EURO 2012

EURO 2012

EDIT: Didn't realize that on a page further back there was a thread on the Euro 2012 draw.  Mods, if you think they should be incorporated together then go ahead.

I may have this wrong but Poland/Ukraine qualify automatically as hosts do they not?  So 14 places are made up from the teams from the 9 groups.  Assumedly the top from each group goes through with 5 of the second placed teams also advancing after play-offs (though one team can't have a playoff so do they qualify as best 2nd placed team on points?). 

Without knowing which groups play-off against which other groups I've put the teams I expect/hope to see progress in bold:

Group A:
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belgium
Germany
Kazakhstan
Turkey

Group B:
Andorra
Armenia
Macedonia
Ireland
Russia
Slovakia

Group C:
Estonia
Italy
Northern Ireland
Serbia
Slovenia
Faroe Islands

Group D:
Albania
Belarus
Bosnia-Herzegovina
France
Luxembourg
Romania

Group E:
Finland
Netherlands
Hungary
Moldova
San Marino
Sweden

Group F:
Israel
Croatia
Georgia
Greece
Latvia
Malta

Group G:
Bulgaria
England
Montenegro
Wales
Switzerland

Group H:
Cyprus
Denmark
Iceland
Norway
Portugal

Group I:
Czech Republic
Leichtenstein
Lithuania
Spain
Scotland
loyalgunner2010-09-03 14:30:55

Israel 3-1 Malta.  Manny Muscat came on in the 80th minute for Malta.  Hopefully he gets a bit more game time in his next match.

a yossi hattrick too. good stuff from the chelsea man. really guna be interesting to see how england go

Burn through groups then choke later on like every time... Oh actually, hang on..

Go France btw. Gourcuff to rip up!!

Win.  Love that episode.

It was between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Romania for me and I opted for the former.

I've got nothing against Bosnia-Herzegovina itself. Just Begovic. Won't cheer for any team he plays for  Unless he signed for the Phoenix (dear god no) or the Whitecaps (which will never, ever happen. Ever.)

Slovenia ftw.

BiH may be chucked out of the qualifying at the UEFA meeting later this month because they haven't amended their FA statute to be in line with UEFA requirements.
Were on the verge of being thrown out before the qualifying even began (along with their clubs from UEFA competitions) but were given a shortish reprieve to get it sorted out.

The system is 9 group winners and the best overall second-placed team qualify directly, the remaining 8 second placed teams play-off for the remaining 4 spots (the play-off will be seeded). I actually ran the qualifying system through a programme a friend has with some interesting results...

Getting up to watch Croatia play Latvia tomorrow morning. And then the Greeks on Wednesday.

I'll feel sorry for Bosnia-Herzegovina and their fans if that does happen. Except for Begovic.

Time for a new era in French football to begin. I hope.

One where they fail to qualify for major tournaments?

muscat got last 10 mins v israel. actual surprised he didnt start. most of the team are only playing in local malta league and muscat v versatile. suppose it always going to be an advantage being a local lad always in front of the coach.

Hoping Ireland can qualify

They're not England yet.

They will be soon.

Very soon. Loss to Belarus..

cyprus hold portugal to a 4-4 draw

and yep the french lot are still suffering a big world cup hangover

England off to a decent start

the scots, not so much

Good opener from us, comfortable 3-0 win in Latvia. Greece could only draw with Georgia at home, if we beat them on Wednesday morning we'll have a huge head start.

I just want to congratulate Scotland on a very impressive 0-0 draw with Lithuania. Well done lads, surely one of your better performances in the last 10 years.

Benzema reminds me of the kid in the playground that just won't pass anyone else the ball.

May as well lol at Scotland while I'm here, down 0-1 at home to Liechtenstein at the 56' mark.

2-0 to France.

I'm gonna lol at Spain as well, down 3-0 to Argentina after 30 mins.

Scotland dodged a bullet there.

Scotland top of the group. Nae problem.

Heroic performance from Scotland, a last-minute goal to beat the mighty Liechtenstein.

We drew 0-0 with Greece, frustrating to watch, couldn't finish a cheese sandwich. Eduardo had two great chances he would have put away with his eyes shut 3 years ago, but fluffs them now. Had a goal disallowed (rightly for marginal offside) and should have had a penalty. Nevermind. Still in a top position in the group.

Malta lost 2-0 at home to Latvia, Manny started and got 60 minutes before beeing subbed off.

England top of their group after a 3-1 win over Switzerland, along with Montenegro, 1-0 winners in Bulgaria (and coached by Zlatko Kranjcar, Niko's dad). Albania top of their group - coached by another Croat, Josip Kuze.

Hah! Yes yes alright. Still the third goal was a bit laugh for me. Probably not for you as a 'pool and Spain man though!

Oh, yes, before I forget - lols of the morning reserved for Portugal, losing 1-0 away to Norway. Already 5 points behind the Norwegians after only 2 games played.

Okay, so its not about Euro qualifying, but the commentator is saying that he thinks Kun is ready for a step up to a bigger club, away from Atletico. Ha! But he is staying because he is loyal..

Once again i'd like to congratulate Scotland on a thrilling 2-1 win over powerhouse Liechtenstein this morning. Well done lads, great result.

this was one of the worst teams in Europe we were playing,and we were not much better.

Did you see the goal, comical stuff from the Portugese keeper. A minty moment.

The game is being shown on ESPN now

Reina's error is even worse.

Not a good day for keepers obviously.

After I got home from work saw the tail-end of Ireland and Andorra, saw the goals from the game in the after-match summary, a couple of great strikes from Doyle and the Andorran guy. The new stadium in Dublin looked awesome too.