EURO 2016 FRANCE

[John23]

Group D
Germany
Rep of Ireland
Poland
Scotland
Georgia
Gibraltar

[blockhead]

Group D
Germany
Rep of Ireland
Poland
Scotland
Georgia
Gibraltar

Germany, Poland, Scotland---Jackpot for the FAI!!
Gibraltar?

[BlueArmyOriginal]

Group D
Germany
Rep of Ireland
Poland
Scotland
Georgia
Gibraltar

Germany, Poland, Scotland---Jackpot for the FAI!!
Gibraltar?

Didnt think of that. It's the best possible draw that the FAI (or their overdraft) could've asked for!

From a footballing point of view it's a bit of a pr1ck tho. We'll probably get another couple of spankings off the Germans, the game in Lansdowne will basically be a home game for Poland and then we've Germany at home and Poland away for the last 2 matches!

[suisse]

2 qualifying and 1 to the playoffs (unlikely to have a best 3rd placer in that group) so at the very least, Ireland's objective should be finishing no lower than 3rd. You'd think that it should be a straight shoot out with Poland for 2nd but this is not an easy group and Ireland don't win games against sides with a better ranking than them.

I wouldn't be as fearful of Germany this time - I just don't think a MON coached Ireland will ever lose 1-6, especially in Dublin. Salvaging a point off Germany at home could make all the difference as the 3 sides fighting out for 2nd and 3rd (Ireland, Poland and Scotland) will all target home wins against each other. Georgia is key. They're not a bad team at all but you have to avoid dropping points in Tblisi.

O'Neill v Strachan will be fun.

Park the bus in Germany, battle a draw in Dublin and beat Poland and Scotland. Can they do it though?

[simonno6]

Group D
Germany
Rep of Ireland
Poland
Scotland
Georgia
Gibraltar

Germany, Poland, Scotland---Jackpot for the FAI!!
Gibraltar?

Didnt think of that. It's the best possible draw that the FAI (or their overdraft) could've asked for!

From a footballing point of view it's a bit of a pr1ck tho. We'll probably get another couple of spankings off the Germans, the game in Lansdowne will basically be a home game for Poland and then we've Germany at home and Poland away for the last 2 matches!

It's not if we don't qualify!! Tough group

[nelly the elephant]

Poor old Gibraltar...on a real hiding to nothing. Ireland 3-0 up with a Keane hat trick and only 18 minutes gone....

[nelly the elephant]

Great result in Gelsenkirchen if not a great performance. I hope O'Neill isn't going down the same road as Trap with mistrusting our creative players(we only have a few let's face it)
Massive game upcoming in Glasgow next Month.....if we could get a win there........

[Avenger]

Rode their luck but fock it... Great result.

[ichabodscrane]

C'mon Ireland, that goal took my voice.. Get Quinn and Whelan onto the bench and let's trust our footballers, Gibson, Hendrick, Hoolahan etc.. Thought Gibson & Hendrick in particular were different class to Whelan & Quinn. A special mention to Ward, that was his best performance in the green. I could have throttled McGeady on several occasions, he's so frustrating.

You can't play in midfield with two people of similar style and limitations.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Ordinarily I'd agree about the performance but not tonight. We are a truly awful football team, especially without Coleman and McCarthy. When I criticise the way Leinster have played despite picking up wins, it's because I know we're capable of so much more. I really don't think ireland are. There were things I'd have done differently but none that would have led us to have any semblance of control of the football. We were well organised and played well in the last 20 minutes, I think that's about all we could hope for. Delighted for O'Shea, thought he had a superb game. Delighted for them all really, incredible workrate from all involved.

I doubt we'll go to Scotland to win (and I think that's a totally separate argument to how we set up tonight) but if we do then we'll be well on the way to a play off place.

[olaf the fat]

2 qualifying and 1 to the playoffs (unlikely to have a best 3rd placer in that group) so at the very least, Ireland's objective should be finishing no lower than 3rd. You'd think that it should be a straight shoot out with Poland for 2nd but this is not an easy group and Ireland don't win games against sides with a better ranking than them.

I wouldn't be as fearful of Germany this time - I just don't think a MON coached Ireland will ever lose 1-6, especially in Dublin. Salvaging a point off Germany at home could make all the difference as the 3 sides fighting out for 2nd and 3rd (Ireland, Poland and Scotland) will all target home wins against each other. Georgia is key. They're not a bad team at all but you have to avoid dropping points in Tblisi.

O'Neill v Strachan will be fun.

Park the bus in Germany, battle a draw in Dublin and beat Poland and Scotland. Can they do it though?

Suisse, Are you Martin O'Neill?

[IanD]

http://thescore.thejournal.ie/ireland-g ... 2-Oct2014/

IRELAND WILL PLAY their Euro 2016 qualifier against Gibraltar in Portugal, it has been confirmed.
The Boys in Green, who are joint top of Group D with seven points from three games, defeated the minnows 7-0 in Dublin earlier this month and are scheduled to face them away next year on 4 September.
Gibraltar are currently playing home fixtures at the Estadio do Algarve in Faro as work continues on a new 10,000-seater stadium but reports suggested the remaining matches could be moved to London due tax and security issues.
However, the Gibraltar Football Association has released a statement this morning to confirm that they will take place in Portugal.
“Following speculation that matches may be moved to venues in London, the GFA would like to confirm that the European Qualifiers against Germany (13th June 2015), the Republic of Ireland (4th September 2015) and Scotland (11th October 2015) will take place at the Estadio do Algarve in Faro/Loule, Portugal,” it reads.
“The two issues of concern regarding the continued use of the Estadio do Algarve have now been resolved to the GFA’s satisfaction. Concerns over VAT and other tax issues have been resolved following discussions with the Portuguese FA, Portuguese tax authorities and UEFA.
“Concerns over security arrangements have also been resolved after the GFA contracted a new security company to deal with security at the stadium on match-days. The new company performed satisfactorily during the recent match versus Georgia and the feedback received by the GFA from our supporters was very positive in that respect.
Furthermore, the GFA had also received representations from the German, Irish and Scottish FAs on behalf of German, Irish and Scottish fans who had already booked flights and made accommodation arrangements in Portugal. The GFA will now provide those FAs with assurances that the matches will take place in Portugal.
“Given all these considerations, the GFA is content to continue using the Estadio do Algarve as our “home” stadium, until such time as there is a stadium in Gibraltar which meets with UEFA’s approval for the hosting of competitive international matches.”


Should be a big crowd of Irish with the game in Faro on 4th of September would make it great for a holiday. 30,002 capacity and nearly a year to plan ill increase travelling numbers too.

[nelly the elephant]

Er......."and in other news.... Ireland qualifies for major soccer finals tournament!"

[Armchair]

Great achievement in fairness, what we lack in class we give extra in commitment and effort, something a few of our lads could have done with on Sunday

[Ruckedtobits]

Great achievement in fairness, what we lack in class we give extra in commitment and effort, something a few of our lads could have done with on Sunday

+1
Winning at sports can be done with skill or passion or both. If you don't have passion you've got to be incredibly skillful. If you don't have skill you must have passion and perseverance. The vast majority of Irish wins, of any code, have been founded on passion.

Of all the Leinster, Munster and Irish rugby wins in the past dozen or so years, only the Heino victory against Ulster was based on skill more than passion. 2009 Heino v Leicester - passion; 2009 Grand Slam - passion; 2011 Heino v Northampton - passion and skill; 6Ns 2014 & 2015 - passion.

Our rugby ability is hugely degraded when we start to think that we can win with our heads alone, without our hearts.

We need to recover our fear of losing and our passionate desire to win. I had no sense at any stage on Sunday that any Leinster player felt "This is personal, I will not let these guys beat us", until Ringrose arrived on the pitch. For Irish sports teams, winning has got to be more than the day job.

[fourthirtythree]

I thought the biggest difference between the teams last night was discipline. Bosnia lost it from the get go. Bad foul leads to a yellow card which they are incensed about, absolutely hopping mad and lost the plot. They then forgot to defend and got an unfortunate penalty because they let the cross go in. Second goal they were bitching and moaning and complaining after, amazingly, they didn't have the same player who picked up a card in the lead to the first goal sent off after kicking Walters (I think) in the midriff. Forgot to defend. Lost.

Ireland showed commitment and aggression certainly, but disciplined aggression. It was notable that McClean(? late substitution) when he came on late looked like he wasn't quite on the same level as the others and got himself booked straight away and continued fouling. Frankly he could have got himself sent off.

I expect that players will be up for a big match, I doubt Bosnia Herzegovina lacked pashion or heart. They did lack head though. They lost it early and that was that.

EDIT
What has this to do with Leinster? How did Leinster stage the comeback against Northampton? Confidence, determination, belief in the processes that they were engaged in. Ireland had that last night, the coaching staff have the trust of the team and they are willing to do their job within the setup believing it is the best way out.

Leinster don't know what they are doing any more. We have looked rudderless for quite some time so it's not like this wasn't coming. Some of our biggest players look... jaded. We have relied on them to pull games out of the bag in the recent past (there's no "I" in team but there is in "individual brilliance"...) they're not there now.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

A really brilliant effort from all concerned. As I said above, we're a terrible team, but fair play to the coaches for organising them so well and the players for giving everything and implementing the plans in place. They deserve huge credit for continuing to plug away too when it looked like we were out. The first half of the campaign wasn't great but the last few months or so make me think we can do reasonably well at the euros. It'll be difficult to keep the work rate so high in a few games over a short period of time but I can't see a repeat of Euro 2012 anyway. Would be great if we could find a left back between now the summer.

[Dave Cahill]

In the aftermath of Icelands excellent draw with Portugal, find out how they did it in this excellent (longish) piece in The Guardian about the recent development of Icelandic football

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... -lagerback

[VGE]

Irish fans in France

http://www.lemonde.fr/big-browser/artic ... 32693.html


Au revoir.

[Toulon fan]

lol ! Brilliant ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_hTjzsp3qs