World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10

[Scotlandspunter]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10

You do realize why this started, and who exactly started it right? You got angry at the gaygamblers post because he was talking down on SCOTLAND. JackJarvis then went for a low blow and saying he doesnt need to post because he has no knowledge of football, not directly quoting. I found that funny after watching JJ whine and cry about Arsenal wipping up on Celtic at home. so maybe I learned how to slag off members from both of you. and you still have not really gave your views on any games this week... You did however talk about dutch news, and a possible lineup for the Scots. Then said you can see the dutch winning, but directly after you said the scots can get the result they need. Need a dictionary? This is all about you being biased towards the Scots, and who knows what else now that you open like a can when someone says something about the scotland team. Try making a prediction for this week and stfu

Hold a second, I quoted thegaygamblers post because of the nature of his post, not because I had a problem with his prediction, I found it wrong the way he went about getting some of his points accross. At no point did I personally slag him off. I couldnt care if he thinks Holland will win thats fair enough....I am not being biased in the slightest, I have already said the Dutch are a better team. Dont like betting on international football as I think its not that reliable as club football, so I wont be making any predictions.

[Jonesy Knows]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10 Come on Fellas, less of the bickering in this thread and stick to the analysis in trying to pick out some good quality information or stats! We have a banter thread if you must persist in "I said...He said...She said" posts! it's cluttering up the thread and it's bordering on childish. :ok

[justbetter]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10

Just looking at Armenia v Belgium on Betfair - Belgium are 1.79 which seems massive to me! I know they got spanked by Spain but I'd still fancy them to get past Armenia. Does anyone have any information on why the odds are as they are?

Odds are high because Belgium are missing Fellaini, Vermaelen, Vertonghen, Stijnen, Witsel and Kompany. Also Belgium have won only 2 of their last 10 games (1 of them the reverse of this fixture and the other at home to Slovenia). They have not won away from home in nearly 2 years either (against Azerbaijan). Saying that Armenia are a dreadful team and have not won a competitive match themselves in over 2 years. Belgium should definitely win this match despite their missings, but given how bad they've been of late I'd avoid handicaps and just take the decent odds on the away win.

[Scotlandspunter]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10

Come on Fellas, less of the bickering in this thread and stick to the analysis in trying to pick out some good quality information or stats! We have a banter thread if you must persist in "I said...He said...She said" posts! it's cluttering up the thread and it's bordering on childish. :ok

Agree mate, sorry cant really add to the tips in this thread apart from what I'v said about the Scotland game, I dont really bet on internationals and feel there are others out there more equipped to pick winners in internationals then me :ok GL to all though :hope

[nkdz]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10 Cameroon - Gabon, Cameroon(-1.25) @1.83 Pinnacle Hosts returned immediately to Cameroon after saturdays win at Gabon, their first in this group. It's probably not neccessary to stress importance of this match, cause anything but a win would questioned their WC in RSA next year. Visitors are a modest team, they don't expect much from this match. Also, they lost one of their key players Bruno Manga, also two more players from the best lineup are missing so Girresse will give a chance to few younger players. I expect an easy win for Cameroon. They are taking this match seriously, and can't allow any more wrong steps. Gabon can't resist to their firepower, and i doubt they will score too. My call is 3-0 win for the hosts. Faroe Islands - Lithuania, Under 2.5 @1.80 Paddy Power Everythings speaks in under's favour. These two teams have met each other seven times in the last ten years and five times they stayed under 2.5 goals. Also, last three home matches FI had unders while if it wasn't for that 3-1 Andorra win, Lithuania would have 6 unders from the last 6 games. I think this will stay under this line too. Mexico - Honduras, Over 2.75 @1.94 10bet Both teams have amazing attacking potential and Mexico needs to win this one without excuse. Situation in the group is extremely complicated, there are two teams with 13 and two with 12 pts so far. Mexico has a lot more quality in their team but Honduras showed in games against TT and Costa Rica that they can score few goals. Macedonia U21 - Lithuania U21, Macedonia U21(-0.75) @2.00 bet365 Both teams have lost both of their matches but in fact, Macedonia left much better impression in matches against Greece and especially England in Prilep. These two defeats were expected but today they simply have to bounce back and win for the first time in this qualifiers. Quality is definetly on their side, and home ground advantage too. Azerbaijan U21 - Belarus U21, Belarus U21 @1.85 Unibet Belarus football progressed really fast. Last year they had their first club in CHL, their u21 NT was qualified for the EC in Sweden and senior NT is playing really good. Azeri have lost in Albania in the last round and according to my info's they were completely outplayed. I believe there's just too much quality in away side not to win this game, despite they are visitors. Everything higher than 1.80 is worth of backing. Norway U21 - Serbia U21, Serbia U21 (0) AH @2.65 Fonbet Norway already played 3 games in the group and has 1-1-1, so four points won by winning in Cyprus and drawing against Slovakia. Serbia played only once and lost to Slovakia at home. This is very even group, Slovakia, Serbia and Croatia are very close teams and either one can finish first. Norway was torn apart in their last game at home vs Croatia, 3-1 with many chances missed. If Croatia, who i rate lower than Serbia, slightly but still lower, managed to do that to Norway than following logic, Serbia should at least take a narrow win. Odds are wrong here IMO. Sweden U21 - Bulgaria U21, Over 2.5 @1.95 Pinnacle Sweden has really talented and promising U21 team, and judging the way they've been playing lately this group should be too easy for them. Bulgaria lost their first game to Israel 4-3 but defeated Kazakhstan 3-0 after that, both at home. Looking at Sweden's previous results, including those from EC last summer and looking and Bulgaria's results, than i see no reason why not take over who is almost rated as 50-50 by most of the bookies. Belarus - Ukraine, Belarus(0) AH @3.35 5dimes A lots of mind games and speculations around this match, but i strongly believe, that in normal conditions Ukraine can't win in Minsk and even has decent chances to lose the match. I watched Belarus twice in the 30 days and they confirmed what i know, they are a great team, great for betting cause it doesn't have a name but sure has some decent quality. Belarus outplayed Croatia in second half and didn't deserved to lose that match. They also outplayed Ukraine in Kiev but lost by late penalty in injury time. Belarus can make an upset here and these odds just can't be missed. Romania - Austria, Austria DNB @5.00 bet365 Great, amazing offer we have here. Situation around Romanian NT is far from ideal, even after win at Hungary, their rival and 1-1 draw at France critics on the NT are getting louder and louder. Romania is just playing very poor football at the moment and even weaker teams than Austria are no easy opponenty for them. I watched Austria in Belgrade and they seemed like a solid team, which results are much weaker than they should be looking at performances. These odds are great from several reasons, even with draw we'll get stakes back but somehow i believe that Austria will win 2-1. GL. Montenegro - Cyprus, Over 2.5 @1.88 Ladbrokes Montenegro looking for their first competitive win in history and IMO Cyprus is a team they can beat. Hosts are really fired up for this match, they want to win in front of their fans especially after dissapointing 4-1 defeat at Bulgaria. I like to back overs when MN is playing cause they are a team with great forwards and weak at the back. Also, this is another dissapointing season for Cyprus who won only five points so far in this group and only one on away. I reccomend you to take this bet in single, with higher stakes, and also consider taking home win. My call is 3-1 home win. GL Albania - Denmark, Albania/Draw @2.54 Ladbrokes Albania is getting better and better under new coach Kuže, in their last match they recorded one of the highest wins in their history over Cyprus 6-1 and before that they lost to Portugal after two late goals. Watched Denmark against Portugal and i have to say that i didn't saw anything special. They had many problems in that match and Portugal could have win that game by few goals. I think this price is too high, maybe public counts on Denmarks motive and thinks that Albania is not interested about this match. Tirana was always tough place to win, Denmark has slightly over 50% chances to win this match. Norway - Macedonia, Norway (-1) EH @2.74 Betsafe Hosts should win this match and hope that Scotland loses to Holland at Ibrox. It's now clear that whoever finishes second in this group will be eliminated anyway, cause they didn't collected enough points. Scotland has best chances for going to barrage but they'll have to win to go there. Anyway, Norway is at least physically much stronger team, and now when Macedonia lacks serious motivation, they should take this win, and make up to their fans for not passing this group, easiest of all. N. Ireland - Slovakia, Draw @3.35 Betfair This one has draw written all over it. Both teams have drawn their last two games, and for both teams this is crucial game for qualifying to the WC for the first time. Slovakia has 16 points out of 7 games while NIR has 14 out of 10. Neither team would be too dissapointed with a draw, and also, Slovakia is slightly better team but since they are playing in Belfast... It should be a 1-1 draw. Hungary - Portugal, Portugal(-1) EH @2.60 Bet365 As i said i watched Portugal in Kobenhavn and they should trash Denmark in that match. They missed bunch of chances and had around 30 shots on goal. They lost a lot with that draw, so they have to win and win only if they want to stay in the race for the second spot, cause Denmark is unreachable at first, even though they might slip in Tirana. Portugal is pressed against the wall and their stars will react in a right way IMO. I expect an 3-0 away win. Slovenia - Poland, Slovenia @2.75 Coral I will exclude draw from all possible combinations cause it won't be enough probably for either of these two teams. Slovenia very good at Wembley, had a tough but useful match and i believe they are ready for this one. Their key defender Cesar is out with injury but still they have enough quality to win Polish side who is in deep crisis for some time. They failed to win NIR on saturday and it has to reflect on their confidence. I just can't see how could they win here. Italy - Bulgaria, Italy(-1.25) @2.10 stanjames Ireland is only one point behind Italy and i believe Lippi counts this game as a crucial one. They done half of their job in Tbilisi, today will do other half and secure their trip to RSA. Bulgarians have trashed MN last saturday but this will be a totally different game for them. Italy will win this with at least two goals and put Bulgaria in a very tough, impossible situation. Serbia - France, Draw @3.25 stanjames I doubt either side would be too dissapointed with sharing points. France dissapointe vs Romania once again, and they are lucky not to have any serious opposition behind although Austria mathematically can still reach them. Serbia would be close to securing first spot with a draw and i doubt Antić will risk much to threat his direct trip to RSA. Bosnia Herz. - Turkey, Over 3.5 @3.05 Unibet I don't even want to look at 1x2 or AH odds cause this game is from that point of view, pure coin toss. However i believe we should watch a wild and pacey match with lots of happenings on the pitch. While Turkey has to throw everything they have on Bosnians to reach them and try to win second place, Bosnia would probably secured that spot with a draw. However, knowing their coach Blažević, there's absolutely no way that this team will play in closed formation. He will try to push Turkey and score asap, he's aware of the holes he has in his defense and knows that he has to score more than concede to win the match. Turkey will be forced to accept the challenge and even this line might be to low for these two teams. My call would be 3-3, and everyone happy in the end. Except for Turks. :D Spain - Estonia, Spain(-3) @1.75 Fonbet No need to talk about quality difference here, everything is clear even for those who don't know anything about football and betting. Line is just too low and Spain can cover it in one half time. They toyed lately with much better team than Estonia, like Belgium 5-0 last satuday. Estonia will quick be broken and disheartened so another trashing on sight... Scotland - Holland, Over 2.5 @2.30 bet365 When i saw this matchup i knew under will be favoured by the bookies and decided to back any o/u outcome over 2.10. Here we have over priced at 2.30 odds what is a bit too much since Scotland desperately needs to win if they want to go to barrage for the World Cup. They have to put some risk finally, they played so slow against Macedonia but today they might be a bit more inspired cause they are "only" one win away from their goal. Holland will, on the other hand use the space behind their backs and score once or twice. All in all, odds surely worth of taking.

[gotstoned]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10

Hold a second, I quoted thegaygamblers post because of the nature of his post, not because I had a problem with his prediction, I found it wrong the way he went about getting some of his points accross. At no point did I personally slag him off. I couldnt care if he thinks Holland will win thats fair enough....I am not being biased in the slightest, I have already said the Dutch are a better team. Dont like betting on international football as I think its not that reliable as club football, so I wont be making any predictions.

dude get over it im not even reading your posts anymore, your just pissed about something I have no idea. try getting a life, maybe then you wont be miserable online, just stfu already

[ultravires]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10

Looks like Argentina will be without Teveaz and Macherano so Paraguay have good chance to win here.

A word of caution. Yes Tevez will not be playing. this is because he is being dropped in favour of Aguero (a better player in my opinion) or perhaps Lisandro. I am not sure about Mascherano missing. Even if he is, he has not been playing well for Argentina recently although would probably be missed.

[tiger5]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10 if mascherano miss this match , it should be very tough for argentina but... they have to focus their win...messi or aguero may be their joker...

[buto]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10

Call me crazy but I am looking at The Faroe Islands at home to Lithuania. If I can spot a good price for them on the AH' date=' possibly +1.5 or +2 I think that could well be a decent enough bet.[/quote'] JJ you are not crazy. we (Lithuania) will miss our key forwards like Velicka(injury),Jankauskas, Danilevicius ... so we dont score a lot with all forwards what we will do without them i dont know... yes we started very well ,beat Romania 3:0 away, Austria 2:0 at home, the same Faroe 1:0 at home, but this year we lost 3 in a row to France twice 1:0, and to Rmania at home 0:1, in friendly we won away 1:0 against Luxembourg.so you can see what we dont concede a lot( France twice 1:0, and to Rmania at home 0:1) andwe cant score alot. if we will look in H2H we just once won 3:1 against faroe, all other games we dominating but was 1:0. so it looks pretty good under2,5, or Faroe +1 or +2.

[FCNA]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10

serbia vs france home win even if they win tomorrow,france has minimum chances to win the group.the most important detail of this game is that the spirits in france national team are highly inflicted.many players had an open argue with coach raymond domenech,blame him for the poor tactic in the last game and not only.the franch media also trashed him,asking for his dissmis.so the ''atmosphere'' is sick.good chance for serbs to take advantage on it

That's absolutly true. A clash may occure last friday between team and Domenech, just before the match against Romania. Thierry Henry, captain, said in name of team that : "training are boring, there's no tactic, no aim in the team. We don't know what to do." Appeared in "Le Parisien", this clash was denie by both Henry and Domenech but where is the truth ? I was in Stade de France last saturday. After the egalisation of Romania, French team dismissed. I saw a great desorganisation on floor. In fact, all people hope for a large serbian victory to fire Domenech away !:spank And please stop with Scotland/Holland, that's enough !

[marron]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10 Hungary Vs Portugal No secret that Portugal need the win here and if you told people at the start of the qualifying campaign they would be on the brink of not reaching 2010 im sure 9 out of 10 would not have believed it. Granted, it isn't the easiest of groups but with players like Simao, Carvalho, Ronaldo, Bosingwa, Deco and now Liedson up top they have a good enough squad and on paper would be group winners. They have been below par for most of the campaign so far and their main problem has been their lack of goals. Liedson is the man who will put the chances away and provide that finishers instict they have been severely lacking. Hungary are in a decent position but haven't done too well overall against Denmark, Portugal and Sweden. Their 4 wins have all came at home and away against Malta and Albania and their draw was in their first match against Denmark at home. Any team with real quality, and on top of their game, will be far too good for a team without many big game players. Portugal have the players to produce the goods when it matters and tonight is when they need them to turn on the style the most. 5 points - Portugal win @ 1.7

[Lucio]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10

Romania - Austria, Austria DNB @5.00 bet365 Great, amazing offer we have here. Situation around Romanian NT is far from ideal, even after win at Hungary, their rival and 1-1 draw at France critics on the NT are getting louder and louder. Romania is just playing very poor football at the moment and even weaker teams than Austria are no easy opponenty for them. I watched Austria in Belgrade and they seemed like a solid team, which results are much weaker than they should be looking at performances. These odds are great from several reasons, even with draw we'll get stakes back but somehow i believe that Austria will win 2-1. GL.

You are in big error dude.That's why people loose money because guys like you that talk with no proof, and as i see your a marathon tipper, that tips anything and points on quantity not quality. I will post later the best tip for this match , and hope people will follow as those that followed my tips with France.

[El Ladron]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10 Scotland will not win tonight and Eggland will win.

[burnie]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10

You are in big error dude.That's why people loose money because guys like you that talk with no proof' date=' and as i see your a marathon tipper, that tips anything and points on quantity not quality. I will post later the best tip for this match , and hope people will follow as those that followed my tips with France.[/quote'] I would't say that. I'm from Austria and since we have a new coach our game has improved very well. The team is very young, some of the players didn't even play in the 1st austrian division 2 years ago, but those youngsters are talented and on fire. I still believe we can get the 2nd place with all the troubles those "big" countries have. The game against feroer was pretty good to warm up. The problem is that some players in our defence are overrated and if they play that can be very dangerous. Feroer had one chance because of an error in the defence and their lumberjack striker scored. I'd say its definetly worth a try with these odds.

[allthethings]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10

Scotland will not win tonight and Eggland will win.

Good, I need the eggs. :lol

[-@m]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10

Scotland will not win tonight and Eggland will win.

best post out of everyone in this thread :lol

[Lucio]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10 For some, France was a banker at 1.50, for me the X2 2.50 was the banker, ant that makes the diff about winning and loosing. I feel sorry for those which lost money backing France in the weekend, and those that will loose today.Some guys jus love to be lied and loose money so they are the biggest fans of these amators punters. I just happend to watch closely this group, and i can tell Romania just played with the chances and gived up easy points on matches with Austria , Serbja and Lithuania, but as i said in my last tip on France-Romania, thay had a diff coach than now, that is suspected of selling the matches and betting against his own team.Romania is better than Austria by far, Austria will not have the chance to score again against Romania, and they will show theyr weak game. Austria won with France in the unique moment in history they could win against them. Yea last game Austria played with Feroe was low profile, they managed to score in first minute and that made the game easy for them. There will be big deception in Austria after this game , or how someone used to say "There will be chaos". They can't win just with the force and only with massive players, you need talent and good defensive. Also the coach game will be won by Razvan Lucescu that already showed his quality at all teams he coached. So stop givin tips just by checking position and points in group or reading amator reviews of the games. We dont want to have enemys in the forums too , there are the bookmakers , biggest enemys. I suggest : Austria not to score : 2.00 Romania 1/1 : 2.00 No. of goals 2-3 : 2.10 Romania AH -1 : 1.95 Romania to score first : 1.45

[maniac_30_bg]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10 Italy - Bulgaria FIFA World Cup European Qualifying : Group Eight Table Saturday, 5 September 2009 21:32 UK

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Italy	7	5	2	0	11	3	8	17
2	Rep of Ireland	8	4	4	0	10	6	4	16
3	Bulgaria	7	2	5	0	10	5	5	11
4	Cyprus	7	1	2	4	7	11	-4	5
5	Montenegro	7	0	4	3	6	12	-6	4
6	Georgia	8	0	3	5	4	11	-7	3

Both need to win and none can qualify yet. Both teams can score. Italy should play fairly relaxed game and try to press Bulgaria. Bulgaria's defence is not good, but they play better when they are not leading the game. Most players are in big clubs and they are not scared of big names. You can be sure Bulgaria will be looking to score. Biggest problem for the team is the coach - pure crap. But the first team is well known and he should not be able to do many mistakes. I remember the game when Bulgaria was visiting Italy and was under great pressure by the hosts, but still played very good football and scored first. After which they lost the game, but who cares. It was great match. Italy will play their game and we all know they can score when they need to..one way or another. I am very certain this will be a nice game to watch and that there will be GOALS! Over 2.5 goals @ 2.08 betfair

[JackJarvis]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10 The Faroe Islands vs Lithuania Advice: 10pts on Faroe Islands (+1) AH @ 2.03 Canbet Something just tempts me about The Faroes here and I think they offer terrific value at home to Lithuania. Known as pretty much a part time outfit, The Faroes can be a poor betting proposition but I have seen enough from them which makes me believe they can be a match for most ‘average’ sides on their home patch. Ok let’s have a look at the stats. For a start these two have met 5 times over the past decade with Lithuania winning all 5 games. Not a great start eh but the last 3 times the sides have met, Lithunia have scraped home by 1 goal and considering the last 2 games were in Lithuania, those were respectable results for The Faroes. If we look at The Faroes recent games we pick up more evidence that suggests they are no pushovers at home. They only just lost 1-0 against France last month and previously were beaten 2-0 by Serbia and its fair to say those two sides are of much better quality than the Lithuanians. They did lose 3-1 to Austria at the weekend but expect a much better performance from them back on home turf. They actually won their first match in god knows how long 3 games ago when beating Iceland 2-1 in a friendly. Moving onto Lithuania and they know this is a must win match to keep alive their very slim hopes of qualification. They started off this campaign very well but have slipped in their recent matches and defeats at home and away to France aswell as home to Romania look like it will cost them. They struggled to overcome Luxembourg last month away from home but apart from that, their away record is shabby and the last thing they will want is this long trip to The Faroe Islands. The Faroes are generally known as whipping boys on the International scene but I genuinely believe they could spring a shock here against an average Lithuanian side. At home especially, The Faroe Islands are not a bad side and with the exception of one 6-0 thumping 3 years ago, they have not lost by more than 2 goals in their past 9 home matches. Going for them to win maybe asking a little much but I do believe they offer terrific value and I would not at all be surprised if they were to cover this line. Paraguay vs Argentina Advice: 10pts on Paraguay (+0 / 0.5) AH @ 2.03 Ladbrokes Probably the bet of the week for me here and I really do fancy Paraguay very very strongly especially at this fantastic price on offer. Argentina are getting to a very desperate stage now after losing 3-1 to Brazil at the weekend and their world cup hopes are all of a sudden under threat. Paraguay sit comfortably above them in the qualifying table and a win here would virtually guarantee Paraguay qualification. Paraguay beat Bolivia 1-0 at the weekend and their home form is very very good with the exception of a 2-0 defeat to Chile 3 months ago. Argentina look a laboured side altogether under Maradona and especially on the road. They have lost their last two on the road, 2-0 away at Ecuador and 6-1 away at Bolivia. They could only manage a 1-1 draw with Paraguay in a qualifier last year and that was at home so quite why they are favourites here I do not know. Tevez & Mascherano are out for Argentina and I honestly believe the home side should be favourites for this match. Paraguay will nick it 1-0 for me but in the event of a low scoring stalemate I am happy to take them at odds against on this line which I make terrific value.

[bowles10]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10

Midweek Internationals Tonight is a big night for the qualifiers & i expect England to go through by beating Croatia at home. England are unbeaten at wembley since that disastrous night 2 years ago when managed by the brolly wally Mclaren. Since then Cappello has the team playing well & more importantly scoring lots of goals. They average nearly 4 goals a game from thier 7 straight wins in their qualifying group. Thier warm up friendly on Saturday should have put the team right on the button tonight against a Croatia team who may well turn to physical tactics on the night. Tonights bets HT/FT Draw / England 1pt win @ 7/2 Corals HT/FT Croatia / England 1pt win @ 28/1 Sky 1st goal Frank Lampard 1pt @ 8/1 Ladbrokes Correct score 2-1 to England @ 8/1 Ladbrokes Also a treble on Latvia England Slovenia 5pts win

[Diggidy Diggidy]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10 I've been reading everyones posts on Scotland v Holland. I really do fancy Holland but maybe just maybe Scotland could sneak something (every now and again shocks happen). Holland obviously will score some goals so i think the Over 2.5 is a safer bet. It is available at around 6/5. I also fancy Slovakia to beat N. Ireland. Thay are much better technically and know a win would almost guarantee them top spot! N. Ireland cost me against Poland (did anyone see the game) but anytime i've seen them they have been woeful. Having to call up an Accrington Stanley player really shows their quality!!!

[dak]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10 Bosnia & Herzegovina – Turkey: Turkey Win @ 2.62 (Ladbrokes) 10/10 The chips are seriously on the table for both teams in this game and certainly, much more for Turkey. The Turkish team is in the position of running after 2^nd place. The hosts' 2 victories against Belgium and Turkey's slips against Estonia and Belgium have put B&H in an advantageous position here for World Cup qualification. Even with a loss they will maintain 2^nd place, but they need to think about the final match (at home) against Spain (not to completely forget about Estonia away either, but at this stage if you can't defeat Estonia to get in the World Cup....well...you don't deserve to be there). I can't help but think that in the back of their minds, B&H know that they can still make it even if they loose tonight. Turkey, needs to defeat B&H tonight and also defeat Belgium (away) and Armenia (home) and hope that B&H drop points in their matches against Estonia and Spain. Arguably, B&H have overachieved and I think the pressure will be too much for them. Their defense is very weak and Turkey certainly has the ability to score goals. Overall, I think Turkey has more experience and they are in a do or die situation. I think the Turkish strategy will be to unleash an offensive assault early in the game and get an early goal. If this happens, I believe Turkey will try to shut the game down and play B&H on the counters. In the end, I think B&H's weaker defense and the pressure may cost them . Latvia – Switzerland: Latvia Win @ 3.9 (William Hill) 10/10 This an important match in Group 2. Switzerland are first with 16 points and Latvia is third (tied with Greece but with a worse goal differntial) with 13 points. I think the odds are overestimating the Swiss here. Yes, they have an impressive run of wins, but I watched their 2-0 victory over Greece and they did not indicate anything special. In fact, the match was very even in the first half when Greece was playing at full strength. Even with a man advantage in the second half the Swiss didn't score until about 80^th minute and faced considerable threats from the 10 men Greek side. Essentially, I don't think that the Swiss can be relied upon here. I mean this is a team that lost (at home!!) to Luxembourg. Their success in the group, so far, has been due to two fortunate, imo, wins against Greece. Interestingly, even a loss still leaves the Swiss very much in the qualification mix since Latvia travels to Greece for a match and either or both teams will drop points. The game is massive for the Latvians since it gives them a very real chance to qualify for the World Cup for the first time. I think the Latvians are going to play like they did in Israel: a tight and careful approach that will look for a chance goal and the victory. Look for a 1-0 score for Latvia who will capitalize on their enthusiasm and the home field advantage. N. Ireland – Slovakia: Draw @ 3.30 (Ladbrokes) 10/10 The dynamics of this match are pretty straightforward. A point for each team would keep both teams in the driver's seat for qualification, allowing them to keep their second and first spots, respectively, no matter what happens between Slovenia and Poland. I really don't believe either team will risk much here and a 0-0 or 1-1 draw looks likely. Bolivia – Ecuador: Ecuador Win @ 2.50 (Ladbrokes) 10/10 Ecuador has serious chances of qualifying and Bolivia doesn't. Ecuador is on a three match win streak in the group and they know that this a golden opportunity to extend their hopes for qualification. Bolivia is not going to make it. Their team essentially lacks any real talent and they lack any real coaching stability over the years. If Venezuela can defeat Bolivia (in Bolivia 0-1) I think Ecuador, who I rate as a better team, can do so also. Finally, Ecuador is used to playing at an altitude and thus will not be affected by the conditions in Bolivia. Paraguay – Argentina: Argentina Win @ 2.40 (Totesport) 10/10 Despite all the criticism flowing Argentina's way and especially the fierce criticism faced by Maradona, I think this is a FANTASTIC price for Argentina. I think we need to put a few things into perspective. Paraguay has played good football and may just qualify for South Africa. They are a competitive team and seem able to match up against any side quite well. However, tonight they play against a football giant called Argentina which has admittedly messed up and has endangered their qualification path. But I think this is more reason to take Argentina here. The remaining games are such that Argentina must take care of business game by game or risk not making it. I think we should not underestimate the national catastrophe that will occur should Argentina not qualify. Argentina are without doubt one of the top footballing nations in the world. Paraguay is ok, but top they are not. I think people are overreacting to Argentina's loss to Brazil. Yes, it was disappointing, but Brazil is one of the top contenders (along with Argentina BTW) to win the cup in 2010 so the shame is somewhat mitigated, I think. I think at these odds one must take one of the best teams in the world and especially at a time when they need the win. Serbia – France: Draw @ 3.30 (Coral) 10/10 Both teams are well served here with a draw. I think with the state that the French are in they don't have it in them to defeat the Serbs in Serbia even if they tried. I believe the French will go for the draw and given the circumstances they may just get it and essentially lock in 2^nd place. A draw essentially will lock in 1^st place for the Serbs and their direct qualification to South Africa. I don't think they will risk much since a loss could needlessly complicate things. A 0-0 or 1-1 draw looks very likely here.

[blackcrow]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10 Hoping for a better result than last weekend's perfomance: Armenia - Belgium under 2.5 @ 1.76 (pinnacle) Armenia sit bottom of the group as they lost 2-0 at home to Bosnia and Turkey but drew 2-2 with Estonia also at home. They face a Belgium side that beat them 2-0 back in October last year and are missing several of their better players. Belgium have a very small chance of qualification, however unlikely, but their form on the road is not good at all, as they drew 1-1 with Turkey, lost 2-1 to Bosnia and on the weekend got smashed 5-0 by Spain, so with confidence down and missing their important players, cannot seem them doing much here. Look to a scrappy game which should be low scoring Faroe Islands - Lithuania under 2.5 @ 1.70 (sportingbet) The Faroe Islands have been tough to beat at home as they have been engaged in low scoring games there and looking for a similar outcome here once again. They have lost 1-0 to Romania, drew 1-1 with Austria, lost 2-0 to Serbia and lost 1-0 to France at home while they did lost 1-0 to Lithuania last year in October. As for the Lithuanians, they opened their campaign with a 3-0 away win to Romania but have struggled since, losing 3-0 away to Serbia and losing 1-0 away to France. They are not renowned for scoring goals but have a steady defence as they have 3 clean sheets of their 7 games and have lost 1-0 to France twice and Romania once in their last 3 qualifiers. Belarus - Ukraine over 2.5 @ 2.12 (pinnacle) Belarus still have an outside chance of getting second spot in the group if they win here while Ukraine will go equal second if they win, so look for these two sides to go for it here. Both teams have been able to score in the qualifiers but have also conceded in their games, and Belarus will benefit with Hleb returning for this game. At home, Belarus lost 3-1 to England, beat Andorra 5-1. lost 3-1 to Croatia while away, beat Andorra 3-1, beat Kazakstan 5-1, lost 1-0 to Croatia. As for the Ukraine, at home they beat Belarus 1-0, drew 0-0 with Croatia, beat Kazakstan 2-1, beat Andorra 5-0 while away they beat Kazakstan 3-1, lost 2-1 to England, drew 2-2 with Croatia. Like the look of goals in this game as both sides need to win. Bosnia-Herzegovina - Turkey over 2.5 @ 1.73 (sportingbet) Both teams with the best chance of qualifying second from this group with Turkety especially if they lose will miss out on the World Cup. Both teams have regularly scored and conceded in their group games and Turkey won 2-1 last October, so looking for goals once again. At home, Bosnia beat Estonia 7-0, beat Armenia 4-1, beat Belgium 2-1 while away they lost 1-0 to Spain, lost 2-1 to Turkey, beat Belgiun 4-2, beat Armenia 2-0. On the road, Turkey beat Armenia 2-0, drew 0-0 with Estonia, lost 1-0 to Spain while at home they drew 1-1 with Belgium, beat Bosnia 2-1, lost 2-1 to Spain, beat Armenia 4-2 Montenegro - Cyprus over 2.5 @ 1.85 (sportingbet) Both teams are paying for pride here as they have no chance of qualifying. At home Montenegro drew 2-2 with Bulgaria, 0-0 with Ireland, and lost 0-2 to Italy, while on the weekend they lost 4-1 awat to Bulgaria. As for Cyprus, on the road they drew 1-1 to Georgia, lost 0-1 to Ireland, lost 0-2 to Bulgaria as well as losing 1-2 to Ireland at home on the weekend. These two teams drew 2-2 in Cyprus of June this year so with little pressure and looking to get some national pride, like the look of both teams scoring at least a goal each Latvia - Switzerland over 2.5 @ 2.24 (pinnacle) Latvia are equal second and a win behind the Swiss who are top of the group. Obviously both teams need a win here to increase their chances of qualifying but a loss or draw by either side increases the chances of Greece and even Israel progressing in this group. Latvia will be on a high from beating Israel 1-0 over there on the weekend while the Swiss have a pretty good away record where they have scored 2 goals in each of their 3 away games as they drew 2-2 with Israel, beat Greece 2-1 and beat Moldova 2-0. Switzerland beat Latvia 2-1 at home last year in October so looking for these two teams to post a simila scoreline here Hungary - Portugal under 2.5 @ 1.86 (pinnacle) While Portugal are the favourites here and ae expected to win it will not be easy as the Hungarians are tough to beat at home while the Portuguese have not been in the best form at all heading into this game. Hungary had not conceded a goal in their 3 home games (0-0 with Denmark, beat Albania 2-0 and beat Malta 3-0) before losing 2-1 to Sweden on the weekend where Ibrahimovic scored in the 90th minute. As for Portugal, on the road they beat Malta 4-0, drew 0-0 with Sweden, beat Albania 2-1 with a 90th minute winner and drew 1-1 with Denmark courtesy of a 87th minute equaliser, so they have not been in the form to justify their odds. The under looks good as both teams have solid defences while they both need to win to improve their chances of qualifying they will not allow the other team to get a goal as they will more than likely look to shut the game out. Northern Ireland - Slovakia over 2.5 @ 2.20 (pinnacle) Top two teams in this group go searching for a win with Northern Ireland need a win as they are second but have a played a game more than the visitors. Both teams have been scoring goals in their qualifiers while the Slovakians have gone over in all 7 of their qualifiers, and these two teams did battle last September where Slovakia won 2-1 and with such an important game here for both of them, like the look that they will both score and more England - Croatia over 2.5 @ 1.98 (pinnacle) England go into this game as favourites especially as they beat Croatia 4-1 last year and they are missing Modric and Corluka. England have Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard and Defoe in goalscoring form but the defence has been prone to mistakes at times, and the lieks of Eduardo and Olic could cause them some trouble. Croatia's defence has been hurt by the suspension of Corluka and it has not been as solid as in previous years where it was rare for them to concede. However, not confident in backing England to win as the Croats do tend to play well against the better teams and love playing the role of the underdog. Can see goals in this game

[dj purry]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10 some body can tell me ,is finland, portugal,greece in danger .how many teams in a group stage r going true to the wc in africa.and what r the position write now.is there still a change .thank u

[pilky01]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10

They always think they are better than they are' date=' Like Celtic Supporters. Then when they come up against real class, they get taken out of the game and get shown up. [/quote'] you mean like when we beat the world cup finalists france twice, beat the world cup quarter finalists ukraine and outplayed the world champions at hampden? take the poker out of your arse you idiot.

[Tulenos]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10

Scotland will not win tonight and Eggland will win.

Great first post, mate - common, you can certainly do better;)

[Tulenos]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10 Not sure if mentioned above, but Slovakia will miss their playmaker Hamsik due to a red card - they still have good players, but away and without a playmaker, I'm afraid they will rather defend than attack.

[Tulenos]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10 Czech Rep v San Marino The Czechs need to score as many as they can because even though playing only for the second spot, they are seriously disadvantaged against Slovenia, Poland and NI having the worst score, which is the deciding factor. Slovenia seems to be the main contender and their score is better by four goals - ok, maybe four should do, but if you start scoring against San Marino, you shouldn't stop at three or four goals - over 5.5 @ 1.72 seems tempting.

[Psychic]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10 @Truli Portugal weren't actually that bad in Denmark. In fact they dominated most of the match and created far more chances than the host. The main reason why they didn't win is because as usual somehow they managed to mess up or squander a handful of opportunities. This has been their achilles heel throughout all the qualification games so far, and as a result they have drawn 0-0 at home against Albania plus both games against Sweden. So if they miss out on next year's World Cup, they'll know the reason why. As for the game in Hungary, under normal circumstances if the Portuguese play as well as they did in Copenhagen on Saturday, they should win comfortably. However, as they seemingly cannot convert their chances into goals, I'm not so sure if they actually will end up with the 3 points.

[Rob the I ty]

Re: World Cup Qualifiers - September 9/10

you mean like when we beat the world cup finalists france twice, beat the world cup quarter finalists ukraine and outplayed the world champions at hampden? take the poker out of your arse you idiot.

Beating France with 1 shot on net, and that game vs Italy at Hampden where Italy had a legitimate goal called back only for Scotland to score a goal that was clearly offside, and yet they still couldn't win.