2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar - UEFA Qualifiers

[LTU_btc]

Wow, what a matchday!
Turkey is on fire. First they beat Netherlands and now didn't had any probems against Norway, confident 3:0 win.
Serbia 2:2 Portugal. Portugal were leading 2:2, but Serbia made comeback and made score 2:2. Godd game to watch.
Malta made big upset with draw against Slovakia. Actually, they were leading 2:0 and only in 2nd half Slovakia made comeback. And Malta didn't parked a bus, they played football. They also looked good against Russia, it's interesting underdog to follow.
Another big upset is Luxembourg wing against Ireland. And what a great goal by Rodriguez.
Gibraltar scored a goal against Montengro, but lost 4:1. But even goal scored is big achievemnt for them, it doesn't happens often.

EDIT Haven't saw that big referee mistake in Portugal game before making this post. Why there is no VAR in national team games? It's shameful

Well hot damn, I know Estonia are the underdogs but they actually played the better football at times and fully deserved the lead -- just a shame they had to let Belarus into the game with that penalty.

It's worth to mention that Estonia were missing maybe over 20 players because of Covid. Even with all main players they aren't better than Belarus. But red card that they got was game-changer.

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[Trofo]

Ronaldo scored the 3-2 in the last minute the ball was inside but the referee did not validate the goal.
We have not the goal-line technology. It's a shame.

Is there no goal line technology for all the games or it depends on stadium? I am sure I was listening to the commentator a couple of days ago talking like it is not a goal since ref watch stayed silent. Could be he was just talking rubbish

I know there is no VAR in any qualification games.


Lot's of strange results today, biggest surprise for me was Malta leading 2:0 against Slovakia on HT, it ended 2:2 but still a big surprise.
Turkey looking on fire, I expected them to score a couple of goals today but I also expected Norway to match them.
Croatia still playing like shit but we got 3 points, so we will just forget about the game and remember the points
Portugal loosing 2:0 lead, Ireland loosing at home against Luxembourg....

[Sithara007]

I am surprised that this qualification cycle is being played without goal line technology. Did anyone watch the Serbia-Portugal match that just ended? In the last attack of the match, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a goal that wasn't awarded by the referees, but I am very sure the ball was well over the goal line. Nice second half by the Serbians nevertheless. They made two substitutions at half-time and introduced two fast players. That completely changed the tempo of the match and surprised the Portuguese team.

Edit: coinlocket$ was faster lol. 

VAR is not being used and you can't say that the decision is favoring any particular team. Portugal was just unlucky and on top of that Serbia played really well. Both the teams now have equal points, but Serbia is ahead as they have scored more goals. BTW, the Netherlands seems to be back on track after their humiliating defeat to Turkey. They defeated Latvia 2-0, but at the same time Turkey scored their second win by defeating Norway 3-0.

That said, yesterday's surprise match was Luxembourg vs Ireland. No one really expected Luxembourg to win, as they are regarded as one of the weakest UEFA teams. Also Malta managed to hold Slovenia to a draw (2-2), which was also unexpected.

Today we have the Bulgaria vs Italy match, which is going to be exciting.

[LGD2Business]

Wow, what a matchday!
Turkey is on fire. First they beat Netherlands and now didn't had any probems against Norway, confident 3:0 win.

It's worth to mention that Estonia were missing maybe over 20 players because of Covid. Even with all main players they aren't better than Belarus. But red card that they got was game-changer.

Turkey played great for both matches and they deserved 3 points. Now Montenegro and Turkey made 6 points. Netherlands and Norway have 3 points. Letonia and Gibraltar have no points and they have no chance in this group.

Such a shame for Estonia, I wish all of their players speedy recovery.

[cygan]

today we continue with the qualifying matches and maybe we will see more surprises today and some said favorites will not win their matches... in the evening we will be wiser

[LGD2Business]

today we continue with the qualifying matches and maybe we will see more surprises today and some said favorites will not win their matches... in the evening we will be wiser

From favorites Spain, Italy, France, Germany won't lose. I don't expect surprise results for top teams.

Odds are too low to play for teams against weaker opponents. Some don't even give odds because other results are impossible.

[MAAManda]

I don't expect surprise results for top teams.

When the top teams meet weak teams such as Georgia, Moldova, and other weak teams.

I was quite surprised to see the results of the Republic of Ireland Vs Luxembourg. The Republic of Ireland, full of players who played a lot in the Premier League, lost against Luxembourg.

Not only that, Belgium which incidentally was filled by the world's top players only gave a draw against the Czech Republic.

[joker_josue]

Is there no goal line technology for all the games or it depends on stadium? I am sure I was listening to the commentator a couple of days ago talking like it is not a goal since ref watch stayed silent. Could be he was just talking rubbish

I know there is no VAR in any qualification games.

It seems that FIFA recommends VAR in all games, but the qualifications are the responsibility of the continental associations.
In that sense, it seems that UEFA is not using VAR in any game, because there are no conditions to be used in all games.

We have to realize that it is a very expensive technology (not least because games don't even show on TV), and UEFA is an organization with little financial resources (despite being the most important football organization after FIFA). 

Portugal was surprised in the 2nd part by Servia. And then he had the misfortune of that goal canceled.

Unfortunately, we will see more errors throughout the classification, which could be avoided with the VAR.

But, unfortunately, FIFA and UEFA are corrupt organizations that care little for the truth in sport.

[3meek]

today we continue with the qualifying matches and maybe we will see more surprises today and some said favorites will not win their matches... in the evening we will be wiser

From favorites Spain, Italy, France, Germany won't lose. I don't expect surprise results for top teams.

Odds are too low to play for teams against weaker opponents. Some don't even give odds because other results are impossible.

The top teams did not perform well yesterday, although the other favorites had really weak opponents today! I think that today you can make express bets on the favorites - France, Spain, Germany, Italy...

[Pulsar77]

today we continue with the qualifying matches and maybe we will see more surprises today and some said favorites will not win their matches... in the evening we will be wiser

From favorites Spain, Italy, France, Germany won't lose. I don't expect surprise results for top teams.

Odds are too low to play for teams against weaker opponents. Some don't even give odds because other results are impossible.

Spain and France both lost points in their first game in their group which was unexpected for sure. This time, I think both of them won't make a mistake and will manage to get a nice win. Italy have an easy game against Bulgaria and they will continue winning most probably. But when it comes to Romania-Germany, I think Germany may have some difficulties as their opponent is not easy to defeat. But I think they can win by 1 or 2 goals.

[buwaytress]

Damn Malta almost put up the biggest upset of the tourney so far. Didn't back them because well, it's Malta. But what the odds would have been for a halftime win eh? Belgium, Portugal drawing probably eventually expected.

It's worth to mention that Estonia were missing maybe over 20 players because of Covid. Even with all main players they aren't better than Belarus. But red card that they got was game-changer.

Yeah, can't believe they actually led twice, and it was for sure a balanced game until that red card. Except for possession, shots and chances were pretty much equal.

[Daniel91]

Ronaldo scored the 3-2 in the last minute the ball was inside but the referee did not validate the goal.
We have not the goal-line technology. It's a shame.

Is there no goal line technology for all the games or it depends on stadium? I am sure I was listening to the commentator a couple of days ago talking like it is not a goal since ref watch stayed silent. Could be he was just talking rubbish

I know there is no VAR in any qualification games.


Lot's of strange results today, biggest surprise for me was Malta leading 2:0 against Slovakia on HT, it ended 2:2 but still a big surprise.
Turkey looking on fire, I expected them to score a couple of goals today but I also expected Norway to match them.
Croatia still playing like shit but we got 3 points, so we will just forget about the game and remember the points
Portugal loosing 2:0 lead, Ireland loosing at home against Luxembourg....

For me, these results are also a big surprise.
It seems that Serbia is slowly returning to the top of European and world football with a new coach and Slovakia may have already lost the chance to fight for the top 2 in the group after two consecutive failures.
Croatia has been playing very badly not since today but for the last 3 years, since the World Cup in Russia.
It seems to me that some older players play because of their old merits rather than current quality and the Croatian coach seemed to have lost the idea or plan of how to lead the team to victory.
Russia started very well and it seems that they will continue to fight for the first 2 places in the group with Croatia and Slovenia.

[Barcode_]

England are quite lucky to be placed in Group I, I guess the only toughest opponent to handle in this group would be Poland. I think Albania will struggle hard to prevent England claiming a victory from their hands today, even though the odds payout for England to win the match in full time is only @1.28 but I believe England should be able to beat Albania relatively easily today.

[Altryist]

Damn Malta almost put up the biggest upset of the tourney so far. Didn't back them because well, it's Malta. But what the odds would have been for a halftime win eh? Belgium, Portugal drawing probably eventually expected.

Yes, Malta surprised me in this game, but I was still waiting for Slovakia to score the winning goal. But I was even more surprised by Luxembourg, who was able to beat Ireland on the road, this is perhaps the biggest sensation for me. Luxembourg, of course, has started to play a little better lately, but to beat the Irish at their home is of course a great feat for Luxembourg.

[Nadziratel]

The Turkish national team continued to play well and win against Norway. He took an advantageous position in the group with the victory of the Netherlands in his own field and Norway in the opponent field.

With the strong defense line established by the Turkish national team with Caglar, Merih and Ozan, it seems that they will not have a defensive problem for many years. And if they can catch a good generation in terms of attack, they can become a shy opponent for a few big tournaments.

[Cnut237]

Turkey is on fire. First they beat Netherlands and now didn't had any probems against Norway, confident 3:0 win.
Another big upset is Luxembourg wing against Ireland. And what a great goal by Rodriguez.

The Ireland result was quite shocking, but I think the Turkey result is the biggest thing in this round of fixtures. A 3-0 away win vs Norway is quite an achievement, and it puts the Netherlands under huge pressure even this early on in the campaign. It already looks like their return fixture against Turkey could decide the group.

[ILuckyGuyI]

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With the strong defense line established by the Turkish national team with Caglar, Merih and Ozan, it seems that they will not have a defensive problem for many years. And if they can catch a good generation in terms of attack, they can become a shy opponent for a few big tournaments.

I agree. Turkey's defense line is really great now. Caglar Soyuncu, Merih Demiral and Ozan Kabak all are playing at very strong teams and it really helps them improve themselves. So, I have also no doubt about the defense. But as you said, they must also maintain the same strength on the attacking line. For now, they are doing good but I hope they can continue like this in the future too.

[hydra666]

England are quite lucky to be placed in Group I, I guess the only toughest opponent to handle in this group would be Poland. I think Albania will struggle hard to prevent England claiming a victory from their hands today, even though the odds payout for England to win the match in full time is only @1.28 but I believe England should be able to beat Albania relatively easily today.

True, i placed on England -2. Should be okay, but then again last fixture against San Marino the handicap started from -7. but they only won 6-0. So yeah...

[StartupAnalyst]

I really feel the Russian striker dzyuba is a great goal scavenger, he would feet into an English premier league team like crystal palace or leads, wonder why he isn't receiving interest, he is always delivering for his Russian national team, it's also good to see ilicic scoring, exciting first two Europe, world cup qualifications games already, I actually bet on Russia and am happy it came through.

I don't agree with you. Dzyuba is already old, he is 32 years old. Even at the peak of his form he would not be suitable for the English championship. The Russian championship is very weak right now. In fact there are only two good teams and they play very poorly in European competitions. It seems to me that Dzyuba is the player who should be released at the end of the match as a substitute.

[Pulsar77]

England are quite lucky to be placed in Group I, I guess the only toughest opponent to handle in this group would be Poland. I think Albania will struggle hard to prevent England claiming a victory from their hands today, even though the odds payout for England to win the match in full time is only @1.28 but I believe England should be able to beat Albania relatively easily today.

It is true that they really have one of the luckiest groups in the qualifiers. Poland are a really big threat for them. Albania may cause them to struggle a little in an away game today but I think England can get past them having a good result.