Official Football Thread
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Dr. Eddies Wingman
Brighter than thousand_suns
Wow. After the 4-1 win against Estonia on Thursday we knew that only an absurd result could see Italy rob us of the spot in the World Cup - we would have to lose 9-0 which was of course not going to happen. Or ...?
Italy did, as one could expect, take the initiative early and the most paranoid Norwegians would maybe get a bit anxious when Italy got the first goal exactly at the 10 minute mark. But after Italy had a couple of chances to make it two, Norway managed to sort of calm things down and drag down the pace of the game for the rest of the 1st half.
Whatever was said in the Norwegian dressing room during the half-time break I don't know. But it must have worked. 45 minutes later, as the match went into injury time, Italian fans were already leaving the San Siro in the thousands with the score at 1-3. And the last thing to happen before the ref's final whistle was Wolves striker Jørgen Strand Larsen rubbing extra salt in the wound, putting our fourth.
Even though we did go undefeated in the qualifying for the 1998 World Cup, it was nothing like this. Eight straight wins, a goal difference of 37-5 and beating Italy handsomely - twice!
I had almost given up on seeing Norway qualify for a World Cup again, after all those failures. When it starts next year, it will be 28 years since we last took part in it.
Italy did, as one could expect, take the initiative early and the most paranoid Norwegians would maybe get a bit anxious when Italy got the first goal exactly at the 10 minute mark. But after Italy had a couple of chances to make it two, Norway managed to sort of calm things down and drag down the pace of the game for the rest of the 1st half.
Whatever was said in the Norwegian dressing room during the half-time break I don't know. But it must have worked. 45 minutes later, as the match went into injury time, Italian fans were already leaving the San Siro in the thousands with the score at 1-3. And the last thing to happen before the ref's final whistle was Wolves striker Jørgen Strand Larsen rubbing extra salt in the wound, putting our fourth.
Even though we did go undefeated in the qualifying for the 1998 World Cup, it was nothing like this. Eight straight wins, a goal difference of 37-5 and beating Italy handsomely - twice!
I had almost given up on seeing Norway qualify for a World Cup again, after all those failures. When it starts next year, it will be 28 years since we last took part in it.
MindRuler
Ancient Mariner
Norway deserves to go very far.
Funny you mention Belgium...the current team is only a pale shadow from what it was years ago.
How is it possible not winning against Kazachstan?
srfc
Ancient Mariner
Watched that Italy - Norway game, impressed by Norway, Nusa was great, I never heard of him. Also impressed by Haaland's attitude, was on a hatrick and subbed off, when 1 more goal would have given him the all time top scorer in qualification's record, but he was still down celebrating as much as anyone else when the guy who game on for him scored the 4th.
Great weekend for Ireland too, I had thrown in the towel on qualifying long ago and to finish the campaign with two wins against teams that are better than us was the stuff of fantasy.
Great weekend for Ireland too, I had thrown in the towel on qualifying long ago and to finish the campaign with two wins against teams that are better than us was the stuff of fantasy.
Dr. Eddies Wingman
Brighter than thousand_suns
Decided to watch Scotland vs Denmark and did not regret it. What a game! All the way from McTominay's brilliant 1-0 a few minutes in, to the full drama of the last 15 minutes.
Now let's see the mysterious ways of the UEFA play-offs, where Sweden will have a chance to qualify despite winning zero games in the qualifier group ...
Now let's see the mysterious ways of the UEFA play-offs, where Sweden will have a chance to qualify despite winning zero games in the qualifier group ...
Spaldy
Ancient Mariner
Mon' Scotland!
www.bbc.com
Scotland vs Denmark LIVE: UEFA World Cup Qualifiers - watch, listen, team news, updates, report, reaction, stats & head-to-head
Scotland will go to the men's World Cup for the first time in 28 years after two stoppage-time goals on an astonishing night of drama sinks Denmark.
www.bbc.com
Dr. Eddies Wingman
Brighter than thousand_suns
So, today is the draw of the 2026 World Cup. And the announcement of the very first Fifa peace prize ...
Wonder who the nominees are.
As for the draw itself, I expect a long-winded and not very easy-to-follow procedure, considering all the different constraints to the draw:
- Top four FIFA ranking teams to be in different "quarters" of the draw, basically confining each team to one of three groups
- No more than two UEFA teams in any group
- No other associations will have more than one team in any group
This means once we get to pot 3, there will be many restrictions to which teams can be drawn in each group. Wonder if they will be able to present that in a tidy way so that we the viewers can see what they are up to.
Wonder who the nominees are.
As for the draw itself, I expect a long-winded and not very easy-to-follow procedure, considering all the different constraints to the draw:
- Top four FIFA ranking teams to be in different "quarters" of the draw, basically confining each team to one of three groups
- No more than two UEFA teams in any group
- No other associations will have more than one team in any group
This means once we get to pot 3, there will be many restrictions to which teams can be drawn in each group. Wonder if they will be able to present that in a tidy way so that we the viewers can see what they are up to.
Ironalice
Ancient Mariner
Looks like it was an award set up for Trump to win lol
Dr. Eddies Wingman
Brighter than thousand_suns
No shit, Sherlock
Black Bart
Ancient Mariner
For the third time in a row, no Italy at the World Cup.
Onhell
Infinite Dreamer
I'm legitimately shocked. That and Brazil's descent into midiocrity in recent showings as well.
Tom Frezzo
Prowler
They were happy to have Bosnia in the final round but it turned out that even Bosnia was an insurmountable obstacle.
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Dr. Eddies Wingman
Brighter than thousand_suns
I dislike this as it diminishes our achievement of smashing them at the San Siro
Meanwhile, Sweden qualify after having a stinker of a qualification campaign, getting a second chance, and making the most of it. I guess someone are loving the Nations League more than others ... (To be honest, I think this was more or less the point of the UEFA Nations League. Replace the friendly matches with matches that actually might count)
Meanwhile, Sweden qualify after having a stinker of a qualification campaign, getting a second chance, and making the most of it. I guess someone are loving the Nations League more than others ... (To be honest, I think this was more or less the point of the UEFA Nations League. Replace the friendly matches with matches that actually might count)
I am still under the impression. I haven't slept more than 3 hours since that night. We fuckin' deserved it
Onhell
Infinite Dreamer
So the World Cup is set to start on Jun 11th and I for one am NOT looking forward to it. Not only because Mexico is always a massive disappointment, but now as a "host" I am not looking forward the wave of tourists, traffic, price gauging, etc. I'm glad I will be on vacation from work, but it's going to suck for the people with regular lives.
Also, not happy at all with how the games were split. I mean, it's nice we get to kick off the tournament in Mexico City against South Africa (just like we did in South Africa 2010, but outside of that we have zero important games. Was it too hard to give Canada and Mexico a Semi-final each and the Final in the U.S? Ugh.
Also, the event hasn't even started and it is already a disaster. NO ONE wants to go, Hotels in the U.S have stated they've seen zero windfall from the event and are 80% BELOW expected reservations. Prices to the games are now UNDER 100 dollars, because no one is buying tickets. I wonder if Canada and Mexico are going to see a higher number of people who rather see the games in a host country, but in a bar at a Mexican Beach or Toronto rather than in person in the U.S. Either way, should be entertaining.
Also, not happy at all with how the games were split. I mean, it's nice we get to kick off the tournament in Mexico City against South Africa (just like we did in South Africa 2010, but outside of that we have zero important games. Was it too hard to give Canada and Mexico a Semi-final each and the Final in the U.S? Ugh.
Also, the event hasn't even started and it is already a disaster. NO ONE wants to go, Hotels in the U.S have stated they've seen zero windfall from the event and are 80% BELOW expected reservations. Prices to the games are now UNDER 100 dollars, because no one is buying tickets. I wonder if Canada and Mexico are going to see a higher number of people who rather see the games in a host country, but in a bar at a Mexican Beach or Toronto rather than in person in the U.S. Either way, should be entertaining.
Spaldy
Ancient Mariner
FIFA is a wholly corrupt organisation and the USA in particular have fucked it completely with their obscene price gouging. And that's not even mentioning the fact that no-one wants to set foot there due to Trumps restrictions and the threat of being detained in some immigration camp. And let's get real, Mexico has its own problems with all the cartel violence. Canada is the only real safe country hosting this tournament.
It doesn’t help that most of the games won't be on until after midnight here. But it's Scotland's first WC in 30 years so I will have to make every effort to see it regardless.
It doesn’t help that most of the games won't be on until after midnight here. But it's Scotland's first WC in 30 years so I will have to make every effort to see it regardless.