209 to One - the Countdown to the 2018 World Cup.

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RegencyCheltenhamSpa
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USA cocked it up big time. Utter debacle.

Interesting that it is the second place team from England’s group who miss out on the play-offs - suggests the group was quite weak with no stand-out second or third place team. Unlike groups which had Itally and Spain together, Switzerland and Portugal, and France/Sweden/Holland, for eg.

Bet we get Panama in the group, so ITV and the Sun think we are nailed on for getting into the next round, only to lose 1-0 to the Canalmen after 80% possession with no shots on target and only two touches in their box. Luckily no one will still be awake to see it.
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Shade
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Guaranteed. I'm also assuming that Northern Ireland and the Republic can draw each other in the play-offs? That could be tasty...
RegencyCheltenhamSpa
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Shade wrote:Guaranteed. I'm also assuming that Northern Ireland and the Republic can draw each other in the play-offs? That could be tasty...
Don’t think they can.

Playoffs are seeded based on FIFA world rankings. Top 4 ranked sides play bottom 4 ranked sides.

Whilst currently N Ireland are currently in the top four, I think the results of the last rounds of games mean that when the rankings are updated on Monday Denmark will overtake Northern Ireland.

So Pot 1 will be: Switzerland, Italy, Croatia and Denmark, and Pot 2 will be: Sweden, N Ireland, Sweden and Ireland.

This is because whilst Northern Ireland lost their last two games, Denmark won one and drew one so will overtake N Ireland in the rankings. Sweden won one (only against Luxembourg) and lost one so I believe Denmark got enough coefficient points to overtake them as well.
RegencyCheltenhamSpa
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Puff piece on the USA failure: https://www.theguardian.com/football/bl ... r-football" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Only a few hundred at the match it says - can anyone confirm?
RegencyCheltenhamSpa
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RegencyCheltenhamSpa wrote:
Shade wrote:Guaranteed. I'm also assuming that Northern Ireland and the Republic can draw each other in the play-offs? That could be tasty...
Don’t think they can.

Playoffs are seeded based on FIFA world rankings. Top 4 ranked sides play bottom 4 ranked sides.

Whilst currently N Ireland are currently in the top four, I think the results of the last rounds of games mean that when the rankings are updated on Monday Denmark will overtake Northern Ireland.

So Pot 1 will be: Switzerland, Italy, Croatia and Denmark, and Pot 2 will be: Sweden, N Ireland, Sweden and Ireland.

This is because whilst Northern Ireland lost their last two games, Denmark won one and drew one so will overtake N Ireland in the rankings. Sweden won one (only against Luxembourg) and lost one so I believe Denmark got enough coefficient points to overtake them as well.
Rankings confirmed today. NI will not be able to draw Ireland, as per above post.

http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/northern-ireland/41633678" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Shade
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NI v Switzerland and ROI v Denmark. Probably the best draws they could get. Probably...
RegencyCheltenhamSpa
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A few more pieces of magic from Eriksen and Delaney will take the Danes through comfortably. Can see it being a repeat of the glorious 4-0 destruction of Poland at Parken last month.
leohoenig
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And so it starts again. 20 teams remain in contention for the last nine places
All to be settled in one week

Europe got us started, with two games last night
Croatia have stamped their credentials with a big 4-1 win at home to Greece: They were always on top during the game

The goalscoring in Zagreb was complete before the controversial incident at Windsor Park, Belfast
Corry Evans was rules to have handled a shot, and leaves Michael O'Neill wishing that Video Replays were available to the referee
Having seen a TV replay, it seems unlikely that the penalty would have been awarded
However, all the reports say that Switzerland were the better team

Sweden play Italy in Solna tonight, while earlier in Polokwane there is the re-scheduled South Africa v Senegal game
South Africa won this game when originally played a year ago, but the result was annulled and ordered to be replayed
South Africa need to win again to stay in the race. A win for Senegal sends them to Russia
Burkina Faso and Cape Verde are also still in contention, and will be watching with interest
leohoenig
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In Polokwane, Senegal won 2-0, goals from Diafra Sakho and an own goal by Thamsanqu Mkhize, which means
24. Senegal are qualified, while
43. South Africa
42. Cape Verde Islands and
41. Burkina Faso
are all eliminated simultaneously

Jakob Johansson's 61st minute goal gives Sweden an advantage over Italy

Honduras and Australia playing as I type, no goals as yet
leohoenig
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The match in Honduras finishd scoreless, as did the second of the intercontinental play-off games, New Zealand 0-0 Peru
Today's games will see the decisions made for the last two African places in the finals, and Denmark will play Ireland in their first leg in Copenhaven
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Shade
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That's New Zealand and Honduras out then...
RegencyCheltenhamSpa
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Syria gave Australia a run for their money in the game down under, so Honduras still got a decent chance I reckon. Agree that NZ fans can make alternate plans for 2018 now.
leohoenig
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Apparently the group C match in Africa finished before the Group A game.
The game in question was Cote d'Ivoire v Morocco, with the visitors requiring a draw to secure qualification, while the home team would have been through with a win

Two first half goals secured the points for Morocco, so we have

25. Morocco going through and
40. Cote d'Ivoire knocked out.

Celebrations were wild enough to mean riot police were called out onto the streets in Brussels. Oddly, the (British) press report on this did not mention celebrations in any Moroccan city!

In Group A, Tunisia needed only a point to qualify, playing against a Libyan team who were bottom of the table
DR Congo had to beat Guinea and hope the Libyans would win, and while Congo achieved all they could (a 3-1 win), Tunisia made it through with a scoreless draw. Reports say that only the Libyan keeper, Nashnoush stood between Tunisia and a fairly easy win

Hence
26. Tunisia are in the finals,
39. DR Congo miss out

The other African results over the last few days were all dead matches, as are the final two games on Tuesday
Attention now switches to Europe, with second legs starting today
leohoenig
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No goals in either European second leg play off tonight.
Very dissapointing for Northern Ireland who find the penalty goal is decisive

Anyway out go

38. Northern Ireland
37. Greece


while the finals will include
27. Switzerland
28. Croatia
RegencyCheltenhamSpa
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If Denmark finish the job it will be red and white overload from Europe.
ctfc-fan
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And Italy are out! This will be only the second time they've missed the competition finals.
RegencyCheltenhamSpa
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A proper tomato pelting job for Italy.

Iceland and Sweden already qualified. Denmark still in with a shout. Has there ever been three Nordic countries in the same World Cup before?

Also, just springing to mind - if New Zealand pull off a miracle and qualify, will Iceland-New Zealand be the furthest geographical distance between two nations in a World Cup?
ctfc-fan
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RegencyCheltenhamSpa wrote:Also, just springing to mind - if New Zealand pull off a miracle and qualify, will Iceland-New Zealand be the furthest geographical distance between two nations in a World Cup?
Probably depends which way around the globe you're measuring.
RegencyCheltenhamSpa
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ctfc-fan wrote:
RegencyCheltenhamSpa wrote:Also, just springing to mind - if New Zealand pull off a miracle and qualify, will Iceland-New Zealand be the furthest geographical distance between two nations in a World Cup?
Probably depends which way around the globe you're measuring.
True! I guess Belgium and the Netherlands would be as far apart as you can get if you go the 'wrong way' round the globe. Ha.
leohoenig
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So, with a continuing run of scoreless draws, we get

29. Sweden heading to Russia

35. Italy staying at home

Three to go!
RegencyCheltenhamSpa
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30. Denmark.
leohoenig
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..but you did not spot that I'd missed out number 36, that should have been Italy

so its actually
35. Ireland knocked out today.
They took the lead through Shane Duffy, but conceded five including a Christian Eriksen hat-trick
leohoenig
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No goals in the first half this morning, but an own goal early in the second set Australia on their way, this was followed by two penalties. Honduras scored a consolation near the end. So 3-1 on aggregate and

31. Australia become the penultimate side to book a place in the finals, while

34. Honduras are added to the list of those who are not there.
RegencyCheltenhamSpa
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So Peru take on NZ tonight (their time) early hours of tomorrow morning (our time) and tomorrow afternoon (NZ time). Depending who wins, either Wednesday 15th or Thursday 16th will be remembered as the day they qualified for the WC.
leohoenig
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And so, after 872 matches (official tally) and 2,454 goals, the qualification process comes to and end.
The final goal of qualification was scored by Christian Ramos from close range in the 65th minute of the game in Lima
It placed his team 2-0 up, both on the day, and on aggregate - meaning that

32. Peru fill the final spot in Russia, (as it happens, the other goalscorer, Jefferson Farfan plays club football in Russia, for Lokomotiv Moscow)

last to be eliminated
33. New Zealand

The game took place on 15 November 2017 - the first game was in Dili, Timor Leste on 12 March 2015
The first (and second) goalscorer was Chiquito do Carmo for Timor Leste.

Although Timor Leste beat Mongolia, the match is relegated to a footnote as part of a scandal that has set back the game in the country. Timor Leste played a number of players who were naturalised, mainly born in Brazil.

No less than seven of the Timorese who played Palestine in October 2015 were not actually local. The Timor-Leaste team led until a late equalising goal. Palestine submitted a complaint that some of them were not eligible.

There was also concern and protests within Timor-Leste about the practise, and from the next series of games, they used only local players, conceding 25 goals in the remaining three qualification games.
So their World Cup record with the Brazilians was Pld 7, W 2 D 2 L 3 F 7 A 12
and without them Pld 3 W 0 D 0 L 3 F 0 A 25

The Asian Football Confederation rules in January this year that these games are forfeited, and do not appear on official records. They have also banned Timor Leste from qualification games for the 2023 Asian Cup, and Amândio de Araújo Sarmento was banned from all football activity for three years. The last part of the ban has been extended by FIFA from Asia to the whole World. Sarmento may also face legal sanction at home, as he obtained naturalisation for the players by using falsified documentation regarding the players' parents or grandparents births.

It is not clear whether or not Timor-Leste will be permitted to play in the 2022 World Cup qualification process.
leohoenig
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32. Morocco
Simply down to timing, Morocco are the first team knocked out in the finals
Seemed to play well enough to do better, but two 1-0 defeats have done for them
leohoenig
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31/30. Egypt and Saudi Arabia
Both out after Uruguay beat Saudi today
leohoenig
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29. Peru
No goals in two games, so no excuses and home after their next game
If Australia beat Peru as well, then they have a good chance of progressing
- but then, will France (already through) play a weaker team against Denmark? A draw sees them both through
RegencyCheltenhamSpa
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Hand of VAR keeps Australia in it. Hope the Peruvians stuff them.
leohoenig
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28. Costa Rica
No one can say Brazil were not the better team, but Costa Rica gave them a fright
leohoenig
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27. and 26. Tunisia and Panama
Both knocked out without a point once England had completed their win over Panama
I joked, sometime in the first half that a 6-1 win left the top of the group decided on bookings, and low and behold, it ended 6-1

25. Poland
The only way to describe Poland's performance today is "poor"
RegencyCheltenhamSpa
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At least FIFA are changing the way the rankings work to stop Poland gaming the system and getting an artificially high ranking. I doubt we’ll see them as a seeded team again, thankfully.
leohoenig
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24. Iran
I did not see the game at all, so cannot comment much, but a four point haul from a group including Portugal and Spain looks good - but of course, not good enough
ctfc-fan
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About time cheating was given the red card. That Portugal player feigning injury to his face was a disgrace and as he’s attempting to change the outcome of the game should get a retrospective ban, seeing as the ref did naff all about it at the time. It’s the only way to stop cheating once and for all.
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Shade
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Morocco also unlucky to be going home imo. Three hard fought games, two 1-0 losses to Iran and Portugal and a 2-2 with Spain, twice leading, is no disgrace.
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