World Cup 2022 Qualifiers

[Stellaboz]

Tentatively approached the subject of heading to Moldova next November to the missus today and she suggested Denmark or Austria instead because of the simplicity in getting there. 

Moldova here I come! 

[Tulloch Gorum]

I don't really see what there is to argue about with this draw.  Denmark and Austria are obviously better than us, but if we ever want to get to a World Cup again - and do anything worthwhile once there - then obviously we need to beat superior teams now and then.  If you don't think you can do that at least some of the time, during a good run that gets you a fighting chance, you're as well not playing.

[Carnoustie Young Guvnor]

27 minutes ago, Tulloch Gorum said:

I don't really see what there is to argue about with this draw.  Denmark and Austria are obviously better than us, but if we ever want to get to a World Cup again - and do anything worthwhile once there - then obviously we need to beat superior teams now and then.  If you don't think you can do that at least some of the time, during a good run that gets you a fighting chance, you're as well not playing.

We're gonna fuckin hose this group Austria will long for the days when giving birth to the craziest b*****d in human history was the biggest of their problems when Considine and co come to town

[The Moonster]

On 13/12/2020 at 11:06, Academically Deficient said:

Rumours are that the Danish Parliament are to vote on boycotting Qatar 2022 due to concerns over human rights and corruption.

 

This is like the UK Government coming out now and saying they're going to close the borders to prevent the COVID spread. The damage is done, hundreds are already deid, why has it taken all these years to make this stance when it was clear that was the stance that should've been taken immediately?

 

[Carnoustie Young Guvnor]

36 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

This is like the UK Government coming out now and saying they're going to close the borders to prevent the COVID spread. The damage is done, hundreds are already deid, why has it taken all these years to make this stance when it was clear that was the stance that should've been taken immediately?

 

As I said if Uefa came out in a united front and said their countries wouldn't be taking part the day after it was awarded to Qatar it would have been moved immediately. They have the power to do that, but are corrupt to the core so not interested.

[DA Baracus]

In the Nations League we failed to score in two of our games and only scored five in total, not even averaging a goal a game.

But aye, we're now somehow going to win the World Cup Qualifying group.

Again, it would be great if we did and they should absolutely try to do it, but I simply don't think we're good enough to do it.

[John Lambies Doos]

We're going to the Euros!!!!
Yass!!!!!!

[Gordopolis]

In the Nations League we failed to score in two of our games and only scored five in total, not even averaging a goal a game.

But aye, we're now somehow going to win the World Cup Qualifying group.

Again, it would be great if we did and they should absolutely try to do it, but I simply don't think we're good enough to do it.

Definitely need to improve the attacking side of things if we're to stand a chance. With Dykes and Fraser Vs Czechs and Dykes and Christie Vs Serbia we looked robust and clinical and dangerous on the break. But in the two shitey 1-0 losses we lacked bite in and around their box, and had few, if any, chances on the break - partly down to how those opponents set up. Just need a different dimension for those sorts of games, and the confidence will hopefully build.

 

I'm quite happy we've got SC plotting how to make this next improvement.

 

P.S. that avatar [emoji30]

 

[Insert Amusing Pseudonym]

2 hours ago, DA Baracus said:

In the Nations League we failed to score in two of our games and only scored five in total, not even averaging a goal a game.

But aye, we're now somehow going to win the World Cup Qualifying group.

Again, it would be great if we did and they should absolutely try to do it, but I simply don't think we're good enough to do it.

There's a gap between saying a group is winnable and saying we'll win it.

 

[Lurkst]

18 hours ago, Tulloch Gorum said:

 if we ever want to get to a World Cup again then obviously we need to beat superior teams now and then. 

Absolutely. We've been to eight World Cups, and I think Spain 82 was the only occasion we were top seeds in our qualifying group.

 

Edited December 14, 2020 by Lurkst

[Carnoustie Young Guvnor]

7 hours ago, DA Baracus said:

In the Nations League we failed to score in two of our games and only scored five in total, not even averaging a goal a game.

But aye, we're now somehow going to win the World Cup Qualifying group.

Again, it would be great if we did and they should absolutely try to do it, but I simply don't think we're good enough to do it.

 

No with an attitude like that.  Denmark and Austria aren't particularly brilliant.  If you don't think its possible to finish above them there's no point turning up.

[forameus]

13 hours ago, Carnoustie Young Guvnor said:

 

No with an attitude like that.  Denmark and Austria aren't particularly brilliant.  If you don't think its possible to finish above them there's no point turning up.

Big difference between possible and probable though.  Of course it's possible.  It's possible we absolutely pump everyone in the group and finish with a perfect record.  Probability is that it'll be pretty tough to top it.  

[HuttonDressedAsLahm]

1 hour ago, forameus said:

Big difference between possible and probable though.  Of course it's possible.  It's possible we absolutely pump everyone in the group and finish with a perfect record.  Probability is that it'll be pretty tough to top it.  

The obvious nuance in this qualifying campaign is that the opportunity to top this group is unparalleled over the last 20 years.

Of course it is possible to win any group, but reducing to that level of analysis... well, we may as well bin the entire forum.

Clearly, the chances of a positive outcome is much increased for this group.  How many groups would you switch our Pot 1 and Pot 2 seeds with? 

[craigkillie]

People seem to struggle with nuance on this part of the board in general. Of course the most likely outcome is that we'll finish third, because that's the whole point of the seedings, but our chances of finishing first (or second) are much higher than if we had Italy and Sweden or something like that. But apparently saying that this is the best chance we've had in a long time of winning a group is basically the same as saying it's a sure thing.

[Scary Bear]

On 10/12/2020 at 11:35, craigkillie said:

By this logic, the same teams would have to win every single qualifying group, since no team could ever expect to win one if they hadn't won one before.

Scotland's record 15, 10, 5 or even 3 years ago is completely irrelevant to the here and now. In the here and now, we have a team who are quite clearly capable of winning this group. We're by no means the favourites, but we have shown enough over the last eight games to suggest that we are a good team who are capable of picking up a result, home or away, against any of the teams in our group.

The three away performances in November, especially the first two, were as good as I have seen from Scotland in over a decade, and the fact that we lost to Slovakia doesn't detract from that. If you replayed that game 10 times we'd probably win 8 of them.

Denmark's recent results suggest they are a stronger team than us, but what makes you say Austria are definitely better?

The three away performances in November ended up in a draw and two defeats. I agree the Serbia and Slovakia games were good performances but the results (Serbia aside, as that would normally be a defeat) were the same as usual.

I know nothing about Austria, but they seem to know how to win away from home.

That said, we seem to be developing as a team and if we can get the likes of Fraser back, and Gilmour does well and gets a chance, we can hopefully push on and get those wins in the World Cup qualifiers.

[John Lambies Doos]

The three away performances in November ended up in a draw and two defeats. I agree the Serbia and Slovakia games were good performances but the results (Serbia aside, as that would normally be a defeat) were the same as usual.
I know nothing about Austria, but they seem to know how to win away from home.
That said, we seem to be developing as a team and if we can get the likes of Fraser back, and Gilmour does well and gets a chance, we can hopefully push on and get those wins in the World Cup qualifiers.

They certainly know how to win away from home, Oslo and Belfast ain't easy places to go

[craigkillie]

They lost 4-2 in Israel and 1-0 in Latvia in their Euro 2020 qualifiers, but did win in Slovenia and North Macedonia.

[Gordopolis]

People seem to struggle with nuance on this part of the board in general. Of course the most likely outcome is that we'll finish third, because that's the whole point of the seedings, but our chances of finishing first (or second) are much higher than if we had Italy and Sweden or something like that. But apparently saying that this is the best chance we've had in a long time of winning a group is basically the same as saying it's a sure thing.

I totally agree with the point you're making in the second half of your post, but the opening statement is a bit arsey and condescending. I've seen what were initially fluid debates pinned to polar extremes by a few roasters here and in just about every other part of PnB. Indeed, I can't think of one poster who hasn't fallen into this trap at one time or another.

[Carnoustie Young Guvnor]

1 hour ago, Gordopolis said:

 

 

I totally agree with the point you're making in the second half of your post, but the opening statement is a bit arsey and condescending. I've seen what were initially fluid debates pinned to polar extremes by a few roasters here and in just about every other part of PnB. Indeed, I can't think of one poster who hasn't fallen into this trap at one time or another.

 

That second sentence is very eloquent.  Almost poetic.

[Binos]

4 hours ago, John Lambies Doos said:

11 hours ago, Scary Bear said:

The three away performances in November ended up in a draw and two defeats. I agree the Serbia and Slovakia games were good performances but the results (Serbia aside, as that would normally be a defeat) were the same as usual.
I know nothing about Austria, but they seem to know how to win away from home.
That said, we seem to be developing as a team and if we can get the likes of Fraser back, and Gilmour does well and gets a chance, we can hopefully push on and get those wins in the World Cup qualifiers.

They certainly know how to win away from home, Oslo and Belfast ain't easy places to go

That's a worryingly good run of away form

Edited December 16, 2020 by Binos