That is a very tough group.
I was wrong about the first 2 fixtures being a double header but I think Kazakhstan away is manageable post Euro 2012 despite it being potentially dangerous. Agreed that it’s a very tough group indeed.
I don’t think it’s all that bad. Austria appear to be pretty shit and got beaten at home by Belgium in the Euros. Kazahkstan is far away but they don’t appear to be any good at all and the Faroes should be a cinch now Kerr has gone. That leaves a straight fight between us and Sweden for second place. We’ll hardly fear them and please god some new players will have emerged between now and this time next year. In summary: see you on the Copacabana.
The one real downside about this draw is that we are going to have to read enless posts by Rocko where he comes in his pants while waxing lyrically about German football
[font=arial][size=3]Not arsed finding the woeful journalism thread but the Indo’s headline is:[/size][/font]
World Cup 2014: Ireland welcomes Kazakhstan in opening qualifier
:rolleyes:
We have risen 4 places to 21st in the world in the latest rankings issued this morning. Interestingly, we were 33rd in the world when the qualification draw for World Cup 2014 was made last July and were third seeds as a result. We would be comfortable second seeds if it was made today. The draw was made back then because Asian qualifying starts in the summer and they do all continents together in one draw so there’s nothing sinister in it - just that we’ve been unbeaten since then and secured our Euro 2012 spot.
Montenegro have gone the other way - 17th to 51st after losing 5 and drawing one of their last 6 games - and would now be fourth seeds rather than second seeds. Wales can also count themselves a bit unluckly. Back at the start of this thread we were making fun of them for being ranked lower than the Faroes but they finished their group excellently with wins against Montenegro, Bulgaria and Switzerland and also won a recent friendly against Norway. They’d actually be third seeds now instead of 5th or 6th or whatever they were.
I’m tipping Colombia to win the 2014 World Cup and have backed them at 110/1.
You CAN NOT be serious! Have you got a touch of “Pele-itis”?!
Oh I am deadly serious, the players Colombia are producing now are exceptionally talented, in two years time the likes of Luis Muriel, Victor Ibarbo and James Rodriguez (amongst others) should have brought their games on to another level - coupled with the talents of Freddy Guarin, Pablo Armero and Juan Zuniga - then you have an unheralded gem like Dorlan Pabon who is going to make a big impression on Serie A this season. Not forgetting their main man Falcao either.
We are away to you next Totts, in September, in a game you must win to stay in touch.
Not sure if I will make the trip yet.
Soy celeste, soy celeste. Celeste soy yo!
I have massive respect for Uruguay and its strong links with Italy. Qualifying will be Colombia’s most difficult task, once they have qualified then winning it will be a mere formality.
i backed my beloved Colombia at 110/1 a few weeks back-good to see totti thinking along those lines too
If it happens it’d be fantastic to see a completely new different name on the trophy, it’s hard to see past the Usual Suspects though.
Get this on now lads, I fully expect their odds to have at least halved by the time WC 2014 commences, a lot of the Colombian players are going to become massive names in the big European leagues in the next couple of seasons. Was reading a piece about a young defender they have coming through at the minute who has been labelled the next Thiago Silva, his name is Pedro Franco.
Ireland will have home friendlies against Greece in November and Poland next February
I’ve decided that I’d really like to see the Serbs qualify for the next World Cup. I have a great admiration for the Balkan countries and their feisty overt nationalism. In addition to that they seem to have very good defensive options and some exciting young players coming through and are generally very aggressive and spiky in their demeanour on the pitch which leads to a lot of needle in matches which I think is great.
Up to 9th in the World in the lastest rankings
Well deserved.
I hope people heeded me when they had the chance. Colombia are now best priced at 50/1 and they will be the next World Champions.
Ireland are ranked 42nd in the latest FIFA rankings. Trap will be pleased that we are holding our own with the likes of Gabon and Bolivia but will have been pleased to see that the earthquake hasn’t prevented Haiti from streaking past us into 39th