nickjdavis
Head Pro
Germany taking Slovakia apart tonight.
Big Nick has his 4th international goal in his last three matches.
Big Nick has his 4th international goal in his last three matches.
Do you think Karl Heinz is stomping around his house, looking for a cat to kick?
. Big Nick is making him look very silly.
Arthur Wedge
Well-known member
Whilst Rashford is regaining his form and will be going to the World Cup imo Gordon is the player that should be starting on the left hand side
nickjdavis
Head Pro
I really couldn't care less what that pompous oaf is thinking. Slowly looking like "the fools" have got a bit of a bargainDo you think Karl Heinz is stomping around his house, looking for a cat to kick?
Wirtz is having a good game...two assists...both for Sane.
nickjdavis
Head Pro
Brilliant 6th goal for Germany.
BubbaP
Occasional Player of Golf
Reckon Tuchel must be doing something right with all the chat, normally you lot are more like...
irip
Head Pro
I find the qualifying for the next World Cup very confusing and not just for Europe but the whole world.
I understand they want the best teams there but there are so many ways of qualifying it’s mad.
When it used to be a group of 6 and top team qualifying with runners up in play offs it was easy and you knew what was required.
Northern Ireland finished halfway in their group but were guaranteed a play off place before it even started.
I know more teams qualifying for this one makes it harder but I’m sure it shouldn’t be as convoluted as it is.
Is it going to be groups of 3 still at the actual finals?
I understand they want the best teams there but there are so many ways of qualifying it’s mad.
When it used to be a group of 6 and top team qualifying with runners up in play offs it was easy and you knew what was required.
Northern Ireland finished halfway in their group but were guaranteed a play off place before it even started.
I know more teams qualifying for this one makes it harder but I’m sure it shouldn’t be as convoluted as it is.
Is it going to be groups of 3 still at the actual finals?
Arthur Wedge
Well-known member
Think they also use the nations league results to determine who is the playoffs as well
It’s why Sweden despite being bottom of their group get a play off place
At the actual finals it’s still groups of 4 but there are 48 teams this time , 12 groups and then a round of 32 first for KO
World Cup 2026: Is Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso right that qualifying is unfair on Europe?
Was Italy coach Genaro Gattuso making a fair point on places for Europe at the World Cup? Or was it just sour grapes?
www.bbc.co.uk
This is quite an interesting read about it.
irip
Head Pro
It seems weird to me you can get a play off place through the nations league though which is a different competition.
Teams already know they are in the play offs before qualifying has finished, this can’t be right.
The finals having 4 teams per group is the best way in my opinion.
Again though it will be 12 groups so guessing top2 go through and 8 best 3rd place teams?
If that’s the case it’s ridiculous and makes the group stages almost insignificant
Arthur Wedge
Well-known member
I tink they were trying to find a way to make the nations league more meaningful than a glorified friendly but agree it does seem weird and don’t agree with it
Yeah the two top go through and then the 8 best 3rd spots
Going to have to lose all three games to get knocked out looks like
irip
Head Pro
I’m not sure what they are thinking with that.
Teams will win their first game then rest/play other players so you probably will have games where the star players are not playing.
Can see FIFA being really happy if Argentina & Portugal are in the same group and Messi & Ronaldo are on the bench
nickjdavis
Head Pro
They've simply turned the World Cup into a bloated mess under the guise of "inclusivity" and "growing the game".
Arthur Wedge
Well-known member
That’s about it , the more games , the more money that they make
Tashyboy
Please don’t ask to see my tatts 👍
Could the next Afcon comp be a blessing for Liverpool.
www.bbc.co.uk
Reason why I say that. Liverpool only lose one player for the AFCON. That being Mo Salah. So Slot has to make a different team selection for a few games. He has been the centre of much discussion from the Liverpool/ and other fans.
Could be very interesting indeed. If Liverpool flourish, fingers could be pointing Mo’s way, if they don’t flourish. They could be pointing Slots way.
Afcon 2025: Which Premier League teams will lose most players to Afcon?
BBC Sport has a look at which Premier League clubs will be most - and least - affected by the Africa Cup of Nations.
www.bbc.co.uk
Reason why I say that. Liverpool only lose one player for the AFCON. That being Mo Salah. So Slot has to make a different team selection for a few games. He has been the centre of much discussion from the Liverpool/ and other fans.
Could be very interesting indeed. If Liverpool flourish, fingers could be pointing Mo’s way, if they don’t flourish. They could be pointing Slots way.
Swango1980
Well-known member
Losing Amad, and in particular Mbeumo is an absolute killer for us.Could the next Afcon comp be a blessing for Liverpool.
Afcon 2025: Which Premier League teams will lose most players to Afcon?
BBC Sport has a look at which Premier League clubs will be most - and least - affected by the Africa Cup of Nations.
Reason why I say that. Liverpool only lose one player for the AFCON. That being Mo Salah. So Slot has to make a different team selection for a few games. He has been the centre of much discussion from the Liverpool/ and other fans.
Could be very interesting indeed. If Liverpool flourish, fingers could be pointing Mo’s way, if they don’t flourish. They could be pointing Slots way.
Although perhaps it gives Bruno to play in one of the No. 10 roles again, and maybe Mainoo gets a chance to come into the midfield.
I see Sunderland will lose 7 players, Wolves will lose 5. That will hurt.
That's another really interesting piece. Makes Wolves even more vulnerable, Sunderland need as many points as they can get early doors and then just hang on. Both teams knew the score, they have rolled the dice.Could the next Afcon comp be a blessing for Liverpool.
Afcon 2025: Which Premier League teams will lose most players to Afcon?
BBC Sport has a look at which Premier League clubs will be most - and least - affected by the Africa Cup of Nations.
Reason why I say that. Liverpool only lose one player for the AFCON. That being Mo Salah. So Slot has to make a different team selection for a few games. He has been the centre of much discussion from the Liverpool/ and other fans.
Could be very interesting indeed. If Liverpool flourish, fingers could be pointing Mo’s way, if they don’t flourish. They could be pointing Slots way.
Big blow for Utd, Mbuemo is probably their most valuable player. Big blow for Everton in losing Ndiaye. The other teams should not feel too much of an impact I think.
Orikoru
Tour Winner
I think he makes a good point really. Firstly, there are too many teams in it now obviously, as we've all discussed already. But if you are going to add places it should be favouring Europe, where the teams on the whole are better. I've just checked the Asian section, and it appears Uzbekistan and Jordan have qualified. In the North American section - Curacao and Suriname have qualified. New Zealand have qualified by beating such titans as Fiji and New Caledonia. He's quite right to say it looks like 7 out of 10 South American teams will be in, which is ridiculous. Meanwhile solid European teams like Italy, Poland and Turkey are still not guaranteed to be in it.World Cup 2026: Is Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso right that qualifying is unfair on Europe?
Was Italy coach Genaro Gattuso making a fair point on places for Europe at the World Cup? Or was it just sour grapes?
This is quite an interesting read about it.
I'm fairly confident this will be the worst World Cup ever.
Arthur Wedge
Well-known member
The scheduling of this doesn’t help and this time I believe its not down to the climate but down to FIFA and their Club World Cup comp
That comp has cause significant issues for many clubs - it’s also going to have an affect on the CL clubs
Used to be a big issue for us losing 3/4 main players but just Mo this year and hopefully he can get himself some final glory over there , might be perfect for him to grab some form as well
I wonder how many clubs look at this when they are signing African players
Neilds
Assistant Pro
To be fair, England haven't exactly played the against big guns in qualifying
And with Curacao on the verge of getting through (need a point tonight against Jamaica) at least it means Rotherham Utd will have a player there
