top seeds and they are currently top. If you keep doing that you'll be OK. Look back at previous qualification campaigns and you'll see the Swiss are always there or thereabouts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 also the last team to beat Spain in a major tournament unless Confederations Cup counts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coda Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 Blatter is Swiss. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voinjama Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 They are not top seeds, they were in the 3rd pot. From the top seed they got Norway, and from the 2nd pot they Slovenia. So basically they got the weakest seeded team, and the weakest 2nd pot team. Exactly the same thing happened in world cup 2010 qualifiers. Switzerland don't do well in international tournaments. Out in the group stage at 04, 08 as hosts and 2010. Bulgaria along with Bosnia are one of the most fast improving teams, and I think that they are both better than Switzerland. Denmark are on a bad run of form but that team is a decent as shown at Euro 2012 with a respectable showing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted September 9, 2013 Moderator Share Posted September 9, 2013 Ah right, soz regarding the seeding. But you seem to have missed the fact that you yourself have just pointed out that they qualified for the finals in 04/08/10 (and probably for 14 too) meaning they got out of their qualification group which is all I was saying all along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 Swiss are their on merit and thats all that matters, also helps they have one of top 5 coaches in Europe in charge Ah right, soz regarding the seeding. But you seem to have missed the fact that you yourself have just pointed out that they qualified for the finals in 04/08/10 meaning they got out of their qualification group which is all I was saying all along. 06 as well. didnt concede a goal in that World Cup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voinjama Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 I know many will disagree with me on this, but I do think it is strange they always get easy qualifying groups. When they qualify for this world cup, it will be the 5th tournament in 6 that they have qualified for and apart from 06 when they had France and 08 as co hosts, they never get tested. As someone else pointed out Sepp is Swiss. If I had to write down the top 13 teams in Europe currently, I would not have Switzerland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG_Villa_Fan Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 (edited) A huge part of the problem is that it is very difficult for a team to jump up from one pot to the above as they keep being drawn against strong opponents. That is unless they have a proper golden generation, like Belgium does right now. I don't think there should be 6 pots for the draw. There should be only two - one for the group leaders and all other teams should be in a single pot. So what if Malta, San Marino and the Faroe get drawn in the same group? Let them earn some points fair and square. Edited September 9, 2013 by BG_Villa_Fan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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