The Socceroos

[sledger]

if england do end up as being world champions then i suppose it is likely that NI will be the last team to have beaten them, but i dont want to say that myself as it will jinx it, out on pens again.... ? oh dear..

 

[twctopcat]

Don't worry baby, everything will be alright...........don't quote me on that.

 

[superkingdave]

if england do end up as being world champions then i suppose it is likely that NI will be the last team to have beaten them, but i dont want to say that myself as it will jinx it, out on pens again.... ? oh dear..

nah we are playing Argentina away later this year

 

[sledger]

oh yeah thats true, i dont expect that will be anything more than something that results in negative outcomes for everyone, esspecially sven probably.

 

[marc71178]

Israel is in Asia tho & they play in the European qualifiers, so it's not without precedent.

They didn't move there solely to get an easier qualification though did they - that was more political.

 

[marc71178]

I am concerned that NZ football is going to die. Especially with Aus moving to Asia.

That gives them a 2 legged game vs the 5th South American side every 4 years then.

I'd laugh if the first time they faced it they won and went to the finals...

 

[marc71178]

I look forward to the chants in belfast this time next year of " we beat the world champions".

You mean like the Welsh fans were chanting "are you watching England" on Saturday?

No doubt we won't respond in kind in Germany...

 

[twctopcat]

You mean like the Welsh fans were chanting "are you watching England" on Saturday?

No doubt we won't respond in kind in Germany...

But they're about as bitter as they come - i had to sit and watch the whole game last night in a bar in wales. The opinions flying round were hilarious and straight out of the daily mail. What really amused me was how they slagged off England (which is what only English should do) rather than talking about their own team and lack of qualification. Tis only to be expected though from them i suppose.

 

[chaminda_00]

Now that is daft. Bahrain v Trinidad and Australia v Uruguay are the two playoffs.

Why not take all four to Munich for a week and have a group structure where the top two make it?

Politics and fixturing around the European seasons. Australia wanted this but no one else did.

 

[marc71178]

Isn't it a World International schedule?

And of course Australia wanted that - makes their job a lot easier!

 

[chaminda_00]

The World International Schedule would have worked for this type of tournment if FIFA didn't want all the teams decided by the end of this year. A tournment like this would have to take part at the end of the European season.

The only reason that Asia and North/Central America didn't want it cus they wanted their job easier by playing each other. They knew that their 4th and 5th sides respectively wouldn't be good enough to beat Australia or a South American side.

 

[Craig]

Now that is daft. Bahrain v Trinidad and Australia v Uruguay are the two playoffs.

Why not take all four to Munich for a week and have a group structure where the top two make it?

And IMO Uzbekistan can quite rightly feel aggrived they are not lining up against Bahrain especially after the fiasco that went on when they first played each other.

 

[Craig]

That gives them a 2 legged game vs the 5th South American side every 4 years then.

I'd laugh if the first time they faced it they won and went to the finals...

Such is the sad plight of football in this part of the world. Opposition that Exeter would run rings around and yet wins are discredited and face a potential trip from to hell in South America (like Colombia) and yet if they want to move to somewhere higher and face a better chance they get shot down.

 

[Craig]

That was because if they played Syria in a must-win qualifier it would probably result in warfare, not because they couldn't qualify.

So what about Kazakhstan then?

They play in Europe yet they border China, Mongolia (?), Uzbekistan, Russia and they are in Central Asia.

 

[marc71178]

The World International Schedule would have worked for this type of tournment if FIFA didn't want all the teams decided by the end of this year. A tournment like this would have to take part at the end of the European season.

Which is then far too late for the World Cup!

 

[marc71178]

Such is the sad plight of football in this part of the world. Opposition that Exeter would run rings around and yet wins are discredited and face a potential trip from to hell in South America (like Colombia) and yet if they want to move to somewhere higher and face a better chance they get shot down.

But they're not Asian.

 

[marc71178]

So what about Kazakhstan then?

They play in Europe yet they border China, Mongolia (?), Uzbekistan, Russia and they are in Central Asia.

They would've applied to join the federation of their choice out of the 2 (since they were initially part of the USSR)

 

[Neil Pickup]

So what about Kazakhstan then?

They play in Europe yet they border China, Mongolia (?), Uzbekistan, Russia and they are in Central Asia.

Their player names end in "-ov" and "-ski". That's European enough isn't it?

 

[Neil Pickup]

And IMO Uzbekistan can quite rightly feel aggrived they are not lining up against Bahrain especially after the fiasco that went on when they first played each other.

Eh? Uzbekistan - Bahrain got replayed completely after that refereeing horror show; and the Uzbeks lost on away goals

 

[Neil Pickup]

The World International Schedule would have worked for this type of tournment if FIFA didn't want all the teams decided by the end of this year. A tournment like this would have to take part at the end of the European season.

The only reason that Asia and North/Central America didn't want it cus they wanted their job easier by playing each other. They knew that their 4th and 5th sides respectively wouldn't be good enough to beat Australia or a South American side.

Why couldn't it have been played in any week? There are enough vacant stadia in Germany in an eight-day period, surely!