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I have to say I was hoping for Greece - this is gonna be tough.

First leg is home on the 14th Nov with the return leg on the 18th.

Well, we matched the world champions home and away so I suppose we'll just have to better the runners up!

Outrageous how they switched it to being seeded so late!

Good luck. I would love to see you make it.

I would love to think otherwise...but you havn't got a sniff

ENIAM NAM wrote:Outrageous how they switched it to being seeded so late!

Good luck. I would love to see you make it.

Cheers mate!

Yeah its absolutely scandalous how they got away with seeding it, but fuck them, there's no reason for us to not be full of confidence because we're the only team in the play-offs that are unbeaten so far.

Really hope we make it, it creates such a buzz!

That's Ireland not going to the world cup then.

Original Dub wrote:

ENIAM NAM wrote:Outrageous how they switched it to being seeded so late!

Good luck. I would love to see you make it.

Cheers mate!

Yeah its absolutely scandalous how they got away with seeding it, but fuck them, there's no reason for us to not be full of confidence because we're the only team in the play-offs that are unbeaten so far.

Really hope we make it, it creates such a buzz!

I'd like to see all the lower ranked teams qualify, just to piss on UEFA/FIFA for trying to srew them over.

Fish111 wrote:That's Ireland not going to the world cup then.

Indeed.

We are shit though so probably fair.

IanBishopsHaircut wrote:I would love to think otherwise...but you havn't got a sniff

they are obvious favourites but saying we haven't got a sniff is a tad unfair I think. We're unbeaten so far and I'm quite sure Austria weren't expected to have a sniff and they beat France 3-1.

Spirit mate. We have it in abundance and its a difficult thing to put down, no matter how the game looks on paper.

Would you have said we would play the world champions twice and not lose once?

I don't think you would.

We got the shitty end of the stick with the seeding situation alright but France would have been my second choice behind Greece. Russia would batter us and Portugal got their act together in the last few group matches so presumably can push on. France though have limped the whole way through their campaign and only managed a 2.1 win against Brian Kerr's Faroe Islands. Seems to me that Domenech has used up his luck and none of the players want to play for him (Benzema can't get a game) so I actually OK with the draw. Pity about the second leg being in Paris but when have ireland got to play at home second anyway??

Don't get me wrong, I still think we're the underdogs but there is a chance at least

The Foggy Blue wrote:We got the shitty end of the stick with the seeding situation alright but France would have been my second choice behind Greece. Russia would batter us and Portugal got their act together in the last few group matches so presumably can push on. France though have limped the whole way through their campaign and only managed a 2.1 win against Brian Kerr's Faroe Islands. Seems to me that Domenech has used up his luck and none of the players want to play for him (Benzema can't get a game) so I actually OK with the draw. Pity about the second leg being in Paris but when have ireland got to play at home second anyway??

Don't get me wrong, I still think we're the underdogs but there is a chance at least

Yeah I agree with all of that.

It is a crying shame we didn't get to play in France first, but where we are lacking in class, we have in organisation and teamwork... the opposite could be said for France.

We haven't actually beaten a 'big' team in a competitive game since Holland in 2001 and so I'm not sure where this optimism comes from, unless of course we're playing for two draws and a win on away goals.

France are probably on par with England, and England are shite so you've definitely got a chance.

Fish111 wrote:That's Ireland not going to the world cup then.

He wasnt anyway :o)

xavi6 wrote:We haven't actually beaten a 'big' team in a competitive game since Holland in 2001 and so I'm not sure where this optimism comes from, unless of course we're playing for two draws and a win on away goals.

I can't see us playing so we can go through on the away goals rule. I think that'd be silly.

The optimism for me comes from the fact that we are a really fucking hard team to beat and that gives us a fantastic foundation.

I fancy us to beat them in croker, they're not nearly as organised as the italians IMO. Like I said, I wish we were playing away first, but even if we hold them to a nil all in croker, I'd be confident of drawing in France, be it score or not.

MaseCTID wrote:France are probably on par with England, and England are shite so you've definitely got a chance.

So if France win, then England are better than Ireland?

I like this logic, can't really lose.

Shit, do away goals count in WC qualifiers??? Jaysus, I didn't think so...

I'm optimistic for same reasons as above - we're well organisied and are very hard to beat. Even if we draw at home andkeep it tight in Paris their fans will get on their backs again which can only play into our hands. Plenty to be optimistic about.

Also - we would have beaten Italy and Bulgaria twice in this camapaign but for defensive errors and inability to shut out a game.

That is a very tough draw!! But ireland have showed that they have the quality and i dont see why you cant beat france and go to the world cup. It will be interesting!!

MaseCTID wrote:France are probably on par with England, and England are shite so you've definitely got a chance.

Yeah, 9 wins out of 10 says we're shite. Give your head a wobble.

Original Dub wrote:

xavi6 wrote:We haven't actually beaten a 'big' team in a competitive game since Holland in 2001 and so I'm not sure where this optimism comes from, unless of course we're playing for two draws and a win on away goals.

I can't see us playing so we can go through on the away goals rule. I think that'd be silly.

The optimism for me comes from the fact that we are a really fucking hard team to beat and that gives us a fantastic foundation.

I fancy us to beat them in croker, they're not nearly as organised as the italians IMO. Like I said, I wish we were playing away first, but even if we hold them to a nil all in croker, I'd be confident of drawing in France, be it score or not.

Problem is though we have zero plan B.

Look at our central midfielders. All donkeys for want of a better phrase and if we make a sub in that area it's basically like for like. Can you imagine us breaking down the French if we're a goal down in Paris with ten minutes to go? I can't, and yet we've Andy Reid and Keith Fahey watching from their living room.

If, and when imo, we go behind, whether it's in the first or second leg, I don't see anything to suggest that we can pull it back (barring some massive stroke of luck like the sending off in Italy).

Slim wrote:

MaseCTID wrote:France are probably on par with England, and England are shite so you've definitely got a chance.

So if France win, then England are better than Ireland?

I like this logic, can't really lose.

Hmmm that all depends on how they win. If it's away goal rule then I would say England are probably better than France then. But if it's a win overall then France are better than Ireland but on par with England. But if Ireland win by scoring in the 94th minute of the second leg then Ireland are better than Brazil. It all depends really. I still think West Germany will do well though.