Well this was by no means a great performance by England and though I hate to say it, I agree with Radio 5 commentator Alan Green that the game was dire. This suited the Montenegrin side who would have snatched your hand of if you offered them a draw at kick-off.
This though is not to say that Montenegro are a bad side and they are deservedly top of the qualifying group, undefeated after four games. It is my chance here to point you to a post I did on the football speak blog which sets out a timeline for the newest team to international football.
I still can't see any problems with England qualification even if it does have to be via a play-off or, more likely in my opinion, going through as the 'best second place team'. This all depends on how Montenegro play in the rest of their matches as I envisage little threat from anyone else in that group.
Showing posts with label Euro Qualifiers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Euro Qualifiers. Show all posts
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
Friday, 3 September 2010
What to Say About the EURO 2012 Qualifiers
This is the first attempt to do this but I'd quite like it to become a regular feature. Here's what to say if your mates start talking about any of this evening's games!
Armenia 0-1 Ireland
"Well not exactly a great performance by the Irish but three points away at Armenia is not to be sniffed at!"
Kazakhstan 0-3 Turkey
"Guus Hiddink looks like he is going to prove his managerial genius again with this Turkey team."
Moldova 2-0 Finland
"That was nearly a rugby tackle by Finland's captain, Sami Hyypiä, to get himself sent off so early on. They were always going to struggle when playing with ten men for most the game."
Andorra 0-2 Russia
"Russia always looked comfortable and that new Stuttgart signing, Pogrebnyak, played well as he scored both goals."
Faroe Islands 0-3 Serbia
"A routine victory really rounded off nicely by Birmingham new-boy Nikola Žigić in the ninetieth minute. I can't see the Faroe Islands picking up any points at all in this campaign."
Montenegro 1-0 Wales
"A poor performance by the Welsh but that Vucinic is far too good to be playing for Montenegro. He could have had a hat-trick!"
Swdeden 2-0 Hungary
"A nice second half brace from Pontus Wernbloom but Ibrahimovic always looked a threat as well."
Romania 1-1 Albania
"Albania will be delighted with an away point at Romania but they were a bit lucky to get that late goal."
Latvia 0-3 Croatia
"It's hard to believe Croatia haven't played a competitive game for nine months when they put in such a dominant performance like that!"
Lithuania 0-0 Scotland
"A draw will suit neither team in the long run and I can't believe Scotland didn't convert any of those chances. They've got to get a win against Liechtenstein on Tuesday."
Luxembourg 0-3 Bosnia and Herzegovina
"Bosnia really exposed the gulf in class between the two nations and the win will be a pleasant warm up before the France game next week."
Estonia 1-2 Italy
"It's never easy to come from behind when playing away from home but that was a pretty gutsy performance by the Azzurri. Prandelli will probably be pleased just to have stopped the rot and get that first win under his belt."
Slovakia 1-0 Macedonia
"Slovakia must have thought they'd never be able to break the Macedonian defence down before Filip Holosko scored in the 91st minute."
San Marino 0-5 Holland
"There was only ever going to be one result here, wasn't there? Anyway it was still a decent hat-trick from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and what is van Nistelrooy doing still scoring, isn't he like 50 now?"
Liechtenstein 0-4 Spain
"An impressive performance by the Spanish as they look to defend their European title but I kind of expected more against a team ranked 140 places below them."
Belgium 0-1 Germany
"A bit of a tight and edgy affair to be honest; especially when the Germans shut up shop after their goal."
Slovenia 0-1 Northern Ireland
"What an impressive start to qualifying for Northern Ireland! Corry Evans showed that the team needn't rely on his superstar brother, Jonny, by scoring on his international debut."
Greece 1-1 Georgia
"That must have been frustrating for Greece's new coach Fernando Santos. EURO 2004 must seem like a distant memory now and I really don't fancy them away at Croatia on Tuesday."
France 0-1 Belarus
"Laurent Blanc will have learned an important lesson during his first competitive match as France coach: you've got to score when you're on top and dominating possession."
England 4-0 Bulgaria
"A fantastic hat-trick by Defoe but is this going to be another case of England dominating the qualifying phase before failing spectacularly at the actual tournament?"
Iceland 1-2 Norway
"A pretty sweet comeback from the Norwegians during the second half. It's probably worth a bet on them winning that group after Portugal's dire performance against Cyprus."
Portugal 4-4 Cyprus
"What a crazy game! How can Portugal concede four goals at home to Cyprus?!"
Armenia 0-1 Ireland
"Well not exactly a great performance by the Irish but three points away at Armenia is not to be sniffed at!"
Kazakhstan 0-3 Turkey
"Guus Hiddink looks like he is going to prove his managerial genius again with this Turkey team."
Moldova 2-0 Finland
"That was nearly a rugby tackle by Finland's captain, Sami Hyypiä, to get himself sent off so early on. They were always going to struggle when playing with ten men for most the game."
Andorra 0-2 Russia
"Russia always looked comfortable and that new Stuttgart signing, Pogrebnyak, played well as he scored both goals."
Faroe Islands 0-3 Serbia
"A routine victory really rounded off nicely by Birmingham new-boy Nikola Žigić in the ninetieth minute. I can't see the Faroe Islands picking up any points at all in this campaign."
Montenegro 1-0 Wales
"A poor performance by the Welsh but that Vucinic is far too good to be playing for Montenegro. He could have had a hat-trick!"
Swdeden 2-0 Hungary
"A nice second half brace from Pontus Wernbloom but Ibrahimovic always looked a threat as well."
Romania 1-1 Albania
"Albania will be delighted with an away point at Romania but they were a bit lucky to get that late goal."
Latvia 0-3 Croatia
"It's hard to believe Croatia haven't played a competitive game for nine months when they put in such a dominant performance like that!"
Lithuania 0-0 Scotland
"A draw will suit neither team in the long run and I can't believe Scotland didn't convert any of those chances. They've got to get a win against Liechtenstein on Tuesday."
Luxembourg 0-3 Bosnia and Herzegovina
"Bosnia really exposed the gulf in class between the two nations and the win will be a pleasant warm up before the France game next week."
Estonia 1-2 Italy
"It's never easy to come from behind when playing away from home but that was a pretty gutsy performance by the Azzurri. Prandelli will probably be pleased just to have stopped the rot and get that first win under his belt."
Slovakia 1-0 Macedonia
"Slovakia must have thought they'd never be able to break the Macedonian defence down before Filip Holosko scored in the 91st minute."
San Marino 0-5 Holland
"There was only ever going to be one result here, wasn't there? Anyway it was still a decent hat-trick from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and what is van Nistelrooy doing still scoring, isn't he like 50 now?"
Liechtenstein 0-4 Spain
"An impressive performance by the Spanish as they look to defend their European title but I kind of expected more against a team ranked 140 places below them."
Belgium 0-1 Germany
"A bit of a tight and edgy affair to be honest; especially when the Germans shut up shop after their goal."
Slovenia 0-1 Northern Ireland
"What an impressive start to qualifying for Northern Ireland! Corry Evans showed that the team needn't rely on his superstar brother, Jonny, by scoring on his international debut."
Greece 1-1 Georgia
"That must have been frustrating for Greece's new coach Fernando Santos. EURO 2004 must seem like a distant memory now and I really don't fancy them away at Croatia on Tuesday."
France 0-1 Belarus
"Laurent Blanc will have learned an important lesson during his first competitive match as France coach: you've got to score when you're on top and dominating possession."
England 4-0 Bulgaria
"A fantastic hat-trick by Defoe but is this going to be another case of England dominating the qualifying phase before failing spectacularly at the actual tournament?"
Iceland 1-2 Norway
"A pretty sweet comeback from the Norwegians during the second half. It's probably worth a bet on them winning that group after Portugal's dire performance against Cyprus."
Portugal 4-4 Cyprus
"What a crazy game! How can Portugal concede four goals at home to Cyprus?!"
Friday, 23 July 2010
Welcome to the Site
First of all thank you very much for visiting.
For too long football blogs have been heavily focussed on one country or even one club and it is often hard to see the wood for the trees. This is my effort to look at football from a European perspective. Obviously this will include the international European Championship qualifiers that are coming up, the Champions League and the Europa League. At times I also plan to delve into one particular team to see how their tactics are faring in their respective league.
All that remains to be said is that I hope you enjoy the blog and the first proper post will be up soon!
(P.S. The name is based on the fact that I play on goal if you hadn't already guessed that. From time to time I will look at the performances of individual goalies as well.)
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